Best Friends Animal Society is a leading national animal welfare organization dedicated to ending the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters. To help Save Them All, Best Friends works with shelters, rescue groups and our members nationwide.

Best Friends began with a group of animal lovers who were unwilling to accept the conventional wisdom that shelters had no choice but to kill “unadoptable” animals. These future founders of Best Friends banded together and started rescuing animals from shelters, where the animals’ luck was about to run out. Providing proper care, love and patience, the group of friends helped these homeless animals heal and find loving forever families. The animals who weren’t ready for adoption spent their days romping in the new sanctuary, called Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, which was established by the founders in the early 1980s.

The Sanctuary grew in size and scope, and eventually became Best Friends Animal Society. Today, besides running the nation’s largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals, Best Friends provides adoption, spay/neuter and educational programs nationwide; manages the Best Friends Network, comprising of thousands of animal welfare organizations working toward no-kill; and publishes Best Friends magazine, the nation’s largest and most beloved general-interest animal magazine.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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About Best Friends Animal Society

Best Friends is working to end the killing of dogs and cats in U.S. shelters in part by getting more pets out of shelters and into loving homes.

We’ve come a long way since the first known city reached no-kill in 1994, and now we’re closer than ever to making the entire country no-kill. Today, nearly 2,500 shelters are no-kill throughout the U.S. — and over 600 more are just 100 pets or fewer away from reaching that milestone.

Best Friends is committed to working with passionate people like you to save homeless pets through adoption, volunteering, fostering, and advocacy. In addition to our lifesaving centers around the U.S, we also founded and run the nation's largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals.

Working together, we can save homeless pets in our communities and secure a better future for our best friends. Together, we will bring the whole country to no-kill.