The 2025 Bring Love Home Challenge 

Together, let’s bring love home.

In December 2025, the Best Friends Network brought rescues and shelters together for the Bring Love Home Challenge.  

Participating rescues and shelters took the leap to make adoptions and fostering more accessible — using data-backed research to get more pets in homes by reducing adoption fees, shortening applications, eliminating home checks, offering multilingual adoption and foster support, and more.  

With over $500,000 in grants and incentives on the table, participating organizations were empowered to strengthen adoption efforts, engage their communities, and increase the number of pets going home.

Nearly 300 organizations were selected to participate, with results including: 

How did they do it? 

Explore the resources, materials, and new operations that challenge participants implemented to achieve these remarkable results.  

Whether you’re looking for inspiration or ready to implement some proven strategies, we’ve got the tools to help you make an impact in your community. 

Resources & materials:

• Downloadable Materials: Bring Love Home 2025 Press Release Template
• Downloadable Materials: Bring Love Home 2025 Creative Templates
• Downloadable Guide: Bring Love Home 2025 Marketing Guide
• Downloadable Guide: Bring Love Home 2025 Operations Guide
• Webinar Replay: Place More Pets Now With These Easy Changes
• Rescue Roundtable On-Demand

What they did:

During the Bring Love Home Challenge, rescues and shelters increased adoptions by trying a minimum of 1 new operational practice from December 1-31, reporting a year-over-year increase in pets adopted and fostered during the challenge.  

Participants held at least one 1+ day Bring Love Home adoption and/or foster event in December, using provided marketing materials; and actively promoted all available animals for adoption through Adopt a Pet and/or Petfinder. 

Congratulations to our grant recipients! 

Organizations with the greatest percentage year-over-year adoption + foster increase: 

• City of Douglas
• City of Ferris
• Friends of Mohave County Animal Shelter
• Greenfield Pets Animal Rescue
• Hamilton's Healing Hearts
• Journey Home Rescue Alliance
• Love-a-Bull
• Loving Hearts Animal Society
• Needy Paws Animal Shelter
• Wataugua Animal Service Center

Organizations recognized for outstanding contributions: 

• Colleton County Animal Services
• Glen Rose Animal Control
• Middleburg Humane Foundation

Participating grant recipients: 

• A Promised Land Animal Rescue, Inc
• All About Spay Neuter Inc.
• All Kind Animal Initiative
• All Paws on Deck
• Alleghany Humane Society
• Aloha Ilio Rescue
• Amsterdam Kitten Adoption, Inc
• Angel's Retreat
• Angels4Paws Animal Rescue
• Animal A.I.D. Of Mississippi
• Animal House Shelter, Inc.
• Animal Outreach of Shelby County
• Animal Welfare Society Of Kerr County, Texas
• Ardmore Animal Care, Inc.
• Arf-Anage Dog Rescue
• Arkansas Weimaraner Rescue
• ASTRO Foundation
• August Foundation for Alaska's Racing Dogs
• Austin Humane Society
• Australian Shepherds Furever
• Beare Garden Plantation Animal Rescue
• Benton Franklin Humane Society
• Bulloch County Animal Services
• Carl W. Nelson Animal Shelter
• Castle of Dreams Animal Rescue
• Cat Tales Rescue NC
• Cat Town
• Central Ohio's Programs for Animal Welfare
• Cherished Tails Senior Sanctuary
• Chicagoland Animal Rescue
• Chickasha Animal Shelter
• Cinderella Pet Rescue
• Cleos Legacy Inc
• Coco's Heart Dog Rescue
• Cold Nose Warm Heart Dog Rescue
• Colony Cats And Dogs
• Community Cats Global
• Companion Cats, INC.
• Compassionate Canine Society
• Contra Costa Humane Society
• Cooper's Chance Animal Rescue
• Corridor Rescue Inc.
• Daisy's Legacy
• Dallas Pets Alive!
• Darlington County Humane Society
• Dawgz, Tailz and  Wagz LLC
• Denver Kittens
• DFW Humane Society of Irving Inc.
• Doddridge County Humane Society
• Dogs Adoption Network
• Eden Animal Haven
• El Dorado County German Shepherd Rescue
• Evergreen Pug Rescue
• Fancy Cats & Dogs Rescue Team
• Fearless Kitty Rescue
• February Star Sanctuary
• Femme Felines, Inc.
• Feral Cat Program of Georgia
• Feral Cat Warriors Inc
• Fetchin' Retrievers Rescue
• FieldHaven Feline Center
• Flopsy's Friends Foundation
• Footbridge Foundation
• Freckles Foundation & Animal Rescue
• Fredericksburg SPCA
• Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit
• Friends of Jackson County Animal Shelter Pets
• Friends of Noah Inc. Wisconsin
• Friends of Rescue Animals
• Full of Cattitude Inc
• Furry Friends
• Furry Friends Humane, Inc.
• Galax Carroll Grayson Animal Shelter
• Greener Days Ahead Rescue
• Greensburg Decatur County Animal Shelter
• Gulf Coast Humane Society
• Happy Stripes
• Harlan County Animal Shelter
• Harmony House for Cats
• Heart of Infinity Foundation
• Hearts & Bones Animal Rescue
• Helen Sanders Catpaws
• Henrico Humane Society
• Home Fur Good Animal Rescue and Placement
• Homeward Bound Cat Adoptions
• Houston Pets Alive
• Hudson Valley Humane Society
• Humane Society of Elkhart County
• Humane Society Of Marion County
• Humane Society of Sarasota County
• Humane Society of Southern Arizona
• Humane Society Of The Black Hills
• Humane Society of the Ohio Valley
• Humane Society of the Ozarks
• Humane Society Of Tuolumne County
• I Heart Dogs Rescue and Animal Haven
• I'm Your Huckleberry Rescue
• Indianapolis Animal Care Services
• Jacksonville Humane Society
• Joshua Tree No-Kill Shelter
• Just Four Paws
• Kat Vet Spay Neuter And Rescue
• Kayla's Tiny Toe Beans Kitten Rescue
• Kibblez of Love
• Kitty Bungalow Charm School for Wayward Cats
• Kitty of Angels
• Koras Rescue Ranch
• Kurth Memorial Animal Services - City of Lufkin
• Lac Rescue Critters
• Lewis-Upshur Animal Control Facility
• Living Free Animal Sanctuary
• Logan County Humane Society
• Lucky Dog Animal Rescue
• Lucky's Cat House
• LUP Sanctuary and Rescue
• M&M's Fur-Ever Furbabies
• Marion County Humane Society
• Mary's Love for Homeless Dogs Foundation and Sanctuary
• Maui Humane Society
• Midlands Humane Society
• Mud Creek Animal Rescue
• Mutts of the Midway
• Nashville Humane Association
• Newnan Coweta Humane Society, Inc.
• Nine Lives Foundation
• No Dogs Left Behind
• Oklahoma Humane Society
• Operation Kindness Humane Society
• Pacific Rim Rescue
• PALNV
• Panhandle Humane Society
• Pawlife Rescue Group
• PAWS Atlanta, Inc
• Paws of Perseverance
• Paws, Claws, and Hooves Animal Rescue & Sanctuary Inc
• Paws'n'Claws
• People for Pets Magic Valley Humane Society
• Pet Tails Rescue
• Pets and People Humane Society
• Pets Bring Joy
• Port City Cat Rescue
• POSO Dog Rescue
• Providence Animal Center
• Pulaski County Animal Control
• Puppy Kitty NY City Inc.
• Quincy Humane Society
• RappCats
• Releashed Rescue
• Rescate Fenix
• Rescue Network
• Rescued Pets Are Wonderful
• Richland Hills Animal Services
• Richmond SPCA
• Roanoke Valley SPCA
• Rock N' Rescue
• Rocky Mountain Puppy Rescue
• Roice-Hurst Humane Society
• Sadie's Safe House Chihuahua Rescue
• Saving Grace Rescue Inc
• Saving Paws Animal Rescue of KY
• Sek Animal Advocates Society
• Serendipittys Sanctuary of Hope
• Silicon Valley Pet Project
• Sioux Empire TNR Coalition
• Southern Souls Animal League
• Spalding County Animal Care and Control
• SPCA in Cattaraugus County
• SPCA of Brevard
• Spokane Humane Society
• St. Francis Animal Shelter
• St. Sophia's Forgotten Felines
• Stray Cat Sanctuary
• Sunny Bear Rescue
• Ten Lives Club
• Texas Round Up Animal Alliance Inc.
• The Boring Safe Haven Society
• The Cat House on the Kings
• The Catcade Inc.
• The Haley Graves Foundation
• The Little Red Dog, Inc.
• The Puppy Mamma
• The Rescue Crew, Inc.
• The Rescued Pack
• Today Tomorrow Forever Animal Rescue
• Toledo Animal Shelter Association
• Touch of Grey Rescue
• Town of Greece Animal Control
• Troy Animal Rescue Project
• Trust Rescue
• Tulsa SPCA
• Tyson's Place Animal Rescue
• Valley Oak SPCA
• Vanderburgh Humane Society
• Wagon Tails Farm Rescue
• Wags and Walks
• We Care Animal Rescue
• Wiggles Way Rescue
• Wild Blue Cats
• Windsor Kittens
• Wonky Whiskers Rescue
• Working Dogs For Vets