Best Friends has always believed that collaboration is the key to saving more lives, which is why we created the NKUT (No-Kill Utah) initiative. Thanks to people like you, along with our NKUT coalition members, we've made amazing progress to end the killing of healthy or treatable cats and dogs in shelters, but there's still work to do throughout the state of Utah.
With your help, we can end the killing in animal shelters throughout Utah and make the state a safe place for all cats and dogs to call home. We'll show you how.
We understand that sometimes people prefer to enjoy cats in places outside of their yard, so we've compiled a list of humane deterrents and a video with helpful ideas.
No-kill is a community philosophy and commitment to saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved. But it's helpful to have a way to clearly measure lifesaving progress as we move forward together, and that's where the 90% benchmark comes in.
Typically, the number of dogs and cats who are suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed is not more than 10% of all dogs and cats entering shelters. Therefore, we designate shelters that meet the 90% save rate benchmark as no-kill.
As of August 2025, 1160 more cats and dogs would need to be saved in 3 Utah shelters for us to achieve our goal. And over 90% of those killed are being killed in Utah county alone.
Here in Utah, NKUT (No-Kill Utah) is an initiative led by Best Friends that brings together passionate individuals, city shelters, and a group of animal welfare organizations to end the killing of dogs and cats in shelters.
To save the lives of homeless pets, we’re focusing on giving lifts to dogs and cats to shelters where they are more likely to be adopted, holding adoption events, and providing training and mentorships to shelters around the state. We're also taking homeless pets from priority shelters into our care until they land homes of their own.
Achieving no-kill is a collaboration between shelters and their community, so the first step is for individuals to understand the progress being made in their own community and learn how they can help.
The NKUT Coalition, led by Best Friends, is at the heart of lifesaving in Utah. Coalition members can receive grants, connect and collaborate with other organizations to help further their work, participate in adoption and fundraising events, take part in mentorship and training opportunities, and more.
Best Friends Network Partners are made up of thousands of public and private animal shelters, rescue groups, spay/neuter organizations, and other animal welfare groups, all working to save the lives of dogs and cats here in Utah and across the country.
Each and every one of our network partners needs caring people like you to adopt, foster, donate, volunteer, and advocate to help save the lives of pets where you live.
We make the most change for animals when we work together, which is why we formed the Best Friends 2025 Action Team. Once you sign up for the 2025 Action Team, you'll receive emails with more ways you can help save homeless pets.
Let your family, friends, and neighbors know that together we can make a difference in the lives of pets.
