Strength — and transparency — in numbers

No-kill, as a philosophical principle, means saving every dog and cat 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. 

That’s why we track save rate — because it’s a meaningful and common-sense benchmark for measuring lifesaving progress. 

Typically, the number of pets who are suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that affect their quality of life and prevent them from being adopted is not more than 10% of all dogs and cats entering the organizations striving to save them. 

That’s why we designate organizations that meet the 90% save-rate benchmark as no-kill. 

We also recognize that certain organizations or efforts might target the easiest and/or hardest animals to save, and therefore save rates might vary as a result. For many organizations, a true no-kill save rate may be closer to 95% (or higher). 

For some — particularly those offering care and services such as neonatal kitten programs, homeless senior pet hospice care, or other programs targeting the animals who are harder to save — the no-kill benchmark may be below 90%. 

For this reason, Best Friends offers a benchmark exemption to organizations that can demonstrate that they meet the philosophical definition of no-kill despite a save rate below 90%. 

The goal is for every animal welfare organization to make a clear commitment to lifesaving and transparency while working to achieve and sustain no-kill in philosophy and practice, rather than only working to obtain a no-kill designation. Best Friends makes that commitment with every animal we take into our care. We will save every animal who can be saved.

Best Friends collects data in real time using Shelterluv, an online shelter management system. After it’s collected, the data is then verified by our national operations support team and our business intelligence team. 

This information is used to track the effectiveness of our direct lifesaving efforts, such as foster programs and transports of Best Friends’ animals, and it helps us plan future strategies. 

Keep in mind that direct animal intake data seen in this section is only a part of our lifesaving work around the country. We’ve also engaged with thousands of shelters and rescue partners to help them save more lives in their own shelters and communities.

The idea took flight in 2020, when our regional programs in Atlanta and New York realized the best way to save more homeless pets in the East Coast region was to merge their efforts. 

Since then, we’ve launched foster-based programs with shelters throughout the East Coast corridor in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Atlanta. Transport programs, such as the Wheels of Hope program for the Animal Care Centers of New York City, have moved more than 1,000 dogs with behavioral challenges from New York City to partnering northern shelters. 

Our East Coast corridor teams are working hard for cats, too, in particular by helping animal shelters with the highest need for kitten lifesaving. Kittens are among shelters’ most vulnerable occupants. Due to their fragility, those under 8 weeks old sometimes don't survive despite the best of care. 

Though our special attention to kittens may actually lower our save rate below the no-kill standard of 90%, we are nonetheless dedicated to helping them grow and thrive before being adopted.

Our work in Houston is 100% foster based. In addition to a network of foster homes in Houston, Best Friends launched a successful satellite foster program in West Texas to help save lives and support area shelters. 

A satellite foster program is a foster program run by Best Friends staff and volunteers without an actual building or staff in the shelter. Our staff recruits and manages the foster network as well as diligently works to find adopters in the community. 

Our Houston program is small but mighty — saving an average of over 700 animals per year. 

The Houston team has truly transformed from when we were running a large temporary shelter during Hurricane Harvey. Our team continues to find ways to be creative in lifesaving by serving as a temporary foster placement for animals from large Houston shelters and finding partners in other areas of the country.

Because of this unique feature of the Sanctuary’s work, save rates can dip below the no-kill threshold of 90%. This is largely due to certain animals receiving the special care they need and living out the remainder of their lives and eventually dying with us at the Sanctuary.  

Further challenging our save rates is a large resident population of animals that includes far more than just dogs and cats — namely horses, pigs, goats, bunnies, birds, and exotics such as lizards and turtles — in addition to the several thousand new arrivals we welcome in any given year. 

We only euthanize an animal as a true act of mercy, such as when there is no chance of the animal regaining a humane quality of life or in rare cases of dogs suffering irremediable aggression.

Our location in West L.A., our largest in terms of volume of animals entering, features adoptable dogs, puppies, cats, and kittens from regional shelters and rescue partner organizations. 

The city’s greatest needs are foster homes for kittens, spay and neuter resources, pet-friendly housing for low-income families, and community support for trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR) for cats. 

Save rates for cats tend to be lower due to the large number of fragile kitten intakes.

Best Friends’ work in Northwest Arkansas began in February 2020, and we've been prioritizing our work with shelters in Fort Smith, Pine Bluff, Hot Springs, Dardanelle, North Little Rock, and Russellville. 

In 2021, Best Friends opened a temporary lifesaving center in Northwest Arkansas while building the state-of-the-art Best Friends Pet Resource Center, which held its grand opening on March 11, 2023. 

Our Northwest Arkansas program is small and just getting started. The program has already grown by over 700% from 2020 to 2022, with more growth to come with the opening of the Best Friends Pet Resource Center.

Pets from our partner shelters find homes through the adoption center while several hundred orphaned kittens are helped through our kitten care program each year, and our community cat programs are helping to save more lives in Utah. 

Our Salt Lake City program is our second largest in terms of volume. Save rates for dogs are consistently close to 100%. Save rates for cats are lower due to the large number of fragile kitten intakes. 

Best Friends’ data is the most comprehensive, accurate information about dogs and cats in U.S. shelters.

Just a few short years ago, cats and dogs were killed in staggering numbers in this country simply because shelters didn't have the community support or the resources to save their lives. That number is now less than half a million per year, but there’s still work to do to ensure a bright future for every dog and cat in America.   

Best Friends operates the nation's largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals and is committed to saving the lives of homeless pets by working with shelters and passionate people like you. Together, we will bring the whole country to no-kill by 2025. Together, we will Save Them All.