Rallying supporters

Pet lovers like you in every corner of the nation support these efforts by raising their voices — and their hands — to champion animals where they live. As more and more people join this grassroots movement, adding to its collective power every day, what seems impossible becomes increasingly possible.

Social action saves lives

Although some shelters are struggling to achieve no-kill on their own, they can be reluctant to accept help from other organizations. In these cases, social action campaigns can be the key to turning things around because they drive community demand for change. 

Best Friends launched a social action campaign in Weslaco, Texas, to spark change at Weslaco Animal Care Services (which only saves about 25% of the animals who enter the shelter while the average shelter in Texas saved more than 80%). 

The campaign began in February 2023, and the community rallied for change, with 630 advocates sending 5,354 emails to Weslaco City Commission members. Weslaco residents also sent nearly 1,000 handwritten postcards to their local elected officials during a large community event, and advocates began showing up and making public comments at city commission meetings. 

In response, the shelter started doing adoption events (which had stopped due to COVID-19), ended a contract to take in animals from a neighboring community, announced plans to hire additional staff, agreed to animal services officer training with Best Friends, and is considering a high-volume spay/neuter clinic.

In 2022, 3,007 cats and dogs were killed. Between January and July 2023, the number of animals killed was reduced by 51%, saving more than 1,017 lives. Based on this success, Best Friends launched two additional social action campaigns in early fiscal year 2024.

A week of action for cats

3,285 people signed up for Best Friends’ first-ever National Action Week for Animals. 

The week was filled with online trainings and presentations, with experts on hand to answer questions. Participants learned things like how to connect with other animal advocates and approach local government officials. 

The focus was on saving cats, and people took more than 4,250 actions to help community cats during the event. The 2025 Action Team (Best Friends’ grassroots advocacy team) also grew to over 100,000 members during the week.

You made the impossible possible in Florida

For 34 years, pit bull terrier-type dogs entering shelters in Florida’s Miami-Dade County could not be adopted. Instead, they were killed. Families with pit bull-type dogs were forced to part with them or to live outside of the county. 

Since 2012, Best Friends has worked for a repeal of the ban in partnership with organizations in the Miami Coalition Against Breed Specific Legislation. In 2022, Best Friends identified a new legal strategy that centered on taxpayer-funded public housing. 

With that focus and your support, Best Friends spearheaded an effort that finally toppled this antiquated breed-specific legislation. Now, for the first time in decades, blocky-headed dogs in Miami-Dade County have a chance to find loving families.

New York gets on board

Best Friends worked with supporters and the New York Legislature to enact a bill prohibiting retail puppy mill sales statewide. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed it into law, making New York the sixth state/federal district in the nation with humane pet sales legislation (after California, Maine, Maryland, Washington, and Washington, D.C.). 

The new law stops pet stores from selling dogs, cats, and rabbits and instead allows retailers to work with shelters and rescue groups to showcase homeless pets for adoption. This is a big victory in the fight against pet mills, and we couldn't have done it without you.

Texas for the win

With the help of Best Friends and passionate animal advocates — who sent more than 2,300 messages to legislators — a new law was passed in Texas to stop public housing authorities from restricting dogs based on breed. 

Housing is the No. 1 reason dogs are surrendered to shelters, and those in public housing often have limited flexibility in where they can live. The new law will help prevent animals from entering shelters when people move into public housing. 

Best Friends also supported another win for animals in Texas: The state passed a bill that protects community cat caregivers from being prosecuted for animal cruelty for returning outdoor cats as part of trap-neuter-vaccinate-return programs, which are the most humane and effective method of controlling outdoor cat populations.