Smiling person sitting outside with a dog in a park

Saving pets in Greater Houston

Last year, around 400,000 dogs and cats were killed in our nation’s shelters just because they didn’t have safe places to call home. More than 74,000 of those deaths were in Texas alone.

Working together, we can change that. We know that ending the killing in shelters is possible in Greater Houston, but we can’t do it without you. That’s why we’re focusing on collaborating with area shelters and animal welfare organizations, community members, businesses, and caring people like you. 

To save the lives of cats and dogs in Greater Houston, we’re creating programs to get pets adopted, connecting shelters with one another, providing training and mentoring to shelter staff, engaging with the community, hosting adoption events, providing veterinary services for shelters and rescue groups, and creating programs to save community cats (aka cats who live outdoors).

Dog standing in front of a home on a brick pathway

Do you believe more animals should be saved in Greater Houston's shelters?

Here at Best Friends, we believe that every pet deserves a second chance. 

I Agree
Dog Cat

Ending the killing of pets in shelters

Together, we can save the lives of pets in shelters who are often killed due to a lack of space.

Right now, 67% of the pets entering Texas shelters are making it out alive. The goal is to get that number to 90% or more because, even with the best of care, there will always be pets with health or other issues who make it inhumane to prolong their suffering.

In 2023 alone, our efforts were already making a big impact and saving the lives of homeless pets in Houston:
 

Creating lifesaving programs 

  • 582 at-risk dogs and cats in shelters were placed into our local adoption program.
  • We gave lifesaving lifts to an additional 1,283 dogs and cats to northern communities in the country where they would have a greater chance of being adopted. 
  • We collaborated with the city of Houston to revitalize its foster and volunteer programs at BARC. 

Partnering with shelters 

  • Best Friends provided 2,242 free spay/neuter surgeries to shelter and rescue groups.
  • We hosted five collaborative adoption events with 24 partner organizations. 
  • Through Best Friends shelter partnerships, 430 fewer animals in shelters were killed in the city of Pasadena, Texas, compared to 2022. 

Supporting the community 

  • Best Friends invested $175,000 in mentorships for the city of Pasadena and Galveston County to help reduce the number of homeless pets and get more pets adopted. 
  • Best Friends provided staffing and housing for pets displaced after a tornado damaged a local shelter. 
  • We hosted our national conference in downtown Houston and drew 1,637 attendees from around the country. 
  • We organized an electoral event to connect the community with candidates and learn where they stand.
See How Your Shelter Is Doing
Small dog playing with a dog toy on a soft rug in a home

Helping pets stay with families

From securing pet-friendly housing to purchasing items or supplies for pets in need, you can help pets stay in their homes right here in Greater Houston.

Recent research indicates that keeping lost pets near the location where they were found, rather than moving them to an area shelter, led to reunification with their family 51% of the time.

Working with caring community members, shelter staff can help reunite animals with their people, freeing up shelter space and keeping pets and people together.

Additionally, research indicates that 70% of stray pets are found within a mile of their home (42% are found within a block!).

Providing people who find lost pets with the tools and resources to reunite pets with their people in their own neighborhoods is often more effective than taking them to an animal shelter. And getting pets reunited with their people is undoubtedly the best outcome for them.

Two people interacting with a large white dog

Reunite lost pets with their people

Before taking a stray pet to your local shelter, try visiting a veterinarian’s office to see whether the pet has a microchip; then try to reunite the pet with their family via social media and talking to your neighbors.
Reuniting pets with people
Smiling person sitting with a dog outside on some steps

Promoting pet-friendly housing

Ensure the availability of more pet-inclusive housing to keep pets with their families.
Promoting pet-friendly housing
Person using a stethoscope to listen to the chest of a husky dog

Keep your pet healthy

Spaying and neutering are routine medical procedures that not only help prevent unintended litters, but they may also prevent medical and behavioral problems.
Learn about spay/neuter
Cat outdoors on a fence

Help cats in your community

Community cats (you might think of them as stray or free-roaming cats) are felines who call the outdoors their home, and they’re among the most at-risk animals when they end up in shelters.
Helping cats in your community

Microchip your pet to keep them safe 

A veterinarian or shelter staff member will scan for a microchip when stray pets are brought to them. This safe and effective technology can help get your pet back to you quickly if they’re ever lost. 

line drawing of person with heart

What you can do to save the lives of pets

You can spay or neuter your pets, foster a homeless pet, volunteer with your local animal shelter or rescue group, or join campaigns to show elected officials how important it is to save more lives in your community.

No matter what you do for homeless pets, you'll be helping to save lives. When we work together, we save more lives.

Smiling person wearing a Best Friends sweatshirt sitting with a dog outside

Volunteer in the Greater Houston area

Whatever your experience or interests, there are countless ways to volunteer your time for pets in need here in Greater Houston.
Getting started as a volunteer
Smiling person holding two tiny kittens

Foster a pet

Welcoming a furry houseguest into your home, even for just a few nights, helps that pet while freeing up space in the shelter to save more lives.
The fun of fostering
Person cradling a brown and white tabby cat in her arms

Adopt a pet

When you adopt a cat or dog from a rescue group or animal shelter near you (instead of buying one from a puppy mill or breeder), you’re making a lifesaving difference for a loving and grateful animal.
Find adoptable cats and dogs near you
Smiling person sitting with dog outside next to a gray wall

See where your community stands

Animal shelters, local leaders, lifesaving groups, and individual community members are working together to save at-risk pets right where they live.
Is your community no-kill?
Black and white dog looking at a person's hands holding a Best Friends bowl containing dog food

Help provide lifesaving assistance

Lifesaving assistance is available to the pets and their families who need it most in Greater Houston, thanks to the generous support of the community.
Making a lifesaving gift

Recent tales from Greater Houston

Looking for a little inspiration? Check out these pets and their stories of hope, love, and resilience.

Kookie the dog posing with Valentine's Day props

Young mama dog gets serendipitous happy ending

After being found as a pregnant stray in Texas, Kookie’s story comes full circle.
It was meant to be
Feature
Buddy the cat lying on a chair with stuffed animals behind him

Scaredy cat goes from hisses to kisses

After losing the only caregiver he’d ever known, Buddy learned it is possible to love again.
Foster home made it possible
Video
Mackenzie Wilhite sleeping with Nikki the dog on her chest

Opening heart to new dog is adopter’s antidote to grief

After her dog of 16 years passed, Mackenzie found sweet, happy Nikki and turned loss into a new beginning.
Now they're on a new journey together
Feature

You can help a Greater Houston shelter or animal rescue group

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 Greater Houston 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.

Find an animal shelter or rescue group near you today: 

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Make your voice heard

If you can’t adopt or foster, you can spread the word about the importance of stepping up to save the lives of cats and dogs.

Let your family, friends, and neighbors know that together we can make a difference in the lives of pets. 

Let your city leaders know that saving the lives of pets in shelters is important to you.

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Dog relaxing with a person on a soft rug

Show your support

Do you believe that the killing in shelters needs to end?
I Agree
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About Best Friends

Best Friends Animal Society is working to save the lives of cats and dogs all across the country, giving pets second chances and happy homes.

As recently as 2016, 2 million cats and dogs were killed in shelters 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 400,000 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. We’re sharing our resources and what we know to help shelters around the country achieve no-kill in their communities. 

Together, we will bring the whole country to no-kill in 2025.