Working together to fill pets’ bellies

If what they say is true, that food equals love, then Best Friends’ new partnership with Blue Buffalo is proof positive that tons of love — in the form of Blue Buffalo food and treats — is on the way to the dogs and cats at Best Friends locations around the country.

[World Record for Most Pet Food Donated in 24 Hours Broken in Bentonville - Guinness Book of World Records]

This month, Blue Buffalo became Best Friends Animal Society’s official pet food and treats partner. Blue Buffalo will be donating more than 500,000 pounds of BLUE food and treats this year — enough to feed all the dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and Best Friends Lifesaving Centers. Food will also be distributed to foster families taking care of pets from Best Friends.

The partnership is a continuation of a long history between Blue Buffalo and Best Friends. Blue Buffalo has made many large donations of food to Best Friends Lifesaving Centers, Best Friends Network Partners, and municipal shelters. In 2021, Blue Buffalo stepped up as a founding partner of the Best Friends Pet Resource Center in Northwest Arkansas.

“Blue Buffalo was founded on the belief that pets are family. We love them like family, so we feed them like family,” says Liz Mascolo, president of North America Blue Buffalo. “We are honored to play a role in the lifesaving work of Best Friends Animal Society by nourishing dogs and cats with BLUE’s superior nutrition in their moment of need, so they’re healthy and thriving when they go to their new homes.”

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Part of the partnership involves Blue Buffalo providing special kits to every family adopting a dog or cat from Best Friends. The kits will include a bag of food and a bag of treats, plus a discount coupon for $5 off their next food purchase.

Best Friends will also be included in Blue Buffalo’s 2025 spring campaign that celebrates National Pet Month. Plus, last year, Blue Buffalo’s donation of 50 cents to Best Friends for every bag of food sold at Walmart totaled $275,000. Best Friends will be featured in a BLUE Life Protection Formula campaign this October, which could yield a similar donation to Best Friends.

“We are incredibly grateful for this partnership with Blue Buffalo — hundreds of thousands of pounds of dog and cat food to feed the animals in our care annually, plus additional opportunities to help raise money and support for Best Friends,” says Candi Maciel, Best Friends’ director of corporate partnerships. “We couldn’t ask for better partners.”

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill in 2025. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.