Best Friends answers the call
Texas, you are a place of grit and heart. That’s been true for as long as I can remember — neighbors helping neighbors, communities pulling together, people doing whatever it takes to care for each other. And now, in the middle of this devastating flooding, that strength is on full display.
Best Friends has stepped up during large-scale emergencies before — most notably during Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Harvey, and the L.A. wildfires — when we were on the ground helping thousands of pets. But I want to be clear about something before I go any further: Best Friends is not a disaster response organization. We are an organization focused on one thing: ending the killing of pets in shelters. That is our North Star, the thing that guides every decision we make.
And yet, the very work that drives us toward no-kill — transports, partnerships, medical care, community programs — is a match for what’s needed to save the pets impacted by this flooding right now. Because of the infrastructure we’ve built together, we can help in ways that have both immediate and lasting impact.
Shelters across the state are racing to make space for animals displaced by the floods. Lost dogs and cats need to stay close so they can be reunited with their families, but kennels are full. So we’re moving pets already cleared for adoption to partner shelters and rescue groups across the country — and we’re moving them fast. Dozens of these pets are already safe at Best Friends locations, including our sanctuary in Utah, the Salt Lake City lifesaving center, and the New York lifesaving center.
More than 1,000 pets have already been moved out of impacted shelters, including 543 dogs and cats flown on seven lifesaving flights. Every single trip is essential. Each one clears critical space for a lost pet to wait safely for their family, while giving adoptable animals the fresh start they’ve been waiting for. And when the floodwaters finally recede and families are reunited, these shelters will have the opportunity to increase their lifesaving and focus on their own community pets to bring recovery to impacted areas.
That’s the power of no-kill in action.
Our network partners are leading this work, and we’re proud to support them. Feral Cat Warriors Inc., for example, has moved more than 150 cats, many with serious medical needs, to shelters in Arizona and Nevada. We’ve funded emergency veterinary care, including for a cat in San Angelo who arrived nonresponsive, covered in tar and debris, and is now — against all odds — alive, well, and reportedly very spicy.
Through our corporate partner Fi, 2,000 microchips and scanners are being delivered to shelters in affected areas to help pets find their way home faster. We’ve provided 1,500 pounds of pet food to families in need. And this week, our Network Neighbors program with Petco Love will launch, mobilizing volunteers to reunite lost pets with their families directly in their neighborhoods and with the hope of easing the burden on already-stressed shelters.
This is what gives me hope. Because what’s happening in Texas isn’t just a response to a flood — it’s the no-kill movement mobilized to support the communities in which we work. It’s a reminder that the systems we’ve built to save pets in ordinary times are the same ones saving lives in extraordinary moments like this.
Texans, you are showing the best of who you are, and it’s an honor for Best Friends to be part of this lifesaving work with you.
-Julie
