Collaborative adoption events help more pets in Texas

When Rose arrived at Houston Pets Alive! (HPA!) in Houston, Texas, the shy pup with the salt-and-pepper coat was nervous about almost everything. She had spent the first year of her life at South Houston Animal Control and Shelter, a small facility with limited resources and a low adoption rate.

“Some of our partner shelters like South Houston may see only one adoption a month due to low foot traffic,” says Shannon Parker, HPA! executive director.

Looking for a way to help more shelters like South Houston boost adoptions, HPA!, a longtime Best Friends Network Partner, launched the Shelters Save! program in 2024 to help bring pets to where the adopters are. Since its launch, the program has injected new energy into pet adoption throughout the region, and the work will continue throughout this year with help from a Best Friends Rachael Ray grant.

The Shelters Save! program now partners with 18 area shelters, most of them rural with low foot traffic at their facilities.

“What we were finding when we visited these shelters was a ton of really amazing dogs and cats,” Shannon says. “They just didn’t have the visibility, marketing, or foot traffic that we have.”

HPA! uses its centrally located, 14,000-square-foot facility and strong name recognition to bring large numbers of adopters to the animals — and animals to the adopters. Shelters Save! invites five to seven shelters every month to bring their adoptable pets to highly promoted — and very fun — adoption events run by HPA! staff and volunteers.

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“Houston Pets Alive! leaned into what they do best — marketing, events, and adoptions — and used those strengths to support shelters that don’t have the same resources,” says Sophia Proler, Best Friends South Central regional director.

Shelters Save! adoption events focus on pets who have been in shelters for months. Adopters can take a pet home the same day, with volunteers on hand to help match them with the right fit.

“By providing personalized adoption counseling, we’re able to showcase their true personalities and create successful matches," Shannon says.

On event days, the energy is electric. Volunteers, staff, and shelter partners arrive early, hopeful, and ready. Each adoption is celebrated with a bell rung and cheers echoing through the room.

“We're all super excited at these events,” says Gail Cain, HPA! rescue coordinator. “There’s lots of (good) crying going on because we’re all so happy to see these pets get adopted — especially those pets who have been at a shelter for a long time.”

She adds, “We’re all in it together to find homes for these pets. And the shelters become our extended family.”

Shelters like South Houston, which might normally see only one or two adoptions in a month, have sent dogs to Shelters Save! events and watched eight or nine get adopted in a single day — results that keep them coming back event after event.

In some cases, shelters never even had to return to pick up their dogs — every pooch had been adopted. Since the program launched in April 2024, 360 dogs have been adopted — and, beginning in January when cats were added to the events, 22 cats as well.

HPA! was recently awarded a $45,000 Rachael Ray Save Them All Grant from Best Friends, allowing Shelters Save! to continue through 2026. Our goal at Best Friends is for every shelter nationwide to reach no-kill, and supporting shelters by awarding them funds is one way we’re helping shelters and the pets and families they serve.

The impact of Shelters Save! extends well beyond the events themselves, creating connections and strengthening partnerships that help pets throughout the region. Those relationships often open the door to additional support, such as fostering, that gives shy dogs like Rose a second chance to shine.

“When a well-respected organization like Houston Pets Alive! shares its expertise and resources with others, it creates a rising tide that lifts shelters across an entire region,” Sophia says.

And that rising tide carried sweet Rose toward her new home. The HPA! team recognized she was still too shy to shine at a Shelters Save! event. So they took her into their foster program, which gave her a chance to experience the quiet rhythm of home life.

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As Shannon explains, fostering gives dogs who’ve spent months in shelters the chance to relax and show who they really are. And that’s exactly what Rose did. She relaxed, gained confidence, and began showing her affectionate, curious side.

After just a month in a foster home, she was adopted and now spends her days snoozing in sunbeams, snuggling under blankets, and joyfully giving her new family all the slobbery kisses they could ever want (and possibly more). Gail adds, “Her adopters absolutely love her.”

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill. 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.