Faces of No-Kill: Dog meets her kindred spirit
Have you ever had a “soul pet”? Of course, every pet is special and capable of unconditional love. But sometimes, one comes into your life whom you connect with on a deeper level, a pet who can sense exactly how you’re feeling. You can’t explain it, but you can almost tell what they’re thinking, too.
That’s the kind of bond Will shares with his soul dog, Minnie.
This story is a part of our Faces of No-Kill series, highlighting the journey of pets who lost their place to call home. These pets are thriving today thanks to animal shelters that said yes to lifesaving with a community that found a way to save them. Best Friends’ goal is for every shelter and every community to reach no-kill, and this story shows why that’s so important.
Meeting Minnie
Will met Minnie at the Best Friends Pet Resource Center in Northwest Arkansas. The sweet, shy girl with a sleek black coat originally came from a shelter to make space for more dogs in need. She’d been adopted twice before, but those homes just weren’t the right fit.
Making magic happen for a shy dog
Best Friends staff and foster volunteers worked with Minnie, helping her learn to trust and build confidence. Still, she tended to shy away from potential adopters — but then Will arrived. He saw beneath her shyness.
Third time’s the charm
After Will left the pet resource center, he couldn’t get Minnie off his mind. So he came back the next day to see her again and get to know her better. On his third visit, Will knew he couldn’t leave without her. Initially, he only took her home on a temporary basis, but he soon realized that Minnie was there to stay.
Loving a shy dog: An adopter’s story
Today, Minnie spends her days playing with toys, taking “walkies,” snoozing, and soaking up all the snuggles and belly rubs possible.
Will says he relates to Minnie because he knows what it’s like to feel lonely and like you don’t belong. But neither of them has to feel like that because now they have each other — just a dog and her soul human.
Let's make every shelter and every community no-kill
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.
You can help save homeless pets
You can help end the killing in shelters and save the lives of homeless pets when you foster, adopt, and advocate for the dogs and cats who need it most.
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