A real-life Hallmark movie for shelter pets

Make yourself cozy because this story has all the makings of an enchanting Hallmark movie: Open with a picture-perfect small town, meet the main character and their love interest, introduce a little holiday magic, and finish with a happily-ever-after. In this case, our main characters are a dog named Wiley and a man who was smitten. And we’re headed to Chickasha Animal Shelter in a quaint Oklahoma town.

Every winter, the charming town of Chickasha, Oklahoma, transforms into Christmas Town USA. Millions of lights sparkle across the city, visitors stroll through dazzling displays, and holiday magic seems to fill every corner.

But Wiley didn't know any of that. Months before the first Christmas lights flickered on, the shy pup with fur the color of hot-buttered rum arrived at another place in town where people create holiday magic all year long: Chickasha Animal Shelter, a Best Friends Network Partner.

Like many small shelters, Chickasha doesn't have endless resources. With only two employees, including shelter manager Layce Kepp, and nearly 1,000 pets coming through the doors each year, every day requires a mix of grit, determination, and creativity.

"Layce's just a powerhouse," says Wendy French, a Best Friends staff member who works with shelters in the region.

But the limited staffing, resources, and volunteers meant dogs like Wiley often had longer stays in the shelter. So staff wanted to create more ways for pets like him to move into good homes faster, which is one of the reasons they started working with Best Friends.

"When I started working with Chickasha, Layce and her staff were already doing so much on their own," says Wendy. "They just needed a little extra help, and that included giving them grant funding to provide services for the community and help them save more pets."

Grants like this are just one of the ways Best Friends is helping shelters nationwide reach no-kill. The grant helped the shelter launch a more robust foster-to-adopt program, giving people what they needed to foster pets before they officially decided to adopt them. Wiley was one of those pets who benefited from this.

A man began regularly visiting Wiley, interested in adopting him.

"Wiley was a little nervous at first, but pretty soon he was sitting on his lap, always looking so happy,” recalls Layce. “He asked us what supplies he needed to adopt Wiley and said that he was saving for the pet deposit required by his landlord, which was four or five hundred dollars."

Each visit, he told staff he was still saving and hoped Wiley would still be there when he had enough for the deposit. Instead, Layce offered another option.

Because the Best Friends grant had allowed the shelter to expand its foster-to-adopt program, she asked whether his landlord would allow Wiley to come home as a foster pet first. If everything worked out, the shelter would also help cover part of the pet deposit.

Faces of No-Kill: Homeless dog gets storybook ending

He got the all-clear from his landlord, and staff sent Wiley home with a cozy crate, food, bowls, toys, and other supplies to help set them both up for success. Two weeks later, he returned to make the adoption official. Wiley was home for good.

"Wiley's adoption was very much a success thanks to the extra grant money for the pet deposit and supplies," says Layce. "We would have never been able to pay that in the past.” And, adding to the magic, a kind person at the shelter that day offered to cover Wiley's adoption fee.

Wiley was home, but the magic didn’t stop there. The grant also helped fund a variety of programs to help keep pets in homes and out of the shelter, including spay and neuter vouchers, a community pet pantry, and a new finder-to-foster program.

"They've had a lot of success with the finder-to-foster program, especially for kittens," notes Wendy. "Young kittens are fragile and often end up getting sick in shelters.”

Faces of No-Kill: Storybook ending for a senior dog

Instead, the shelter provides people who find kittens in the community with the supplies, educational materials, and guidance they need to safely foster the kittens at home until they're old enough for spay or neuter surgery, vaccinations, and adoption. With a little support, community members become part of the lifesaving effort.

All these programs added up to a big win: Chickasha Animal Shelter reached a 90% save rate, the benchmark for no-kill.

Every winter, millions of lights draw people to Christmas Town USA looking for a little holiday magic. At Chickasha Animal Shelter, there’s magic year-round.

Adoptable pets are going to good homes faster. More foster families are opening their hearts to pets in need. And a dog named Wiley is now cozied up with the person who knew they were meant to be.

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.