Happy dog sitting outside on steps next to a person

Advocacy for animals: defending the pets who need it most

As a member of your community, you have the power to create positive change for cats and dogs by using your voice, your vote and your signature.

All around the country, cats and dogs who enter shelters are at risk of not making it out alive due to housing restrictions and other outdated laws in our communities.

How can you help change that? By teaming up with fellow community members and encouraging elected officials to support pet-friendly laws and policies. 

Silhouette of two dogs, cat and kitten

Take action to help save homeless pets

Together with people like you, Best Friends is working every day — on local, state and national levels — to advocate for the rights of pets and the people who love them.

We’re focusing on helping the pets most in need by shutting down puppy mills, protecting cats who live outdoors in their communities, ending breed-restrictive legislation and supporting pet-friendly housing. Your help is critical on these four issues:

Person relaxing with a big dog on a couch

Promoting pet-friendly housing

Ensure the availability of more pet-inclusive housing to keep pets with their families.
Promote Pet-Friendly Housing
Calico community cat with a tipped ear

Protecting cats in the community

Keep outdoor cats in your community safe.
Help Cats in Your Community
Smiling brindle and white pit bull type dog outside on a leash

Ending breed restrictions

Ensure that every dog gets a chance to have a safe and happy life.
End Breed Restrictions
Person holding a Coker spaniel backward over her shoulder

Eliminating puppy mills

Help save the lives of dogs by helping to stop puppy mills.
Stop Puppy Mills

See all the actions you can take »

 

Person wearing a Best Friends 'Save Them All' T-shirt and rubber gloves holding a dilute tortoiseshell kitten

Get the tools you need to advocate

From shareable social graphics to comprehensive advocacy toolkits, here’s everything you need to start advocating for pets in your community.

Maybe you already have a great idea about what it takes to make positive changes for animals, but we want to give you the tools you’ll need to be an even more effective advocate. 

Be an Effective Advocate

Ready to take action right now?

You can make a difference right now by adding your voice to active advocacy campaigns.

Stop puppy mills

Join a local effort to pass a humane pet sales ordinance.
Small white Maltese dog sitting in a person's lap

End breed-restrictive practices

Urge your state’s insurance commission to protect responsible dog owners.
Happy pit bull type dog outside on a blanket in the grass with two smiling people behind her

Help cats where they are

Join a local effort to improve lifesaving for cats.
Black and white community cat with an ear-tip
meow woof pattern - slate

 

 

Need help or have a question? Contact the Best Friends advocacy team by emailing legislative@bestfriends.org. 

 

 

Best Friends Animal Society logo mark

About Best Friends Animal Society

Best Friends is working to end the killing of dogs and cats in U.S. shelters in part by getting more pets out of shelters and into loving homes.

We’ve come a long way since the first known city reached no-kill in 1994, and now we’re closer than ever to making the entire country no-kill. Today, nearly 2,500 shelters are no-kill throughout the U.S. — and over 600 more are just 100 pets or fewer away from reaching that milestone.

Best Friends is committed to working with passionate people like you to save homeless pets through adoption, volunteering, fostering, and advocacy. In addition to our lifesaving centers around the U.S, we also founded and run the nation's largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals.

Working together, we can save homeless pets in our communities and secure a better future for our best friends. Together, we will bring the whole country to no-kill.