When teamwork saves pets

Across the country, Best Friends Network Partners are proving that teamwork makes miracles happen for pets in shelters. Each story is a testament to compassion, collaboration, and the power of connection. Here are a few recent highlights that show what’s possible when people come together for pets.

The Reiffs were grieving the loss of Rufus, their beloved rat terrier-Chihuahua mix whom they adopted in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2016. Rufus had been a huge part of every major milestone in their lives for nine years. When he passed away unexpectedly in April, the Reiffs were heartbroken.  

Although the family wasn’t quite ready to adopt again, Jillian Reiff and her daughter found themselves casually scrolling through photos of adoptable dogs online at Muttville Senior Dog Rescue. Muttville is a nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the way the world thinks about and treats older dogs and to creating better lives for them through rescue, foster, adoption, and hospice.

One dog in particular on Muttville’s social media page stopped them in their tracks — because he looked almost exactly like Rufus. In no time at all, they were meeting the dog, named Ziggy, then adopting him. As the family got to know Ziggy, they realized that not only were his looks similar to those of Rufus — so were his mannerisms, his woofs, his temperament around the kids, and more.

Curious about these similarities, the Reiffs decided to have a DNA test done for Ziggy; they had done a DNA test on Rufus a while ago. When the results of the two tests were compared, something astonishing was revealed: Ziggy is Rufus’ father! The family had adopted the dad of the beloved pup they had just lost. The pieces of the puzzle had clicked into place for Rufus, Ziggy, and the members of the Reiff family, who love both of them so much.

When an Arizona family with four dogs experienced multiple major life challenges, their dogs ended up at Holbrook Animal Care & Control (HACC) despite the family’s best attempts to keep them at home. Two of the dogs, Teddy and Ellie, stayed at the shelter while the other two, Cookie and Isaac, were taken in by a rescue group. Within a month, the family members were back on their feet, so HACC animal services officer Brandon Smigiel visited them and helped Teddy and Ellie return home from the shelter. Then, he coordinated with the rescue group to get Cookie and Isaac back home, too.

Park County Animal Shelter in Wyoming has partnered with Cody Veterinary Hospital on an initiative called Farm Cat Frenzy, offering affordable spay/neuter services, vaccines, and microchips for local cats. When Jacque needed help with cats on her property, she remembered the positive experience she’d had when she adopted a pet from that shelter, so she reached out for assistance. After a local church provided a $1,000 grant to cover about 14 surgeries, the shelter trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and returned Jacque’s cats through the initiative.

In Victoria County, Texas, a lost senior dog named Weiner didn’t have to spend even one night in a shelter. The 16-year-old dog had slipped away from home when a child left the door open. Weiner’s person, frantic, filed a lost-pet report after spotting a Victoria County Animal Services lost-pet sign and scanning the QR code (thanks to a partnership with the Best Friends Network and Petco Love Lost). A few hours later, a neighbor found Weiner, saw the same sign, scanned the code, and matched the report — getting the sweet pup home before sundown.

This article was originally published in the November/December 2025 issue of Best Friends magazine. Want more good news? Become a member and get stories like this six times a year.

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill in 2025. 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.