2025 moments that carried an entire movement forward

As the year comes to a close, as the roads quiet and the air chills and we all gather with family, there’s one word that keeps tugging at me to best describe these past 12 months: enlivened.

You could feel it in the way shelter directors talked about their teams’ work. You could see it in the small-town volunteer who suddenly had a line of neighbors wanting to help or in the urban shelter that stopped apologizing for its limitations and started naming its ambitions out loud.

All year long, I watched the same spark ignite in different corners of the country. A shelter in the Midwest rethinking its intake process after one honest conversation. A city council on the East Coast finally asking the right questions. A first-time foster caregiver in Texas turning a shy dog into someone’s best friend. Maybe these moments didn't make national headlines, but together they formed the storyline of this banner year: This movement continues to rise.

That was the defining thread of the year for me. Because when you zoom out, the data simply reflects what was already happening on the ground.

Across the country, the national save rate held steady at 83% — not because the road was smooth but because people refused to give up. At the halfway point of the year, shelters were already saving 19% more pets than they had during the same period in 2024.

Those numbers, while they sparkle on the page, represent something ultimately, and beautifully, human. They represent the morning someone walked into a shelter and walked out with a cat who waited patiently for months. The long evening a staff member spent working with a timid dog. The neighbor who said yes to fostering. The family who came to an event unsure whether they’d meet the right dog for them and left with a new member of the household.

When I think about the big adoption moments of this year, I think about the energy. In Los Angeles, more than 400 pets went home during Best Friends Super Adoption. It was a lively event that spread hope and enthusiasm across the Rose Bowl. In Northwest Arkansas, another 200 animals went home with new families. The air was thick with gratitude. The Petco Love Mega Adoption Event in Houston welcomed 969 pets into new homes, and if you’ve ever stood in the middle of that joy, you know the word “mega” barely does it justice. And on one shared weekend, Walmart stores in seven cities opened their doors to pets and people alike, and 259 animals found safety, love, and a fresh start.

These moments were wins because they’re people opening their hearts and homes, one friend at a time. They’re reminders that compassion doesn’t necessarily announce itself with fanfare. Although these big adoption events are festival-like, the adoption moment — the compassion — still shows up quietly in the form of a clipboard, a leash, or an unexpected conversation with someone who didn’t plan on falling in love that day.

This year marked a turning point, too.

Two out of every three shelters in America are now no-kill. Let that sink in. A decade ago, that kind of progress felt like a distant shoreline. Today, it’s the ground we’re walking on.

Twenty-two states issued official proclamations supporting no-kill. That means governors, legislators, and entire communities are not only paying attention but truly embracing lifesaving as part of their state identity. Something in the public consciousness has shifted — people are raising their hands across this great nation to help save pets in shelters.

Best Friends is now working alongside more than 5,500 shelters and rescue organizations. And, you know, I think about that figure quite often — the image of so many people, in so many places, committed to the same idea: that every pet who can be saved should be saved. Collaboration has become our North Star. Innovation has become our muscle memory. And no-kill is becoming the shared language of communities that want to do better for their animals.

I think of this year as a mosaic. Each little tile is a decision, a partnership, a kindness, or perhaps it’s a challenge met with creativity or a setback met with determination. Alone, each piece is small. Together, they create a picture so much bigger than any one of us. Every ordinance we helped strengthen, every shelter supported, every family who said yes — they’re each a colorful, glittering piece of this glorious mosaic of lifesaving that we, together, have crafted.

As we move toward a new year, I feel a sense of grounded optimism, the kind that comes from knowing what this country is capable of. This year showed us that we’re not facing challenges alone. We’re part of a movement that has learned how to adapt, persevere, and keep compassion at the center of every decision.

To everyone who played a role in shaping the story of this past year — whether you adopted, fostered, advocated, volunteered, donated, or simply believed — thank you. You are part of the reason I believe, more than ever, that the future we’re building together is not a distant dream but a steadily approaching reality.

Here’s to the work behind us, the work ahead of us, and the shared belief that every life is worth saving — today, tomorrow, and every day after that.

-Julie

P.S. Keep an eye on my blog in the early weeks of the new year. You don’t want to miss what’s coming.

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