5 lifesaving wins you might’ve missed...

Wow, the days are getting shorter, and there’s a chill in the air. It’s almost October — where did summer go? The deer returning to Angel Canyon don’t lie, so I must accept the fact of fall.

While summer may have snuck away from me, a lot happened over the past few months that deserves a shout-out. So here are five cool developments from the no-kill movement that might have snuck by you. In these small towns across the country, we are seeing big changes indicating much bigger trends in lifesaving ...

With a whiteboard and three different colored markers, Sam B. Coffey Animal Shelter is proving how straightforward transparency in lifesaving can be.

Johnney Ehrlich, the sole animal services officer in Junction, Texas, explains: “Every time I bring an animal in, I mark a plus-one in blue. And when they leave — whether through adoption or to a rescue — it’s a minus-one in green. Blue is in; green is out. And red is ... well, you understand.” Red marks euthanasia.

In May 2024, there was only one red mark.

Visiting the shelter and seeing what a 94% save rate looks like in real time is powerful — it's something the entire community can take pride in and be part of. And they are. With growing local attention, Johnney is finally getting the help he needs, thanks to a dedicated team of volunteers.

In 2024, Kenai Animal Shelter in Southcentral Alaska was temporarily unable to maintain no-kill. When this happens, it can be the result of many different factors, such as a state’s jurisdiction or even access to funds. In this case, it was an Alaskan statewide regulatory policy that created barriers in community cat programming and trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR).

With the help of a Rachael Ray grant, Clear Creek Cat Rescue (CCCR) was able to take in cats from Kenai Animal Shelter. CCCR has a barn cat program already in place, which now includes taking in Kenai’s unsocialized cats. In just five months, Kenai Animal Shelter was able to achieve no-kill once more. There are now working cats all throughout Southcentral Alaska who might have otherwise been killed, and the cats at Kenai Animal Shelter have a better chance at finding a home.

Creating community-driven solutions for community problems: That’s exactly what the Humane Society of South Coastal Georgia (HSSCG) set out to do when they took a closer look at their data and realized that transferring animals to other rescue groups would help to exponentially increase their lifesaving potential.

By collaborating with other organizations that can assist with moving pets and raising enough money to buy a vehicle of their own, along with onboarding volunteer drivers, HSSCG has been able to save countless lives. In fact, they’ve doubled the number of animals they can move to other areas where they’re more likely to be adopted — and increased their overall shelter admissions capacity as a result.

Organizations like HSSCG that are located in areas facing larger numbers of homeless pets can benefit greatly by moving pets to regions with lower populations of adoptable pets and greater demand. Responsible transports like these require careful consideration. An organization receiving the animals should be saving all the saveable animals already in their care before bringing in new animals of the same species from outside the community. And making these responsible collaborations happen is what has brought HSSCG so much success with their lifesaving practices.

“Not only are we able to help more animals with transport partnerships,” says Staci White, HSSCG director of marketing and communications, “but we are giving futures to animals who otherwise would not have one.”

Some dogs face extra challenges getting adopted — not through any fault of their own. While they may arrive at a shelter full of zest and excitement, the environment can wear on their spirit.

At Nebraska Humane Society, staff wanted to brighten the dogs’ moods. They got creative and launched Barks and Rec, a program that gives dogs a day outside the shelter to refresh and recharge. The results have been remarkable: Dogs in the program were adopted, on average, nine days sooner.

And just like Leslie Knope from Parks and Rec, the staff’s heightened enthusiasm and dedication to their mission is what increased adoptions and brought the shelter to no-kill in 2024.

The Best Friends Network ran the Return-to-Home challenge in September 2024 to help lost dogs find their way back home faster, and the results were staggering. With resources and guidance from Best Friends, shelter and rescue partners got straight to work implementing innovative strategies to help save lives in their communities. Several grants were awarded to our network partners for outstanding work in bringing more pets home — and helping them stay there.

One group stood out for truly embracing best practices: Aggieland Humane Society in Brazos County, Texas — home of Texas A&M. Using the resources provided by Best Friends, they focused on educating their team to challenge some common assumptions.

Katrina Ross, director of Aggieland Humane Society, says, “Some of our frontline staff, when the pet is coming in, would say things like, ‘Well, this pet has fleas, so obviously (the family) can’t care for the animal, and it shouldn’t go back home to them.’” Even with the best intentions, this kind of thinking can unintentionally harm both the pet and family.

Through the resources, Katrina learned the importance of pausing before making judgments. Instead of assuming the worst about a person — such as thinking they neglect their animal because the animal has fleas — she encourages her team to consider that the person might simply lack knowledge or resources to address the issue. This shift in perspective helps promote understanding and supports keeping pets in their loving homes when they are otherwise well cared for.

Well, there you have it –– highlights from this summer as we turn a new leaf. I hope these stories have inspired you to consider the creative and practical solutions for saving more animals. By learning from data, sharing what works, and celebrating our local heroes, we can move closer to no-kill nationwide –– one rescue at a time. This fall, check out our pet lifesaving dashboard to see what’s happening in your state.

Whether or not you choose to accept the incumbent seasonal change, I hope you will celebrate all the incredible lifesaving changes that these individuals are making across the country. And maybe implement a few yourself. Before you know it, I’ll be recapping the summer lifesaving updates again next year –– and you could be top of the list.

-Julie

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