The communities rewriting what’s possible for pets in shelters
Today, more than halfway through 2025, we have so much to celebrate. All across the country, people are making no-kill work for them and their communities. And they’re doing it so boldly, so unapologetically, that we can’t help but stand back in awe. To celebrate them in this win, we’ve been sending out our no-kill plaques for 2024 to shelters that have either reached no-kill in 2024 or maintained it.
We send these plaques every year to honor the communities rewriting what’s possible for animals. But this year hits different. This is the year we set out to prove no-kill can happen nationwide — and these plaques are proof we’re getting there.
Each plaque is more than an award. It’s a badge of honor, a statement. It’s proof that our mission isn’t just an idea — it’s happening. Each of the nearly 1,500 plaques and certificates represents the animals we’re fighting for and the people who are refusing to give up on them.
And yet, even now, I still hear the naysayers. Some insist no-kill won’t happen. Not in big cities, not in small towns, not without deep pockets or big staffs. But every plaque we send is one more way of saying: You’re wrong.
One common excuse? “Too many animals.”
Well, tell that to Lehigh Valley Humane Society. In Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley — a bustling suburban-urban region with one of the highest population densities in the state — the humane society was once struggling with crowded kennels and a save rate of just 68% in 2022. But they refused to settle. They doubled down on community cat programs, built partnerships, and expanded their lifesaving capacity. By 2023, the rate had jumped to 85%. And in 2024, they didn’t just reach no-kill; they blew past it, closing the year at 93%.
On the other end, I hear people say that no-kill couldn’t work in a small town because of lack of access. Even with a population of only around 3,000 people, the City of Castroville, Texas, wouldn’t buy it.
Castroville Animal Control received one of our no-kill plaques for 2024. After they connected with us for the first time in 2023, we awarded them a grant to start their own community cat program. After that, there was no stopping them. Despite being a smaller shelter with limited resources, they continued to implement programs like Dog Day Out to reach that 90% no-kill benchmark this past year. Their desire to keep learning and growing their lifesaving capacity is astounding. Josh and Kerl at Castroville Animal Control stepped up, and their plaque is just a reminder of how far they’ve come.
I also hear the doubters claim that without the funding or the workforce, saving every healthy or treatable animal just isn’t possible. But out west, Newman Animal Services is making waves — even when understaffed. Just outside of the San Francisco metropolitan area is one determined person who refused to wait for “perfect” conditions to save lives. Brianna Anthieny earned a plaque of honor for 2024, but this win has been years in the making.
A community member first, Brianna offers as many programs and services as she possibly can, almost completely on her own, backed only by a loyal group of local volunteers. For years, she’s been saving the lives of dogs and cats at the shelter through sheer determination. Newman Animal Services beat the odds of a small workforce because of their commitment and devotion to their people and animals.
One of Best Friends’ very own, Sophia Proler, went to present one of these plaques in person. In the city of Bedford, Texas, you can count the shelter staff on one hand. As Sophia was preparing for the presentation, she brought enough treats for maybe 10 people. To her surprise, she walked into the community center to greet 50 or so people –– a professional camera crew, their PR team, the entire police force, and their animal advisory board. Rest assured, the lack of treats was quickly overlooked when their plaque was received for being at the forefront of no-kill in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
From coast to coast, this movement is working. When we face the challenges in front of us, we see wins like these — over and over again. And we celebrate those wins with plaques as a reminder to every community: Be proud.
If saving every healthy or treatable animal once felt like a lofty goal, that’s because it was — and that’s exactly why we set it. Big, audacious goals force us to think differently. They push us harder, bring us together, and spark change that never would have happened otherwise.
Because of that ambition, we’re closer than we’ve ever been. Communities that once said “it can’t be done” are proving every day that it can. And these plaques? They’re not just a celebration of how far we’ve come — they’re a call to action. A reminder to keep going, keep fighting, and finish what we started. And I’m honored to do it alongside you.
