Emergency Response Stories

Emilie and Haley holding a litter of kittens

Helping hands for pets in 2 Florida shelters

Respite for animal shelter staff who have been working nonstop to care for pets im...
Read about this much-needed assistance
Feature
Person holding a puppy

Saving dogs and cats caught in Hurricane Helene’s wake

Best Friends is in the Southeast to help animal shelters cope with unprecedented c...
Helping animal shelters with needs and transports
Feature
Person hugging a small white and tan dog in a blue blanket in the hallway between dog kennels

Best Friends volunteers help in animal shelters

Trained volunteers are dispatched across the country and roll up their sleeves to ...
Learn more
Best Friends Magazine
Smiling person surrounded by baby Quaker parrots, including one on her head

Animals from closed zoo find safety at Best Friends

After a zoo in Puerto Rico closed, hundreds of animals needed new places to live —...
Their futures are bright
Feature
Sophia Proler selfie with Gus the black and white dog following the tornado in Pasadena

Teamwork saves pets after Texas tornado

A tornado blew the roof off Pasadena Animal Shelter, but quick action and collabor...
Cooperation helps save lives
Best Friends Magazine
Rain the dog lying on a couch upside-down next to a person petting her and working on a laptop

Meet pets rescued from Hurricane Ian

Here are just a few of the more than 370 cats and dogs Best Friends has moved out ...
Read their stories
Feature
Smiling person wearing Best Friends branded clothes next to a dog in a crate in a transport van

Safe harbor for pets in the path of Hurricane Ian

Bringing complete strangers together to form one incredible, lifesaving team....
Read how transport helped
Julie Castle Blog
Person working in the back of a transport van with crates containing cats following Hurricane Ian

Helping pets impacted by Hurricane Ian

Teams work nonstop to assist dogs and cats in Florida shelters...
Read the latest
Best Friends Magazine
Memorial-Larry-Donna-Hampton5.jpg

How a dog and cat rescued after Hurricane Katrina changed their families’ lives

Baxter the cat and Larry, a big black dog, recently passed away, but not before fi...
Feature
Hurricane-Ida-SanAntonioRescuebyJenniferHayes.jpg

Best Friends responds to Hurricane Ida

Hundreds of pets find safety after the storm, and more help is on the way...
Feature
Embed-HarlingenTerri.jpg

How shelter embed programs are saving pets’ lives

Saving the lives of pets means working together to share knowledge and solutions, ...
Best Friends Magazine
Insight-KeithSlimTolagai4054MW.jpg

Insight on pets of the Navajo Nation

Q and A with Keith Slim-Tolagai, Best Friends Navajo Nation program specialist...
Meet Keith Slim-Tolagai
Feature
texas-storm-imgpsh_mobile_save-4.jpg

Best Friends reaches out to every shelter in Texas to help homeless pets

Best Friends and partners help both people and their pets during unprecedented fri...
Feature
Hurricane-Katrina-cat-adoption-Wrinkles-2-Courtesy-Jenny-Faber.jpg

Senior Hurricane Katrina survivor cat goes home

Fifteen years after Hurricane Katrina, one of the last surviving cats at the Sanct...
Feature
Hurricane-Dorian-WRAP-UP-people-loading-crates-courtesy-Charleston-Animal-Society.jpg

Quick action saved hundreds of dogs and cats in Hurricane Dorian's path

Best Friends Animal Society and other shelters and rescues work together to help a...
Feature