Maddie’s Fund Stories

Person holding a large black dog with upright ears

A community unites for the good of its pets and people

With support from Best Friends, the city of Roswell, New Mexico, is reviewing how it manages animal services by making changes to send more animals home.
Embed program making a difference
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Two people outside wearing protective gear doing a medical procedure with a tube and swqb

Helping animal shelter staff handle disease outbreaks

Best Friends’ national shelter medicine team guides animal welfare organizations through infectious disease outbreaks to save more lives.
Animals' lives saved
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The six people of the surgical team for the Brownsville spay-neuter-a-thon around a surgical table with a sedated black cat

Pet spay-neuter-a-thon erases backlog in Brownsville

A dedicated group of veterinarians and vet techs, organized by Best Friends, banded together over 10 days to spay or neuter more than 350 dogs and cats.
Read how they did it
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Baby Girl the white dog, smiling with tongue out, lying in green grass

Faces of No-Kill: Baby Girl in Brownsville, Texas

Best Friends’ embed program supports a Texas shelter in treating dogs for heartworms.
Embed program saves lives
Best Friends Magazine
Two people drying a small puppy with a towel

Amazing progress at Brownsville animal shelter

With guidance from Best Friends, a Texas shelter dramatically increased the number of pets saved in six months, despite a midstream distemper outbreak.
Read how things have improved
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Mojo the dog in the lap of one of his adopters

How a Tennessee animal shelter is saving more pets

Rhea County Animal Shelter is making strides toward no-kill as part of Best Friends’ national shelter embed program.
See how small changes are making a big affect
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Taylor Hill with Kiba the dog in her lap

Playgroups at Arkansas shelter let a shy dog shine

Kiba was standoffish around people, but around other dogs she proved she’s a social butterfly ready to put her best side on display.
Proof that initial dog labels can be flawed
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Smiling person looking at a cat they're holding in animal shelter setting

Q&A: Best Friends national shelter embed program

Michelle Logan answers questions about a one-of-a-kind program that places Best Friends staff in animal shelters to support them reaching no-kill.
See how it supports shelter staff and animals
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Smiling person scratching the chin of a brown and white dog

The new face of animal services in Fresno

Best Friends embed program assists Fresno Humane Animal Services in setting up a city animal services program.
See how the animals and people benefit
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Two people holding puppies standing in front of dog kennels

Pine Bluff Animal Control makes huge lifesaving strides

Best Friends embed program helps Arkansas shelter save more dogs and cats.
Read about their big changes
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Sadie the black and white pit bull type dog, smiling with tongue out

A new day for animals at an Alabama shelter

Prattville/Autauga Humane Society welcomes Best Friends embed staff to assist them in moving closer to no-kill.
Efforts increase their save rate
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Mac the brindle dog being reunited with is family at Fresno Humane Animal Services

Fresh start for pets in Fresno

City takes on the goal to save more animals
Read about their lifesaving grant
Best Friends Magazine
Luna the cat in a kennel

Transformative changes for cats at York County SPCA

Pennsylvania animal shelter revamps its approach to saving cats with assistance from Best Friends embed team.
Collaboration increases save rate
Best Friends Magazine
Smiling person holding a small black kitten, next to a mobile home

Community conversations help cats in a Louisiana parish

With guidance from the Best Friends national embed program, staff at St. Tammany Animal Shelter talked with neighbors to get them on board to help save cats.
Read about their lifesaving programs
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Family adopting two cats

5 animal shelters with soaring cat save rates

Best Friends’ embed program is helping these shelters save more cats than ever before.
Read about their successes
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