No-Kill 2025 Stories

Smiling person rubbing the belly of a dog lying on his side

Killing in shelters would end if 6% more people adopted

Best Friends takes over Times Square to bring love home....
Help get more dogs and cats out of shelters and into homes
Julie Castle Blog
Emily Hirtle in a vehicle holding a small black puppy with a gloved hand

Meeting the challenge of saving pets in Mississippi

Best Friends is implementing proven strategies at the Rankin County Animal Shelter...
Shelter save rate increasing
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Selfie of Kylie LaVigne hugging Koda the dog

Spirited stray dog loses leg but gains a new home

When the word went out that Koda needed a foster home following surgery, Kylie vol...
Now they're a happy family
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Person at eye level with an orange tabby cat

New programs help save more dogs and cats in Nebraska

Best Friends and Nebraska Humane Society are working together on programs and stra...
They now hope to be a guiding light to other organizations
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Best Friends marketing intern Jazmin Aguilar holding a dog wearing a pink Adopt Me bandanna

Intern makes lasting impact for Brownsville pets

Through her shelter marketing internship with Best Friends, Jazmin is helping home...
Residents encouraged to get involved
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Person bending down to kiss Pluto the puppy

Tennessee animal shelter’s rapid turnaround

Rhea County Animal Shelter’s save rate hit the no-kill threshold four months in a ...
Embed program offers a solid foundation
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Person walking a heeler-type dog outside

Public support is the answer to Los Angeles Animal Services' crisis

Angelenos are a largely untapped reservoir of support for shelter pets....
Urge Los Angeles Animal Services to engage the public
Julie Castle Blog
Mama the dog with a smiling woman

A new life for dogs rescued from dogfighting

29 dogs put cruelty in the past and begin new lives after being saved in South Car...
Helping the underdogs
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A group of people outside the Sevier County Animal Shelter in Utah

No-kill in Sevier County: A big win for dogs and cats

Shelby Jackman made it her mission to bring her rural county shelter in Utah to no...
Establishing a network for lifesaving
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The governor of Utah, Gov. Spencer Cox, holding the written declaration as well as a kitten with Best Friends CEO Julie Castle behind him

Gov. Cox declares 2024 No-Kill Shelter Year in Utah

A commitment on a government level to reach no-kill by year’s end...
Utah is so close to no-kill
Julie Castle Blog
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 t...
Animals' lives saved
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Smiling person wearing winter clothing happily hugging a tabby cat

Key to sending pets home is in the numbers

How South Suburban Humane Society used information from Best Friends’ Shelter Pet ...
They're turning data into action
Best Friends Magazine
Person wearing rubber gloves and holding an orange and white kitten next to a row of kennels in a shelter

Saving lives with machine learning and artificial intelligence

Let’s talk data from 2023....
Updated shelter data from last year
Julie Castle Blog
Person wearing scrubs and rubber gloves petting a cat on a scale

Shelter converts crematorium to dog, cat healing area

The removal of an obsolete crematorium symbolizes Animal Rescue League of Berks Co...
Their no-kill philosophy is firmly in place
Best Friends Magazine
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, bande...
Read how they did it
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