Outreach and Embed Programs Stories

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 heartwor...
Embed program saves lives
Best Friends Magazine
Staff from the Inyo County Animal Shelter outside with a couple dogs

Helping a small rural animal shelter sustain no-kill

In Inyo County, California, ninth largest county in the nation, a small animal she...
Learn what they're doing
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Two dogs outside in the grass in a playgroup, one whose tong is hanging out

Magic of playgroups unveils dogs’ hidden sociability

A five-day seminar for 13 greater Houston shelters showed that even dogs who haven...
Learn about this lifesaving program
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Monster the senior pug, smiling with tongue out

Embracing change saves more pets at Arizona shelter

Best Friends is helping city officials in Bullhead City transform the culture of i...
Making the shelter more customer friendly
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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...
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 Friend...
See how small changes are making a big affect
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Turtle the kitten wearing her protective helmet

Faces of No-Kill: Kitten with serious head wound gets custom helmet

Shelter collaboration, community support, and TLC help Turtle the kitten survive a...
Joint effort helps save special kitten
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Smiling person holding a large puppy outside some dog kennels

California adoption events send dogs and cats home

Collaboration among Best Friends, the local community, and central California anim...
Read how they're working together
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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 socia...
Proof that initial dog labels can be flawed
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Calico cat lying on a cat tree in the Benson Animal Shelter shed

Keeping cats cool

Benson Animal Shelter in Arizona gets a new climate-controlled space for cats, plu...
Read how networking helped
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Community service officer Sean Bus giving a thumbs up sign with Wilson the pug

The right tool reunites lost pug with family

The day after officer Sean Bus received a microchip scanner, he put it straight to...
Wilson's now reunited with his family
Best Friends Magazine
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 Fr...
See how it supports shelter staff and animals
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Group of people surrounding a dog outside a wire crate

How animal services officers are saving more pets

Best Friends works with animal services officers to reduce shelter intake and reun...
See how their work affects no-kill 2025
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Person wearing a dog T-shirt with arm around a smiling pit-bull-type dog

Historic victory for dogs in Florida

Passage of legislation moves the state one step closer to a day when no breed can ...
Learn how the legislation was overturned
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Two brown puppies wearing shirts sitting on a chair

Supporting California animal shelters to reach no-kill

Best Friends’ shelter collaborative program leverages one shelter’s no-kill status...
Read about their new lifesaving efforts
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