Stories

Couple adopting a kitten from Little Lion Foundation in front of a backdrop that says I adopted a Little Lion

Embed program helps California kitten rescue expand fundraising

Little Lion Foundation gets help in building financial sustainability to save more kittens.

Meet Owen, the kitten who changed everything

Norbert the kitten with three legs, lying on the floor wearing an orange outfit

Life on three limbs can’t slow down this kitten

Norbert came to Best Friends missing part of his back leg, but time in a foster home and surgery helped the kitten seize the moment (and the curtains) without missing a beat.

Watch this foster-win

Tammie Sadler smiling and holding Bella the Maltese-mix puppy

Parvo is no match for Maltese-mix puppy

Bella was just a month old when she came down with parvovirus but with quick action from the shelter and Best Friends, she’s now healthy and in a new home.

Read how Bella gains her health and home

Two puppies on an orange dog bed with some toys around

6 sweet stories for National Puppy Day

A look back at some of our favorite puppy stories from the past year

Dallas, a low-rider pit-bull-terrier-like dog

How a challenged Newark animal shelter reached no-kill

After years of challenges, Associated Humane Societies achieved a 91% save rate in 2021.

Read about their lifesaving changes

Cover of the book, 'No Matter What: Caring for Critters through Hell and High Water'

Book review: ‘No Matter What: Caring for Critters through Hell and High Water’

Critter lady Kelly Meister-Yetter has her hands full in the fourth installment of her popular animal-themed memoirs.

Person bottle feeding a kitten

‘First responder program’ saves newborn kittens

Foster volunteers can sign up care for kittens during the first 24 hours they’re at Best Friends through the first responder program.

See behind the scenes of early kitten care

Two green-winged macaws looking forward

High school aviary is for the (adopted) birds

Farmington High School aviary is a learning opportunity for students and a fun home for adopted birds.

Read about one-of-a-kind student experience

Child snuggling with a gray dog in a parking lot at the Super Adoption

Bilingual outreach results in 200 pet adoptions in south Texas 

Two events in the Rio Grande Valley helped dogs and cats go from homeless to home.

See how everything is bigger in Texas

Noodle the pug lying in his bed with his tongue sticking out

5 inspiring stories of animal-loving kindness

Five people who turned their love of animals into something amazing.

Get your daily dose of kindness

Best Friends Magazine

Candace lying next to Hedwig the foster cat

Foster volunteer steps in for a shy cat

Hedwig was so scared when he arrived at Best Friends that he’d only venture out at night, but it took him only three hours to bask in the sunlight of a foster home.

See how fostering saves lives

Alucard the kitten being held by a person

Ailing kitten gets help when he needs it and a kitten friend, too

Alucard had a serious upper respiratory infection but with help from Best Friends he defied the odds to thrive.

Read how Alucard was saved

Pepper the dog, outside on the grass, smiling

Animal stories to fill you with hope

Here are five stories about amazing acts of kindness to lift your spirits and remind you that love always wins.

See what our partners are doing

Best Friends Magazine

Caregiver Brianna Vlach with Eagle the rat

Meet the caregiver: Brianna Vlach

Brianna Vlach is a champion of misunderstood animals. Whether they’re domestic, exotic or wild, she and her crew at Wild Friends give them what they need to thrive.

Calico community cat with ear-tip outside by a chain-link fence

Embed program helps cats and people who love them in North Carolina

Through TNVR, training and humane deterrents, Best Friends and Franklin County Animal Services are keeping neighborhood cats where they belong ― in their community.

North Carolina cats saved through TNVR