Governor Kotek Declares July as No-Kill Animal Shelter Month

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Best Friends PR Team prteam@bestfriends.org
Month Long Celebrations will include a statewide adoption weekend and incentive for shelters to help at-risk pets

Governor Tina Kotek has proclaimed July as No-Kill Shelter Month in Oregon, a critical initiative aimed at making Oregon a no-kill* state this year. This effort underlines the state’s commitment to ending the unnecessary killing of dogs and cats throughout the state’s shelters.  
 
Best Friends Animal Society, a leading national animal welfare organization dedicated to saving the lives of dogs and cats in America's shelters and making the entire country no-kill, welcomes this pivotal step in Oregon’s pet lifesaving efforts. This proclamation reaffirms what recent data from Best Friends Animal Society’s shows no-kill shelters are on the rise nationwide due to increasing public demand and support for what no-kill stands for: saving every healthy and treatable pet. 
 
“Best Friends celebrates Oregon’s desire to save the lives of every dog and cat that can be saved,” said Julie Castle, CEO, Best Friends Animal Society. “In 2023, the state designated rescue shelter dogs and cats as the official state pet. If just 6% more Oregonians looking to acquire a dog or cat chose to adopt from a shelter rather than purchase a pet, Oregon would become the largest no-kill state in the country.” 
 
The proclamation encourages Oregon residents to work together to make a positive difference in the lives of the state’s pets by adopting, fostering, volunteering, educating, and generating awareness for these pets in need throughout their communities.  
 
Best Friends’ data also shows that nearly 2 out of 3 U.S. shelters are already no-kill. Nearly half of shelters that are not-yet-no-kill are less than 100 pets away from reaching the milestone. In Oregon, last year 32 of the state’s 41 animal shelters maintained or achieved no-kill, and of the 9 shelters that are not yet no-kill, 6 of them have less than 100 dogs and cats left to save to reach that lifesaving milestone. 
 
“We commend Governor Kotek for leading this essential effort and are confident that the state will achieve no-kill. Now, we’re calling on Oregonians to choose to adopt pets from shelters instead of purchasing from breeders or stores,” said Castle. 
 
To celebrate No-Kill Shelter Month in Oregon from July 25-27, Best Friends is organizing a statewide adoption event to encourage local community members to choose the adoption option. Best Friends will be covering all adoption fees at select Oregon partner shelters to help get dogs and cats out of the state’s shelters and into loving homes.  
 
To learn more about Best Friends data or how to help take Oregon no-kill, visit bestfriends.org. 
 
*No-kill is defined by a 90% save rate for animals entering a shelter and is a meaningful and common-sense benchmark for measuring lifesaving progress. Typically, the number of pets who are suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed is not more than 10% of all dogs and cats entering shelters. For any community to be no-kill, all stakeholders in that community must work together to achieve and sustain that common goal while prioritizing community safety and good quality of life for pets as guiding no-kill principles. This means cooperation among animal shelters, animal rescue groups, government agencies, community members and other stakeholders, all committed to best practices and protocols.   

About Best Friends Animal Society

Best Friends Animal Society is a leading animal welfare organization dedicated to saving the lives of dogs and cats in America's shelters and making the entire country no-kill. Founded in 1984, Best Friends runs lifesaving facilities and programs nationwide in partnership with more than 5,000 shelters and rescue organizations. From our headquarters in Kanab, Utah, we also operate the nation's largest no-kill animal sanctuary — a destination that brings our mission to life for thousands of visitors each year. We maintain the most comprehensive animal sheltering data in the country and make it accessible to the public — empowering communities with critical insights into the needs of their local shelters and how they can help. We believe every dog and cat deserves a home. And we believe that, by working together, we can Save Them All®.