Nearly 2,000 Pets Adopted During National Pet Month Initiative Led by Best Friends Animal Society and Major Brands

From coast to coast, a powerful collaboration supported shelters and brought love home for thousands of families in May
Family adopts a dog at a Best Friends and Walmart event during National Pet Month.
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Best Friends PR Team prteam@bestfriends.org

This National Pet Month, close to 2,000 dogs and cats in shelters found families of their own thanks to a nationwide adoption effort led by Best Friends Animal Society. As Best Friends reports the sharpest drop in U.S. animal shelter deaths since 2020, this initiative has helped communities around the country sustain that progress and get more pets where they belong – out of shelters and into loving homes. 

Throughout the month, Best Friends brought together close to two dozen brands, including Walmart and BOBS from Skechers, and 70 shelter and rescue groups to activate both national and local efforts, including: 

  • 20 adoption events in partnership with Walmart and local shelters in communities across the country where adoption is needed most, resulting in more than 400 adoptions. 
  • Four adoption events in partnership with BOBS from Skechers and local shelters, leading to 35 adoptions. 
  • Adoptions were sponsored at Best Friends locations thanks to Blue Buffalo and Walmart, garnering more than 1,500 adoptions. 
  • A month-long register roundup at Skechers' 600+ retail stores nationwide, which raised over $120,000 for Best Friends and its network of 6,000 shelter and rescue groups. 
  • The Best Friends National Conference, which provided actionable strategies to more than 1,300 attendees from 49 states working to save more pets’ lives in their communities. 
  • In-store promotions at Walmart with leading pet supply brands, through which purchases of select goods triggered a donation back to Best Friends, resulting in over $550,000 raised for Best Friends and shelter and rescue group partners.   
  • Bipartisan Buddies on Capitol Hill, co-hosted by Alexis Booker, wife of New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, and Shelly Armstrong, wife of Oklahoma Senator Alan Armstrong, united lawmakers from across the aisle around fostering and animal welfare, driving 25+ foster sign-ups, adoption interest from attendees, and conversations around the importance of fostering.  

Behind the adoption numbers are real stories of pets and people whose lives were changed by this month-long collaboration. One of them is Thadeus, a dog who spent nearly two years at Rogers Animal Services before meeting his family at the Walmart and Best Friends Pawpalooza event in Northwest Arkansas. Though the shelter did their best for him, pets belong in loving homes, not shelters. After a long wait, Thadeus – and nearly 2,000 other dogs and cats – finally found the joy, comfort, and belonging he deserves.  

“This month has shown us what’s possible when communities, shelters, rescue groups, brands, and lawmakers come together with a shared purpose,” said Julie Castle, CEO, Best Friends Animal Society. “While 68% of shelters around the country are now no-kill*, there is still plenty of work to do in order to save every healthy and treatable pet in shelters. My hope is that National Pet Month has inspired people all over the country to join us in our goal of reaching a day when no dog or cat dies in a shelter simply because they don't have a safe place to call home.” 

For more information about Best Friends and how to get involved in saving pets’ lives beyond National Pet Month, please 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 6,000 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®.