Best Friends Animal Society

In May 2025, the Best Friends Network called on animal services officers across the country to pilot innovative, community-based field services tactics through the Paws in the Field Challenge — all with the goal of saving more pets lives by increasing return-to-home (RTH) rates both in-field and in-shelter.  Thanks to the dedication and creativity of the participating organizations, this challenge not only increased RTH outcomes, but also helped to reshape how communities think about lost pets. More than 2,500 pets were reunited with their families in the 91 participating communities. Officers stepped up outside the shelter walls to engage with neighbors, apply new tools and training, and build proactive systems that keep more pets out of shelters and get them back home faster.   One amazing example of this success involves collaboration between two agencies. Challenge participant Asheville Humane Society reported that their animal services colleagues at The City of Asheville Animal Services embraced the proactive RTH practices from the challenge and worked flawlessly with AHS's Community Sheltering team. "The entire team deserves a standing ovation for working so hard on behalf of the animals in our community," says Jennifer Walter, Asheville Humane Society Director of Operations. Asheville Animal Services officers reunited more pets in the field than they admitted to the shelter during the month of the challenge! There were 16 Field RTHs and only 12 stray dog shelter intakes 👏

When communities have the tools to help lost pets, incredible things can happen — like Lola’s story. While her family was on vacation, she went missing. A kind neighbor reported her as lost on Petco Love Lost. When her family realized she was gone, they posted her as found. Thanks to the platform’s AI photo-matching technology, she was reunited with her family without ever entering a shelter. To help more families like Lola’s, Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter in Texas is one of many shelters that direct owners and finders to post lost and found pets to Petco Love Lost to encourage community reunification. As part of the Central Texas Floods response, WCRAS is also partnering with Best Friends to place bilingual yard signs with a QR code linking to Petco Love Lost in impacted areas. It’s one more way shelters can empower the public to help get pets home faster.

For more details, stay tuned for the upcoming Mid-Year Data Report from Best Friends 📈

Rescues are critical to lifesaving. When you take animals from shelters into your care, you free up space for more animals in crisis to come in, and keep the ecosystem flowing. That’s why we launched Rescue Roundtable — a growth intensive created to support rescues in becoming high volume lifesaving partners. In partnership between the Best Friends Network and Heather Owen of One Tail at a Time, this 10-week virtual intensive helped 37 high-impact rescues increase adoptions, strengthen shelter partnerships, and grow their capacity to save more lives. Now the sessions from these 10 weeks are on-demand for you to watch when you want. Learn what works. And put it into practice fast to scale your lifesaving. Get started now: https://lnkd.in/esQRqZED

What role can behavior medications play in the shelter environment? How do teams decide when to use them—and which medications to consider? In this webinar, Dr. Abbie Atteberry DVM, MS, CAWA, Elite FFCP, shares insights on commonly used behavior medications, addresses common concerns, and outlines practical frameworks that shelters can adapt to fit their needs. Register today so you can join us live for The Meds, the Myth, the Legend:  Animal Behavior Medications in the Shelter, on Wednesday, August 13, at 3pm CT: https://lnkd.in/eGAXssku

If your shelter had an emergency like a critical infrastructure failure, a natural disaster, or a staffing shortage, and had to empty every kennel, what would you do? Who could you call for help? Pecos Animal Shelter, a small shelter in West Texas with only ONE employee, faced that exact situation in May when their only employee had a family emergency that pulled her out of state for 10 days. They were already at 300% capacity and had to completely empty the shelter for that time period. They needed help fast. So they reached out to their rescue partner One Tail at a Time West Texas, who mobilized their fosters and transport contacts, as well as regional shelter partners Alpine Animal Services and Presidio Animal Shelter. These four organizations working together moved mountains, and by the deadline, Pecos Animal Shelter was emptied of all animals but three (whose care was arranged). A capacity crisis could have meant that 25+ animals lost their lives, but thanks to collaboration, transparency, coordination, and hustle, that is not how their story ends. These organizations are all part of the Best Friends Shelter Collaborative program and have ALL now achieved no-kill thanks to their work with Best Friends and One Tail at a Time West Texas. We've been proud to support their work 🧡

How do you celebrate when a pet gets adopted? One easy, inexpensive, and fun way is to have your adopter(s) hold up cute adoption signs, take photos, and post them to social media (with their permission of course)! People in the community love to see pets that have been adopted. Check out these cute signs Campbell County Animal Center in Tennessee is using to celebrate adoptions. These were made using a free Canva template. You can find a free Canva template to meet your own adoption event or general adoption needs, and then customize it!

Are you effectively using your data to drive lifesaving efforts in your community? Rhiannon from Eagle County Animal Shelter in Colorado shares how the Management Leadership Certification gave her team the tools to use data, specifically through TNR strategies, to track and improve lifesaving in her community. This robust six month fully online program includes live weekly Zoom calls in a cohort style learning environment. The program is no cost to all selected participants (a $1,500+ value) and is designed specifically for animal services managers, coordinators, and supervisors looking to expand their leadership skills in the field. Submit your application by August 15 at bfas.org/MLCApply 

Several months ago, our corporate partner Birdie & Louie asked the Best Friends Network to help distribute an incredible donation: 2 million cans of cat food. Thanks to their generosity, nearly 100 shelters and rescues received shipments — including The Inner Pup (TIP) in New Orleans. TIP let the community know food was available and had a huge response, including a woman named Tracey. Tracey, who had been living at an abandoned naval base after falling on hard times, had been caring for the many stray cats living there with what little she had. She didn’t know help existed — until she found TIP. With access to food from Birdie & Louie, she not only continued feeding the cats but became a lifeline for others, connecting her unhoused neighbors with pet supplies, veterinary care from The Street Dog Coalition, and TNR support from Trap Dat Cat (38 cats fixed and counting!). Tracey now has a phone, has adopted out several kittens, and continues to be a passionate advocate for the animals around her. This is what a single act of generosity can spark — a ripple of lifesaving change. Thank you, Birdie & Louie, for making this and so many other stories possible.

Think your ordinances are keeping you from saving feline lives? That may not be the case according to a recent study published in the Journal of Shelter Medicine and Community Animal Health. The study examined data from St. Tammany Parish Department of Animal Services from 2015-2023, considering various programs and practices implemented to increase feline lifesaving both: 1️⃣ despite restrictive ordinance provisions, vs. 2️⃣ those associated with subsequent ordinance revisions The data showed that although the ordinance revisions had a positive impact, it was the programming implemented BEFORE those ordinance revisions that truly saved lives. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eikG7YYS