Best Friends Animal Society is considered one of the leading national animal welfare organizations. Its goal is to “end the killing of dogs and cars in American shelters.” The sanctuary in Utah is located five miles north of Kanab, where nearly thousands of homeless animals have been healed in Dogtown, Cat World, Horse Haven, Marshall’s Piggy Paradise and Bunny House. It’s such a hit with animal lovers that they even have cabins and cottages which guests may share with a deserving cat or dog for a night.
But Best Friends is very picky about which animal groups it works with. It was back in 2014 that the relationship between Best Friends and the Dallas Animal Shelter resulted in Stormy’s mom and dad rehabbing at the sanctuary.
The DAS has been very active in Best Friends’ “No More Homeless Pets Network” and made quite an impression on the organization with its efforts to adoption programs.
In fact Best Friends was so impressed that DAS was “singled out for the No Place Like Home Award.”
According to Best Friend’s Director of National Programs Holly Sizemore, “National advertising, word of mouth, and reduced adoption fees all help get the word out about these promotions and the pets who need homes. But what really drives these adoption promotions — what really helps thousands more dogs and cats find forever homes each year — is the participation of our No More Homeless Pets Network partners.
“Dallas Animal Services in particular stayed persistent in three out of four of the promotions and found homes for an amazing 1,007 dogs and cats. That’s the highest number of adoptions achieved by any participating municipal shelter.
“It’s so humbling to be able to honor the people who give so much of their personal time, energies, and dedication to helping save the lives of homeless pets,” Sizemore said. “Truly, they inspire me every day and give me the confidence to know that we can save them all.”
This type of success story has once again shone a spotlight on the DAS since the arrival of DAS Division Manager Jody Jones and Operations Manager Dr. Cate McManus.
According to Jody, “Participation in the No More Homeless Pets Network and other progressive placement programs are helping us save more lives than ever before. Collaborative efforts, hard work, and support from our community can change the face of municipal sheltering, and we’re proof of that. We are honored by this award and proud to be a Network partner.”