Lacey Wright

English 2010
September 20, 2017

Best Friends Animal Society

Most of us have heard the term mans best friend. According to Wikipedia this

refers to the millennia long history of loyalty and companionship between humans and

dogs. While not all of us share this belief, there are groups out there that do, and do not

just limit the phrase to dogs but feel it is true about all animals. The Best Friends Animal

Society, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and animal welfare society.

(Bestfriends.org)

(Photo: bestfriends.org)

The Best Friends Animal Society and Sanctuary was founded by a group of

friends in Kanab, Utah in 1984 and is the only national animal welfare organization

focused exclusively on ending the killing of dogs and cats in Americas shelters. (Best

Friends Animal Society)

The primary goal of Best Friends is to save them all and by the year 2025 reaching the

status of No Kill nationwide. No kill does not mean an end to euthanasia, there are

some instances where it is the humane thing to do. Creating No kill cities means

stopping euthanasia for the sake of clearing space in shelters. Best Friends knows that

they can save them all by implementing spay/neuter and trap-neuter-return (TNR)
programs to decrease the number of animals being taken in to shelters and increase the

number of adoptions. Many people are unaware of what the TNR programs entail. They

entail trapping, neutering, vaccinating and then returning community cats to their

original outdoor locations. While being the most effective method of keeping community

cats out of the shelters it is also the most humane. This program provides health

benefits to the community as well as the cats themselves. (bestfriends.org)

Best Friends Animal Society states that to save them all it takes like minded

individuals which is why they collaborate with different groups, the government and

regular animal loving people. Best Friends Network, Best Friends L.A. Coalition, NKUT

coalition, and Shelter Animals Count are a few of the outreach programs that Best

Friends Animal Society support. (bestfriends.org)

Best Friends identified three major problems that need to be solved before the

killing in shelters can stop, and they lead three lifesaving initiatives nationwide that

correlate with these major problems. These initiatives have an impact on the number of

animals killed in shelters.

Puppy Mills. Best Friends is working hard to combat puppy mills, one of

the major contributors to animal homelessness, through public awareness

campaigns, legislative work, and encouragement of adopting rather than

purchasing pets.

Community Cats. Cats comprise the majority of animals dying in shelters-

up to 70 percent in some places. Most of these are community cats (stray

and free-roaming). Best Friends is working to save the lives by

 implementing innovative trap-neuter-return programs across the country.

These programs have helped reduce cat shelter deaths by as much as 65

percent.

Breed Discrimination. Like cats, pit bull terriers comprise a

disproportionately high number of animals dying in shelters. At best

friends we fight breed-discriminatory laws, and work hard to change the

image of the pit bull terrier nationwide through Neighborhood Pit Bull

Days, advertisements and more to give these dogs the change to make it

out of shelters and into the loving arms of families. (bestfriends.org)

In order to be considered

for no kill status, which Utah

hopes to obtain by the year

2019, shelters must have a

combined save rate of 90

percent. Why is this not 100

percent? About 10 percent of

animals are euthanized for

untreatable illnesses and

injuries. Best Friends has

promoted adoption as part of

their no kill initiative. It was

announced that from 2014 to

(Photo: bestfriends.org)
2015 the save rates went from 77.4 percent to 84.4 percent. Another way to look at

these numbers are 12,000 cats and dogs in 2014 were killed through euthanasia while

there were only 3,300 in 2015. These save rates are increasing each year. (Rivera)

Best Friends Animal Society was able to determine this past year that nationwide the

number of dogs and cats has been reduced from 17 million in 1984 to approximately 2

million annually. Best Friends is not the only organization working toward no kill status,

there are 36 other groups. If Utah reaches a no kill status it would make them the

second state in the US with this status, second to New Hampshire. It is reported that 23

of the 56 Utah shelters were considered no kill in 2014. (McCombs)

The Best Friends Animal Society has conducted many surveys one of which

found that most Americans significantly underestimate the number of dogs and cats

killed in Americas shelters each day and arent aware of the magnitude of these issues

and how simple it is to save these animals. While three quarters of Americans (74

percent) acknowledge that shelters provide proper care for animals, those surveyed cite

other factors as the biggest contributors to the death rate at shelters. These include:

Shelter resources and budget (45 percent) Lack of adopters (40 percent) Lack of shelter

space (32 percent) Yet most Americans seem unable to connect the need for more

involvement with these shelters with the ability to help save these animals. Only 32

percent say they donated money to animal welfare and just 15 percent say they

adopted a pet in the last year. (Best Friends Animal Society)

As stated above Best Friends biggest promotion for saving them all is through

adoption. Why do they say you should adopt? First and foremost, it saves a life. Second
you might just meet your best friend. Best Friends has a goal to make adoption

convenient and this is how they do it. They host super adoptions- adoption events held

over a weekend where many shelters or rescues gather in one place with their

adoptable animals. Each of these events has helped many animals find their forever

homes. They run adoption centers in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, New York and Atlanta

where all adoptable animals come from local shelters. They also host a nationwide

database of adoptable animals on their website. (bestfriends.org)

(Photo: bestfriends.org)

Best Friends Animal Society shares their goal for the future through the following

quote.

From humble beginnings, Best Friends Animal Society has grown into a

national leader in the no-kill movement. But the future lies in the same place that it all

began with caring individuals who want to make this a kinder nation for our pets. It's

people like you who started it all, and people like you who will help us to Save Them

All. (Bestfriends.org)
 Works Cited

Best Friends Animal Society. Bestfriends.org (2017) http://bestfriends.org

Rivera, A. Utah Animal Shelters Inch Closer to No-Kill Status State-Wide. Standard

Examiner (Ogden, UT) 03 Apr. 2016 EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=2w617406987997site=eho

st-live

McCombs, B. The Associated, Press Animal Groups Aim for No-Kill Utah by 2019. AP

Regional State Report-Utah, Associated Press DBA Press Association, 31 Mar. 2014

EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=AP5df5eceba4dd4e53bf65

29db6948a452&site=ehost-live

Best Friends Animal, Society. Half of Americans Uninformed About the Thousands of

Shelter Pets Killed Every Day. Business Wire (English), 9 EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=bizwire.c50637871&site=e

host-live

Wikipedia Mans Best Friend (Phrase) 01 September, 2017

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27s_best_friend_(phrase)