Best Friends Animal Society

?? It's time to get more from your data ?? Did you know if you’re using ShelterBuddy or PetPoint, you can turn on automatic data-sharing with Shelter Pet Data Alliance (SPDA) — and save valuable time? No more manual uploads means more time to focus on what matters most: making informed decisions and saving lives. You’re already collecting the data, so why not let it work for you? Connect your shelter software system today: https://bit.ly/4eyxrmq

Operation Kindness, a nonprofit animal welfare organization in Texas, is very passionate about assisting municipal partners. Like a lot of shelters, they were seeing longer length-of-stay and fewer adoptions, so they piloted their Foster First program to eliminate barriers preventing same-day placement into a home. ? Through this program, Operation Kindness has been able to reduce their length of stay by 10 days, and in turn increase their intake by 12%, according to Sr. Operations Manager Stephani Coe. They can do even more of what they're so passionate about — assist their municipal partners! They transferred in more than 400 additional animals in 2024. ? Operation Kindness's Foster First program success demonstrates how we all have roles to play in our community's animal welfare ecosystem. When one organization performs better, animals at all organizations benefit. ? Level up your foster programming with our Foster Programs Training Playbook: https://lnkd.in/gh_6mSpw

Best Friends' free virtual Bring No-Kill Home Summit on June 12-13 unites communities to save lives together. We’ve invited thousands of animal lovers to this free event, including shelter and support organization team members as well as community members, and it would be an honor for you and your team to join us, too! Sign up today: https://lnkd.in/eM8BNCNT More details will be released as sessions and guest speakers are confirmed, but if you would like to discuss if this event is a fit for you, please email [email protected]. Register now to stay informed—there’s no cost! P.S. Don't forget to share these summit materials with your community to get everyone involved in this collective effort: https://lnkd.in/esgnunhM

Are you a shelter that relies on transfers or transports to save lives, or would you like to start but you don't know how? Two of Best Friends' regional directors (and one cat ??!) put together a video of actionable tips and strategies just for you. Gain expert insights and practical tips on rescue partnerships and transport programs in this 13-minute video featuring Aurora Velazquez, Director - Eastern Region, and Sophia Proler, Director - South Central Region, as they guide you through what you'll need to get started and thrive. Check out their video and more resources: https://lnkd.in/eCwcHgdU

Are you involved in transporting pets as part of saving lives? We celebrate you! So much goes into a transport, on both the source shelter and receiving shelter side! Transport is much more than just Transport Day, but this 12-hour time-lapse shows one such transport day during the LA wildfires during a multi-state transport of 87 adoptable pets. Huge shout out to everyone who made this possible from the network partners including Angel City Pit Bulls and Wings of Rescue and the multiple Best Friends Lifesaving Center teams! ? What surprised you most about your first transport?

When One Tail at a Time in Chicago dropped their adoption barriers and started trusting the community, they saw their adoptions skyrocket. They initially started their open adoption practices as a pilot program to see if it could work for a rescue — and they were blown away by the positive impact. Get the playbook for how your organization can make similar lifesaving changes: https://lnkd.in/ejWWz4zJ

Yesterday I had the privilege of visiting Humane Society of Greater Miami and spending time with the wonderful Jossie J. Aguirre. Keep up the great work!! Hope to see you all again so soon.

As a rescue or nonprofit shelter, you know that helpless feeling when your local shelters or transport partners need help, but you're already at or over capacity. But don't count yourself out just because you don't have 20+ kennels or foster homes to offer! Your expertise, resources, and problem-solving can go a long way toward helping shelters in need AND strengthening your relationship with them. ? Check out these tips from Clare Callison, Senior Director of Care Operations at Austin Pets Alive! for how you can support your shelter partners when you're at or over capacity. Available space for incoming pets can ebb and flow. No matter your current capacity, supporting shelters in creative and sustainable ways will help you maintain those important relationships. ? P.S. Are you already practicing open adoptions and fostering? These programs enable you to place more pets, which in turn enables you to help your shelter partners with more transfers! Learn how to start: https://lnkd.in/ejWWz4zJ

When building partnerships and transferring pets into your program, are you mindful of language you use publicly to describe partner shelter(s) and the relationship you have with them? You might have done some of these in the past—that's ok! Challenge yourself to take a new approach. ? Small changes like this can help heal relationships by building up colleagues at partner shelters instead of breaking them down. If you have concerns about a shelter’s transparency, practices or accountability, consider how you can advocate for change without discouraging the public from visiting and saving a life or villainizing the people who are working hard for lifesaving change.

Are you tracking towards no-kill? ?? Report your data in Shelter Pet Data Alliance monthly to be considered for this year's No-Kill award plaques: https://bit.ly/4eyxrmq Your data tells your story ?? so make sure you're recognized for your lifesaving work!