Best Friends Animal Society’s network connects shelters, rescue groups, spay/neuter organizations and other animal-welfare organizations across the country. Its partners have helped animals in very different ways: arranging veterinary care, finding adopters, solving travel barriers, creating public visibility and responding to a damaged shelter. These six accounts, reported by Best Friends, show what that collaboration can look like in practice.
What the Best Friends Network does
Best Friends describes its network as a nationwide community that shares information and resources to improve outcomes for homeless dogs and cats. The organization says participation is free and the network includes thousands of groups in all 50 states. Partner approval is not an endorsement of an organization by Best Friends; it indicates participation in the network, not a guarantee about a group’s work or practices. Best Friends explains the program and its partner status here.
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In 2026, Best Friends reported that the network had passed 6,000 partners. In the same feature, the organization said shelters engaged with Best Friends save lives at nearly twice the rate of shelters that are not. That is Best Friends’ comparison based on its data, not an independent finding that network participation alone caused the difference. Read Best Friends’ account of the network’s growth and reported comparison.
Six stories of collaboration
1. Regan: medical care and time to feel safe
Regan was among more than 30 dogs taken from an overcrowded home by a local shelter. Best Friends reports that she was severely underweight, had patchy fur and widespread demodectic mange. North Carolina rescue Hamilton’s Healing Hearts brought her into its program, arranged veterinary care and gave her time to feel safe. Regan eventually bonded with Veronica and was adopted.
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Best Friends also reports that Hamilton’s Healing Hearts received a grant to help with specialized veterinary care, spay/neuter costs and improvements to its shelter space. Regan’s account shows how treatment and patient care can work alongside financial resources—but it does not establish that a grant or network membership alone produced her outcome. Best Friends tells Regan’s story.
2. Prince: a second chance after an urgent-list placement
Prince, a speckled pit bull terrier, arrived as a stray at an Abilene, Texas, shelter in May 2022. In a 2023 account, Best Friends said the shelter put him on its urgent list because staff thought his appearance and exuberant temperament might make adoption difficult. All Kind Animal Initiative, a Best Friends Network Partner, helped him reach a family by December 2022.
The story also describes collaboration with the municipal shelter as part of All Kind Animal Initiative’s broader work. Prince’s adoption illustrates one way a rescue partner can help an animal who may be overlooked; it is not evidence that every urgent-list dog will have the same path or result. Read Best Friends’ account of Prince and the partner’s work.
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3. Rosie: making an adoption meeting possible
Rosie was found nursing puppies inside a tire in a rural Arizona junkyard. Cooper’s Chance Animal Rescue cared for Rosie and her puppies in foster care. After the puppies were weaned, a family interested in adopting Rosie faced a practical obstacle: travel to meet her was difficult while they were expecting a baby.
Best Friends’ account describes how the rescue helped the family meet Rosie and move forward with adoption. The story highlights a less visible part of adoption work: sometimes connecting a pet and adopter means working around real-life logistics, not just posting a profile. Best Friends shares Rosie’s story.
4. Elliott: a community event brought new attention
Pauls Valley Animal Welfare Society in Oklahoma helped organize Bark in the Park, which brought adoptable pets from multiple organizations into a public event. Activities included a small-dog race and a 5K dog jog. Elliott, a caramel-and-white dog who had been at the shelter longer than other dogs, drew attention there and found a home.
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His story is a concrete example of how an event can put a long-stay animal in front of people who might not have encountered him at the shelter. Best Friends’ account describes Elliott’s outcome; it does not establish that events work the same way for every animal or community. Read Best Friends’ account of Elliott and Bark in the Park.
5. Pasadena: emergency placements after tornado damage
A tornado damaged Pasadena Animal Shelter in Texas. Best Friends reports that about 30 shelters and rescue groups helped place about 112 animals from the facility. Houston Pets Alive!, a Best Friends Network Partner, took seven dogs.
The account also describes a disease-control challenge involving the dogs after they were moved. It is a reminder that emergency placement involves more than finding available space: organizations must coordinate care and containment as well. The details here are Best Friends’ report, not veterinary guidance. Best Friends recounts the response to the shelter damage.
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6. National Pet Adoption Weekend: local efforts at a larger scale
During its September 2022 National Pet Adoption Weekend, Best Friends reported that more than 11,000 dogs and cats went to new homes, with 662 network partner organizations participating. The feature includes individual adoption examples, showing how many local connections can sit within a coordinated effort.
The figure is specific to that 2022 weekend, not a recurring annual total or a measure of what any one participating organization achieved. The event story complements the individual accounts: coordination can create a shared moment for adoption while each animal’s path still depends on local people, resources and circumstances. Read Best Friends’ report on the 2022 event.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What these stories show—and what they do not
The interventions varied because the barriers varied. Regan needed medical attention and time; Prince needed a route from an urgent shelter listing to a family; Rosie’s adoption required workable meeting logistics; Elliott benefited from public visibility; Pasadena needed emergency placement; and the 2022 weekend brought many participating groups into a coordinated adoption effort.
Best Value
Together, the accounts make the network’s stated emphasis on resources, connection and collaboration tangible. Best Friends director of network operations Whitney Bollinger described the partner program as “a coalition of animal welfare organizations that are interested in resources and connection and collaboration to save more lives across the country.” These published stories document reported outcomes, not an independent evaluation of how much network participation caused them.
How to take part locally
If these stories prompt you to help, the useful next step is usually local: look for a shelter or rescue where you can adopt, foster, volunteer or donate. An organization’s Best Friends Network Partner status means it participates in the network; it should not substitute for learning about the group’s own policies, needs and animal-care practices.
Quick Recap
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