Did you know that over 4,000,000 dogs and cats are killed in America’s shelters every year?

That’s over 7 animals per minute and 9,000 adoptable pets every day.

This sobering statistic is not widely known, but has been the impetus for the grassroots “no-kill” movement in recent years. Shockingly, as bad as this problem seems now, it used to be much worse. In the 1980’s nearly 17 million cats and dogs were euthanized in our shelters every year. Thanks to the tireless work of organizations such as Best Friends Animal Society these numbers have come down drastically, but obviously remain unacceptable.

Best Friends Animal Society

As a pioneer of the no-kill movement, Best Friends Animal Society has been working for nearly 30 years to reduce the number of pets killed in shelters to zero.

They strive towards this goal in a variety of ways:

Adoption – Best Friends helps to educate and raise awareness about animal adoption and even runs their own adoption centers in New York City, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City.

Spay/Neuter Initiatives -Best Friends educates about the importance of spaying/neutering pets and offers discount clinics across the county to make it affordable for everyone.

Community Programs – Best Friends helps to support the No-Kill initiative and the good work of aligned local organizations across the country. Events include the No More Homeless Pets Conference and the – Best Friends helps to support the No-Kill initiative and the good work of aligned local organizations across the country. Events include the No More Homeless Pets Conference and the Strut Your Mutt , fundraising fun-walk and 5k event!

Check out their interactive Local Program Map to see what events are taking place in your back yard!

Working Together: A Nature’s Variety Partnership!

A leader in the natural pet food space, Nature’s Variety believes that every animal deserves access to high quality nutrition. They also strongly believe in the work Best Friends Animal Foundation is doing to save animals in this country! For this reason, Nature’s Variety Instinct has become the official pet food partner of Best Friends and are pledging $650,000 of support in 2015 alone!

Our boys have been eating Nature’s Variety Instinct for over 6 months now and we couldn’t be happier with the results. Nature’s Variety even sent some Instinct Munchies for us to try and giveaway to 3 lucky readers below!!

We know your pup will love the taste…you will love the high quality, no-nonsense ingredients!

Long Live Pets

Best Friends Animal Society and Nature’s Variety have teamed up for a very important campaign, Long Live Pets, to inspire support for the no-kill movement. Together they are creating a film to celebrate the first day in the new life of a rescued dog. Watch the trailer, here. Go head and try to not cry, it is beautiful!

If that wasn’t adorable enough, you can be a part of creating this inspiring film by submitting pictures of your BEST FRIEND before the March 31st deadline! Charlie and Harley have already submitted theirs!

Head on over to Long Live Pets or use the hashtag #longlivepets on Facebook or Twitter to submit a photo!

All dogs deserve a happy life. We are so incredibly thankful for the the tireless work of organizations like Best Friends Animal Society, who give homeless pets, like our Harley and Charlie, a second chance at that.

You can help by submitting your photos and sharing this post on social media to help spread the word. It may seem like a simple act, but this movie will be used to inspire thousands more to join the no-kill movement by adopting a pet, volunteering, or making a donation!