Best Friends Animal Society has a goal to bring the number of pets killed in Utah shelters down to zero. It created the No-Kill Utah initiative in 2014 that connects shelters, animal welfare organizations and compassionate people to help end the killing of dogs and cats in shelters. 

Its plan is simple: provide spay/neuter services and increase adoptions so more animals will be placed in homes. Best Friends Animal Society recently recognized Animal Care of Davis County (1422 E. 600 North) in Fruit Heights for its dedication to saving animals. 

“Animal shelters across the country have an ethical duty to continuously implement new programs that increase lifesaving, protect public safety, and promote the human-animal bond by ways of keeping families together,” said Michelle Dosson, Best Friends Animal Society executive director, Salt Lake City and Mountain West Region. “No-kill sets a unique and much-needed standard of performance expectation that equates to a minimum live release rate of 90%. This standard prevents shelters from becoming operationally stagnant, promotes out-of-the-box thinking and consistent creation of new resources that support their life saving missions.”

In 2021, Animal Care of Davis County saved 84% of the dogs and cats entering its shelter,  just short of the no-kill standard, which is a 90% save rate. The no-kill success in Davis County shows the goal to eliminate animal deaths in shelters is within grasp. 

By streamlining adoptions, doing away with lengthy and time-consuming applications, extending business hours and offering reduced-fee or free adoptions, Animal Care of Davis County accomplished an impressive level of lifesaving. Each of its practices help homeless pets find a forever home. 

“By committing to no-kill,” Dosson said, “Animal Care of Davis County is fast becoming a national leader in animal sheltering.”

Animal Care of Davis County values community engagement, including volunteer opportunities, vaccine and microchip services, and foster programming for newborn kittens. Its cat officer helps trap, spay/neuter and vaccinate outdoor cats, the most at-risk animals in the shelter. 

Around the time Best Friends opened in 1984, U.S. shelters were killing 17 million dogs and cats every year. That figure has fallen to about 355,000, according to Best Friends 2021 dataset. Sadly, in 2021 the number of dogs and cats killed in U.S. shelters increased for the first time in five years, up 8,000 animals from 347,000 in 2020. 

For more information, visit bestfriends.org and Daviscountyutah.gov/animalcare.