Admitting 2,000 or fewer pets

BEST FRIENDS MAGAZINE November/December 2020

Every single one of our dedicated partners around the country is contributing to the goal to bring the country to no-kill by 2025. We are forever grateful to this year’s award recipients and so many other incredible organizations for making this world a better place through kindness to animals and compassion for the people who love and care for them.

Does teamwork make the dream work? You better believe it.

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BEST FRIENDS MAGAZINE November/December 2020

disruption and uncertainty in the world, it can be nerve-wracking to take in the news these days,

but some creative animal lovers have come to the rescue and are spreading cheer in their communities. Despite

the challenges of social distancing and quarantine, these kind people are finding ways to help animals

and humans alike.

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Michael can truly appreciate the lives of stray animals. Though he is technically homeless, he receives shelter at a local church in Bakersfield, California. When he noticed the area’s community cats, he stepped up to help. Michael not only cares for the strays, he catches them three at a time in borrowed humane traps and manages to find transportation for them to and from the spay/neuter clinic for trap-neuter-return (TNR).

Nine-year-old Robbie Gay relates to pets overlooked in shelters. Before being adopted two years ago, he went through six different foster placements. After one of his senior dogs had to be euthanized, he made it his mission to help senior pets. Robbie raises money for Flagler Humane Society in Palm Coast, Florida, and sponsors a senior dog each month by paying half the adoption fee. “I know what it feels like not to be loved or cared for,” Robbie says, “and I don’t want any animal of mine to ever feel that way.”

When the Nicol family found a litter of stray kittens, nine-year-old Jonathan begged to keep one, promising to pay her vet bills. To cover those costs for Gracie, Jonathan began selling homemade cat toys under the name Fun 4 Felines. He gives any money he has left over to the Humane Society of Forsyth County in Cumming, Georgia, the shelter he’s supported with birthday donations since he was five.

BEST FRIENDS MAGAZINE November/December 2020