Harrison County Animal Control has been recognized with the Transformational Change award from Best Friends Animal Society, a leading national animal welfare organization working to end the killing of dogs and cats in America's shelters in 2025.

 

Harrison County Animal Control was selected for the Transformational Award for the highest increase in lifesaving in a shelter based on Best Friends’ national shelter data, expert recommendations, and impact from January – November 2024 National, state, and shelter level data can be found on the pet lifesaving dashboardpublished by Best Friends. This accomplished by education on spay/neuter, behavioral assistance and community outreach such as establishing their pet pantry, the first vaccine and microchipping clinic and simply having conversations and empathy with the community.

 

Harrison County Animal Control isa member of the Best Friends Network, which comprises more than 5,000 animal shelters, spay/neuter organizations, and rescue groups across the country working to save the lives of dogs and cats in their communities. Together, Best Friends and its network partners are working to take the country no-kill in 2025. Reaching this goal will mean that every shelter in America gets the community support it needs to save every dog and cat who can be saved while prioritizing public health, safety, and a high quality of life for both pets and people.

 

"It’s inspiring to see shelters and rescue groups across the country embracing innovative strategies and partnerships to save more lives,” said Whitney Bollinger, Director of Strategy & Network Operations, Best Friends Animal Society. “These organizations illustrate that with collaboration, data-driven solutions, and resident engagement, no-kill is within reach for any community.”

 

No-kill is defined by a 90% save rate for animals entering a shelter and is a meaningful and common-sense benchmark for measuring lifesaving progress. Typically, the number of pets suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their or the communities’ quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed is not more than 10% of all dogs and cats entering shelters. Therefore, shelters that meet the 90% save-rate benchmark are no-kill. A community is considered no-kill when every brick-and-mortar shelter located within the county has a save rate of 90% or higher.

 

The path to no-kill varies by community but always includes collaborative partnerships and coalitions among animal shelters, animal rescue groups and community members working toward a collective goal. Other best practices include the implementation of proven lifesaving programs such as inclusive adoption and foster programs, community cat that use trap-neuter-return programs, transport efforts, returning lost pets to their owners, spay/neuter services, neonatal kitten nurseries, and data-informed decision-making and strategy development. The Best Friends Network offers members vast resources to support their implementation of these practices, and more.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows a pair of dogs that the Harrison County Animal Control tries to help save, while the bottom photo is of the honor. All photos of dogs with this article are from the Harrison County WV Animal Control Facebook page.