Best Friends Animal Society is a leading national animal welfare organization dedicated to ending the killing of dogs and cats in America's shelters. To help Save Them All, Best Friends works with shelters, rescue groups and our members nationwide.

Best Friends Animal Society in Salt Lake City, is working collaboratively with animal rescue groups, city shelters and passionate individuals dedicated to making Utah a no-kill state. With that goal in mind, we run a lifesaving center in Salt Lake City, and lead NKUT (No-Kill Utah).

Best Friends started with around 30 friends who had a dream. Today, there are nearly 800 people working either at the Sanctuary in Kanab or in other parts of the country. Fifteen of the original founders are still active in Best Friends' current work. The original veterinary clinic was a travel trailer.

Their Work. Friends of Animals Utah (FOAU) aims to eliminate the euthanasia of healthy and adoptable animals in the surrounding counties via a multifaceted approach to animal advocacy. The group re-homed over 800 dogs and cats last year through their “Furburbia” adoption center located at a local shopping mall.

Best Friends, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, operates the nation's largest sanctuary for homeless animals and provides adoption, spay/neuter, and educational programs.

Your gift goes straight to work saving lives and providing homeless animals - both here at the Sanctuary and around the country - the help and healing needed to find permanent loving homes. Once you've donated, you'll be able to add a personal message and send a card.

Founded in 1984, Best Friends is a pioneer in the no-kill movement and has helped reduce the number of animals killed in shelters from an estimated 17 million per year to around 378,000. Best Friends runs lifesaving programs across the country, as well as the nation's largest no-kill animal sanctuary.

This charity's score is 99%, earning it a Four-Star rating. If this organization aligns with your passions and values, you can give with confidence. This overall score is calculated from multiple beacon scores, weighted as follows: 80% Accountability & Finance, 10% Leadership & Adaptability, 10% Culture & Community.

Animal Facts

• Fleas can jump 350 times its body length.
• Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards.
• Crocodiles cannot stick their tongue out.
• Starfish do not have a brain.
• Slugs have 4 noses.
• Only female mosquitoes bite.
• Polar bear skin is black!
• The only mammal capable of flight is the bat.

Many people innocently associate Best Friends Animal Society with promoting pet adoption and working to place shelter animals in good homes. They also boast being the country's single largest no-kill animal sanctuary spanning 3,700 acres with room to grow.

On any given day, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is the healing home for up to 1,600 dogs, cats, birds, bunnies, horses, pigs and other animals. The largest sanctuary of its kind in the U.S., Best Friends has become the heart of a collaborative no-kill movement, and a model for the future of animal welfare.

This charity's score is 99%, earning it a Four-Star rating. If this organization aligns with your passions and values, you can give with confidence. This overall score is calculated from multiple beacon scores, weighted as follows: 80% Accountability & Finance, 10% Leadership & Adaptability, 10% Culture & Community.