Building a Better Future: Collaborative Programs Advancing Animal Welfare Across America

A Foundation Built on Compassion

The conviction that every animal deserves a life without suffering has driven more than 150 years of dedicated work on the frontlines to rescue, transform, and protect millions of lives in the ongoing fight against animal cruelty. As the nation's first and foremost animal welfare organization, a comprehensive approach addresses the most critical challenges from every angle, including confronting the most difficult cases in the most challenging locations. Expert teams work relentlessly to develop innovative solutions that improve the welfare of animals both large and small.

Through hands-on intervention and collaboration with local partners nationwide, collective impact is multiplied to provide as many vulnerable animals as possible with the second chance they deserve. Serving as the voice for thousands of animals across the nation, the commitment to eliminating animal cruelty remains steadfast and unwavering. Until permanent change is achieved that ensures all animals receive treatment with respect and kindness, protective work will never cease.

Supporting Communities Throughout the Nation

Strategic Relocation Services

Operating as the largest transporter of shelter dogs and cats for adoption in the United States, partnerships with shelters and rescue organizations across 40 states facilitate the annual movement of more than 25,000 animals from shelters in areas experiencing high homeless pet overpopulation to destination shelters where demand for adoptable animals is greater. This relocation program prevents needless euthanasia of adoptable pets while also helping shelters create and strengthen programs that will generate long-term positive effects on animal welfare in surrounding communities.

Michele Anderson, Board Member at Oktibbeha County Humane Society, expresses gratitude for the collaboration with the relocation network and their system of destination shelters and waystations. She explains that this partnership enables their collective of more than a dozen overcrowded local shelters and rescues in Northern Mississippi to safely move thousands of animals closer to loving homes each year. Anderson emphasizes that the relocation program offers immediate, positive impact for the animals moved while also providing critical support to help create and strengthen programs that are creating long-term, beneficial effects in their community and throughout the region.

Advancing Equine Welfare and Adoption

A strong commitment exists to ensuring good welfare for all equines in the United States. Programs have been built to support horses and their owners, including several key initiatives designed to transform equine welfare and dramatically increase adoption rates.

Comprehensive Horse Adoption Initiative

With a goal to massively increase horse adoption, a specialized program elevates and advances the work of equine adoption organizations and supporters nationwide while simultaneously building the demand for adoptable horses. As a result, more horses are finding adoptive homes each year, allowing the rescue community to help more at-risk horses. An equine transition and adoption center operates as the only equine shelter dedicated specifically to supporting the most at-risk horses—those deemed harder to adopt due to age, medical challenges, behavioral issues, or a combination thereof—and creating best practices to advance the equine sheltering field in this specialized area.

Nicky Walters, founder of West Virginia Horse Network, Inc., expresses tremendous gratitude for grant dollars that allowed her organization to respond to the needs of their community and provide safety net services that help keep horses safely in their homes. She notes they have been able to make a tremendous impact by diverting horses from coming into the rescue and keeping more spaces open for horses who needed to come under their umbrella. Walters emphasizes that the investment in this vision has impacted animals and people directly but has also helped her organization and others work outside of the box and be more effective and efficient in the mission they all share to make life better for horses.

Shelter Medicine Services

A dedicated shelter medicine services department works directly with shelters across the country to improve the health and welfare of homeless animals in communities by strengthening local shelter medicine programs and providing remote and on-site consultations. By offering expertise on infectious diseases, sanitation, population management and shelter functionality, strategic influence is maximized at the local level. This team's work has impacted almost 700,000 animals since 2022.

Northern Tier Regional Initiative

A specialized regional program provides funding, free consultations and training to shelters, non-profit veterinary clinics, and Indigenous communities in Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin to improve the quality of life for vulnerable cats and dogs. In 2024, vital resources and support were provided to 140 local organizations in this region, strengthening their capacity to serve animals in need.

Behavioral Rehabilitation Center

A behavioral rehabilitation center in North Carolina is dedicated to rehabilitating fearful, undersocialized dogs from cruelty cases as well as those from other animal welfare organizations. The intensive program is designed to reduce dogs' anxiety, improve their wellbeing and prepare them for adoptive homes by way of partner shelters. This specialized approach addresses the unique needs of animals who have experienced trauma or inadequate socialization, giving them the skills and confidence needed to thrive in loving homes.

Additionally, partner organizations receive help elevating their own shelter behavior programs. Expert staff serve as advisors to the development and delivery of interactive educational programs for shelters nationwide to maximize the impact of work for some of the nation's most vulnerable animals. This knowledge-sharing approach creates a multiplier effect, strengthening behavioral care capabilities across the entire animal welfare field.

Rescue Work and Field Deployments

Rescuing Victims of Abuse, Neglect, and Disasters

Response teams address cases of animal cruelty, neglect, and natural disasters, assisting thousands of animals each year in dangerous situations, bringing them to safety and helping them heal. When local shelters and agencies request help rescuing animals in need, boots-on-ground resources are provided to remove animals in crisis, transport them to safety, and offer temporary shelter where needed medical and behavioral care is delivered.

Beyond immediate rescue operations, partners receive assistance preparing the strongest cases possible through investigative support, crime scene processing and evidence collection, forensic exams and ongoing legal assistance. This comprehensive approach ensures that animals are not only rescued but that their abusers are held accountable, creating lasting change that protects future animals from harm.

Training and Resources

Providing Knowledge and Resources to Elevate Local Organizations

Formalized education and training programs equip animal behavior, shelter and veterinary professionals with the tools, practices, and guidance they need to give animals the best chances to live happy, healthy lives in loving homes. As a leader in animal welfare, this essential knowledge and assistance is delivered to organizations that lack funding and resources at the local level to save more animal lives.

Interactive Learning Programs

An interactive educational program was developed to share learnings on science-based behavioral care with animal welfare professionals across the country. Since its inception in 2018, this learning platform has attracted more than 28,000 enrollments in virtual and in-person educational opportunities, reaching animal welfare professionals, volunteers and students from over 1,200 organizations around the world. This impressive reach demonstrates the widespread demand for evidence-based training and the commitment of animal welfare professionals to continuously improve their skills and knowledge.

Research and Evidence-Based Practice

Important studies of direct-care and community-based programs are conducted, with collaboration occurring with partner agencies on assessing lifesaving models nationwide. An important part of this research effort is sharing results with the larger animal welfare field to improve the lives of animals and the people who care for them. This commitment to research ensures that programs remain effective, efficient, and grounded in the best available evidence.

Grant Support for Organizations

In 2024, grants were awarded to more than 1,000 organizations. In the last five years, nearly $66 million has been given to more than 900 organizations in every state of the country, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Since 2001, more than $200 million in support has been provided to over 4,000 animal shelters, municipal and governmental agencies, rescue groups and other mission-aligned organizations and programs nationwide.

This substantial investment in local organizations creates a ripple effect, strengthening the entire animal welfare infrastructure and enabling communities to better serve their animals. By providing financial resources to organizations that might otherwise struggle to fund critical programs, these grants save countless animal lives and improve welfare outcomes across the nation.

Partnership Success Stories

Rachel Finney, CEO of Columbus Humane, notes that collaboration and expertise are core values for her organization and they are grateful for the mutually beneficial partnership they maintain. She explains that because of their work together, Columbus Humane staff have access to training and development opportunities and they're able to assist with adoption and veterinary services. Finney emphasizes that the animals, organizations and community all benefit and that's a big win.

The Power of Collaboration

The strength of these programs lies not just in their individual impact but in how they work together as an integrated system of support. A shelter that receives grant funding can send its staff to training programs, participate in relocation efforts to ease overcrowding, access shelter medicine consultations to improve animal health outcomes, and call on rescue resources during emergencies. This comprehensive support system addresses animal welfare challenges from multiple angles simultaneously.

Building Capacity in Communities

Rather than creating dependency, these programs focus on building local capacity and empowering communities to strengthen their own animal welfare infrastructure. Through training, consultations, and resource sharing, local organizations develop the expertise and capabilities to serve their communities more effectively. This approach creates sustainable improvements that continue benefiting animals long after initial support is provided.

Responding to Evolving Needs

The landscape of animal welfare constantly changes, with new challenges emerging and best practices evolving. By maintaining active partnerships with organizations nationwide, emerging needs are identified quickly and programs are adapted to address them. This responsive approach ensures that support remains relevant and effective in addressing the real challenges facing animals and the organizations that serve them.

Measuring Impact and Celebrating Success

The numbers tell a compelling story of impact: 25,000 animals relocated annually, 700,000 animals impacted by shelter medicine services, 140 organizations supported in the Northern Tier region, 28,000 enrollments in educational programs, and more than $200 million in grants distributed since 2001. But behind every statistic stands an individual animal given a second chance, a shelter worker empowered with new knowledge, or a community equipped with resources to better serve its animals.

Stories of Transformation

Success is measured not just in numbers but in transformed lives. The fearful dog who learns to trust again through behavioral rehabilitation. The horse who finds a permanent home through expanded adoption efforts. The shelter that goes from euthanizing healthy animals due to overcrowding to achieving positive outcomes for all adoptable pets through relocation partnerships. These stories of transformation demonstrate the real-world impact of comprehensive, collaborative animal welfare programs.

Looking to the Future

Despite significant progress, important work remains to ensure all animals receive the protection, care, and respect they deserve. Continued expansion of proven programs, development of innovative solutions to emerging challenges, and strengthening of collaborative networks will drive future success. The commitment to animal welfare remains unwavering, with the understanding that every animal saved, every shelter strengthened, and every community empowered represents meaningful progress toward a more compassionate world.

Expanding Reach and Deepening Impact

As programs mature and grow, opportunities emerge to expand reach into underserved communities and deepen impact in areas already being served. New partnerships bring fresh perspectives and innovative approaches, while established partnerships can be strengthened and expanded to address additional needs. This balance of growth and deepening ensures that impact continues to multiply over time.

How You Can Support This Work

Everyone has a role to play in advancing animal welfare:

• Support Local Partners: Donate time, supplies, or financial resources to shelters and rescue organizations in your community that participate in these collaborative programs
• Advocate for Animals: Contact elected officials supporting legislation that protects animal welfare and funds community programs
• Spread Awareness: Share information about these programs with others who care about animal welfare
• Consider Adoption: When ready to welcome a pet into your family, adopt from a shelter or rescue organization, potentially even considering animals relocated from high-overpopulation areas
• Foster Animals: Provide temporary homes for animals awaiting adoption or recovering from rescue situations
• Support Professional Development: If you work in animal welfare, take advantage of training opportunities to enhance your skills and knowledge
• Contribute Financially: Financial donations enable programs to expand services and reach more organizations and animals in need

A Shared Mission

The ultimate vision remains clear: a world where every animal is valued, protected, and treated with compassion. Where shelters have the resources and expertise to provide excellent care, where communities proactively prevent animal suffering, and where the bond between humans and animals is celebrated and protected. This vision cannot be achieved by any single organization working in isolation—it requires collaboration, partnership, and shared commitment across the entire animal welfare field.

Strength in Unity

When organizations work together, sharing resources, knowledge, and support, the collective impact far exceeds what any could achieve alone. The programs described here represent this collaborative spirit in action, demonstrating how strategic partnerships and comprehensive support systems can transform animal welfare at scale. As this work continues and expands, more animals will be saved, more communities will be empowered, and the vision of a more compassionate world will draw ever closer to reality.

Commitment to Excellence

Through sustained effort, collaborative spirit, and unwavering commitment, meaningful progress continues. The journey continues, one animal, one shelter, one community at a time, building toward a future where all animals can live free from suffering and experience the love and care they deserve. Until permanent change is created that ensures all animals are treated with respect and kindness, this work to protect them will never stop.