Best Friends Animal Society Locations & Adoption Centers
Discover Best Friends lifesaving centers across the nation and find adoptable pets near you.
Best Friends Animal Society: Lifesaving Centers Across America
Best Friends Animal Society stands at the forefront of animal welfare in the United States, operating the nation’s largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals and maintaining a network of lifesaving centers across multiple states. Through a collaborative approach and partnership with thousands of shelters and rescue organizations nationwide, Best Friends has revolutionized how communities approach pet adoption and animal rescue. The organization’s mission extends far beyond a single location, encompassing adoption centers, pet resource facilities, and comprehensive animal welfare programs designed to save lives and create lasting change for homeless pets.
The Heart of Best Friends: The Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah
Located five miles north of Kanab, Utah, the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary represents the flagship facility of the entire organization and serves as the heart and soul of the movement toward a no-kill nation. This expansive sanctuary spans thousands of acres and provides a healing home for up to 1,600 animals on any given day, making it the largest facility of its kind in the United States. The sanctuary has become a model for animal welfare organizations worldwide, demonstrating that compassionate care and rehabilitation can transform the lives of animals with special needs, behavioral challenges, and medical conditions that might otherwise result in euthanasia.
Address: 5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanab, UT 84741
Phone: 435-688-2327
Sanctuary Departments and Animal Care Areas
The Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is organized into specialized care departments, each dedicated to providing expert medical attention, rehabilitation, and enrichment for different animal species:
Dogtown focuses on life-changing care for canines, from healing broken bones to addressing behavioral and emotional trauma. Dogs in Dogtown receive personalized treatment plans, loving companionship, and the opportunity to prepare for adoption or permanent sanctuary residence. The facility employs experienced staff and volunteers who understand that each dog’s journey requires patience, professional training, and compassionate handling.
Cat World recognizes that cats have diverse temperaments and needs. Whether residents are shy and frightened, outgoing and playful, or managing special health conditions, Cat World provides customized environments where felines can decompress and heal. The facility includes quiet spaces for anxious cats and enrichment areas for more social residents, ensuring every cat receives appropriate care tailored to their personality and medical requirements.
Horse Haven extends Best Friends’ mission to equine animals, offering exceptional veterinary care, farrier services, and spacious pastures where horses can exercise and socialize. Horses at the sanctuary receive medical rehabilitation, nutritional support, and the freedom to engage in natural behaviors, promoting both physical and psychological well-being.
Marshall’s Piggy Paradise provides pigs with an environment where they can exhibit natural behaviors including mud bathing, rooting, and social interaction. Residents receive nutritious food, regular exercise, environmental enrichment, and veterinary care, demonstrating that farm animals deserve the same level of compassionate treatment as traditional companion animals.
The Bunny House creates specialized habitats for rabbits, offering companionship with other rabbits, expert veterinary care including dental and digestive support, and enrichment activities like digging opportunities. Many rabbits arrive at the sanctuary malnourished or with untreated medical conditions, and the Bunny House team works to restore their health and happiness.
Parrot Garden serves as a refuge for rescued parrots in a light-filled, tropical environment. The facility ensures that these highly intelligent and social birds receive the mental stimulation, social interaction, and specialized veterinary care necessary for them to thrive and maintain psychological wellness.
Visiting the Sanctuary
The Best Friends Welcome Center serves as the entry point for visitors to the sanctuary. Guests can sign up for guided tours to learn about the organization’s work, become members of Best Friends Animal Society, obtain maps of the sanctuary and local hiking trails, and purchase merchandise from the Sanctuary Store. The Welcome Center is located at the same address as the sanctuary and provides an educational introduction to the facility’s mission and impact.
Regional Adoption and Lifesaving Centers
Recognizing that transformation requires local presence and community engagement, Best Friends has expanded beyond the main sanctuary to establish dedicated lifesaving and adoption centers in major metropolitan areas and regions across the country. Each center operates with the same philosophy of compassionate animal care while addressing the unique needs and challenges of their specific communities.
Best Friends in Los Angeles
In the sprawling Los Angeles metropolitan area, Best Friends operates a comprehensive program designed to reduce animal deaths and increase adoptions. The organization collaborates with city shelters, local rescue groups, passionate animal advocates, and dedicated volunteers to create systemic change in how the region approaches animal welfare.
Address: 1845 Pontius Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Phone: 424-208-8840
The West Los Angeles location includes a specialized kitten care center equipped to handle the unique medical and behavioral needs of young felines, along with a full-service pet adoption center featuring adoptable dogs and cats from Los Angeles city shelters and rescue partners throughout California. Best Friends also coordinates with the No-Kill Los Angeles (NKLA) Coalition, hosting adoption events and fundraising campaigns that raise awareness and resources for homeless pets in the region.
Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in New York City
New York City’s Best Friends location represents a major hub for East Coast animal rescue efforts, serving the city and the surrounding tristate area. The center works strategically with municipal shelters, local animal welfare organizations, and passionate advocates to save the lives of dogs and cats facing euthanasia.
Address: 307 West Broadway, New York City, NY 10013
Phone: 929-292-8300
Beyond adoption services, Best Friends NYC operates a foster program in partnership with Animal Care Centers of NYC, dramatically expanding the capacity to rescue and rehabilitate animals. The organization hosts regular adoption and fundraising events throughout the city, building community support for animal welfare initiatives while creating pathways for animals to find permanent homes.
Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in Salt Lake City
The Salt Lake City center serves as the hub for Best Friends’ No-Kill Utah initiative, bringing together animal rescue groups, municipal shelters, and dedicated individuals working toward making Utah a no-kill state. This center demonstrates how regional collaboration and coordinated efforts can achieve transformative results in animal welfare.
Address: 2005 South 1100 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84106
Phone: 801-574-2454
The facility operates a pet adoption center featuring available dogs and cats, hosts adoption and fundraising events, and leads the No-Kill Utah coalition in implementing lifesaving practices across the state’s shelter system. This coordinated approach has helped increase live release rates and reduce euthanasia throughout the region.
Best Friends Pet Lifesaving Center in Houston
Houston’s Best Friends location focuses on transforming the city into a no-kill community through strategic partnerships with municipal shelters, local animal welfare organizations, and compassionate individuals committed to animal rescue. The center organizes comprehensive foster and adoption programs that dramatically increase the number of animals saved.
Address: 901 Pinemont Drive, Houston, TX 77018
Phone: 281-899-8348
Note: By appointment only
A critical component of Houston’s lifesaving efforts involves organizing animal transports to relocate pets to areas of the country where adoption rates are higher. This innovative approach helps ensure that animals have the best possible chance of finding loving homes while alleviating overcrowding in Texas shelters.
Best Friends Pet Resource Center in Northwest Arkansas
The Northwest Arkansas location represents a comprehensive community-focused approach to animal welfare, providing critically needed resources and services for cats and dogs throughout the region. This facility goes beyond traditional adoption services to address systemic challenges in animal population management.
Address: 1312 Melissa Drive, Bentonville, AR 72712
Phone: 479-310-8569
Services include on-site cat and dog adoptions, a pet food and supplies pantry for low-income pet owners, trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR) resources and education, and designated meeting spaces for foster caregivers, volunteers, and adopters. This integrated approach addresses multiple barriers to animal welfare success in underserved communities.
Extended Reach: Best Friends in Navajo Nation and St. George
Best Friends extends its impact to underserved and geographically remote communities, recognizing that comprehensive animal welfare requires addressing challenges in all regions, including tribal lands and rural areas. These partnerships demonstrate the organization’s commitment to equity and universal access to lifesaving services.
Best Friends in Navajo Nation
Best Friends works collaboratively with Navajo Nation Animal Control and the Navajo Nation Veterinary Program, along with spay/neuter and rescue organizations, to address the critical animal welfare challenges facing Navajo Nation communities. The partnership focuses on reducing deaths in animal control facilities through rescue and adoption programs, addressing overpopulation of free-roaming dogs, and increasing public awareness about animal welfare issues specific to tribal communities.
Best Friends in St. George, Utah
In St. George, Best Friends partners with Whisker & Bone, a boutique pet shop and grooming facility, to create localized lifesaving initiatives. This partnership demonstrates how creative collaborations with private businesses can expand animal rescue capacity. Together, the organizations focus on vulnerable cats and kittens through adoption programs, volunteer opportunities, and community advocacy, building a healthier and happier community for both animals and people.
The Best Friends Network: A National Movement
Beyond its direct operations, Best Friends has developed an extensive network comprising thousands of public and private shelters, rescue groups, spay/neuter organizations, and other animal welfare agencies across all 50 states. This network operates on the principle that no single organization can create a no-kill nation alone; instead, collaboration, resource-sharing, and coordinated effort across the entire shelter and rescue community are essential.
Best Friends Network partners share a common goal of saving the lives of homeless pets in their respective communities. Each partner brings unique strengths, local knowledge, and community connections that contribute to achieving no-kill status. The organization provides crucial support to network members through marketing assistance, fundraising event coordination, educational webinars, grants, and comprehensive resources designed to help partners become more effective and efficient in their lifesaving work.
Members of the network range from large municipal shelters to small rescue groups operating out of volunteers’ homes, reflecting the diversity of the animal welfare sector. This inclusive approach ensures that organizations of all sizes can access support and contribute meaningfully to the national no-kill movement.
How to Get Involved and Make a Difference
Best Friends emphasizes that individual community members play a crucial role in achieving no-kill status. There are multiple ways people can support these lifesaving efforts:
Adoption remains the most direct way to make a difference. By adopting from Best Friends centers or network partners, individuals save a life, create space for another animal, and support the mission to end shelter deaths. Every adoption represents a success story and demonstrates public commitment to animal welfare.
Fostering provides temporary homes for animals preparing for adoption, offering medical recovery space for injured animals, and reducing shelter overcrowding. Foster caregivers play a vital role in preparing animals for their forever homes while freeing up shelter resources for other animals in crisis.
Volunteering at Best Friends locations or network partner organizations provides hands-on support for animal care, event coordination, administrative assistance, and community outreach. Volunteers are the backbone of animal rescue operations, enabling organizations to maximize their impact.
Donating provides financial resources that directly support medical care, facility maintenance, staff salaries, and program operations. Financial contributions enable Best Friends and network partners to implement innovative lifesaving tactics and expand their services.
Advocating involves supporting animal-friendly policies, spreading awareness about animal welfare issues, and encouraging others to support the no-kill movement. Community advocates help shift cultural attitudes toward pet adoption and comprehensive animal care.
Frequently Asked Questions About Best Friends
Q: Where is the main Best Friends Animal Sanctuary located?
A: The main Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is located in Kanab, Utah, five miles north of the city at 5001 Angel Canyon Road. It is the nation’s largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals.
Q: How many animals does Best Friends care for at the main sanctuary?
A: The sanctuary provides care for up to 1,600 animals on any given day, including dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, horses, pigs, and wildlife being rehabilitated.
Q: What types of animals does Best Friends rescue and care for?
A: Best Friends cares for companion animals including dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, and also larger animals such as horses and pigs, plus wildlife rehabilitation.
Q: Can I visit the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary?
A: Yes, visitors are welcome to visit the sanctuary and can sign up for guided tours at the Welcome Center, which is located at 5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanab, UT 84741.
Q: How many locations does Best Friends have across the United States?
A: Best Friends operates centers in Kanab Utah, Los Angeles California, New York City, Houston Texas, Northwest Arkansas, St. George Utah, and serves Navajo Nation, with additional partnerships across all 50 states.
Q: Can I adopt pets from Best Friends locations?
A: Yes, all Best Friends adoption centers feature available dogs and cats ready for adoption. The Houston location is by appointment only, while other centers typically maintain regular business hours.
Q: How can I find a network partner near me?
A: You can find a Best Friends Network partner near you by visiting their interactive network partners map on their website, which allows you to search by state or region.
Q: What services does the Northwest Arkansas location provide?
A: The Northwest Arkansas center offers cat and dog adoptions, a pet food and supplies pantry, trap-neuter-vaccinate-return resources, and meeting space for foster caregivers and volunteers.
Q: How can I volunteer or foster with Best Friends?
A: You can contact your nearest Best Friends location directly or find a network partner near you to inquire about volunteering and fostering opportunities that match your interests and availability.
Q: Does Best Friends work with other animal welfare organizations?
A: Yes, Best Friends collaborates with more than 5,500 shelters and rescue groups nationwide through the Best Friends Network, all working together to achieve no-kill status.
References
- Best Friends Animal Society: Find Locations, Adoptions & Services — Best Friends Animal Society. 2025. https://bestfriends.org/locations
- Who We Are: Best Friends Animal Society — Best Friends Animal Society. 2025. https://bestfriends.org/who-we-are
- Best Friends Animal Sanctuary — Best Friends Animal Society. 2025. https://bestfriends.org/sanctuary
- Network Partners: Best Friends Animal Society — Best Friends Animal Society. 2025. https://bestfriends.org/network
- Network Partners Map: Find Animal Welfare Organizations Near You — Best Friends Animal Society. 2025. https://bestfriends.org/partners/network-partners-map
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