Best Friends Animal Society relocates over 60 pets from Texas shelter to Utah

KANAB, Utah (ABC4) — In a move between Best Friends Animal Society and Dog is MyCoPilot, dozens of pets were relocated from a Texas shelter with lifesaving flights.

Two flights were conducted, the most recent taking place on Sunday March 9, with 18 cats and seven dogs onboard. The move was made to relieve overcrowding at The

Rio Grande Valley Humane Society and help pets in need of homes.

Previously, 37 dogs had been taken on a flight to partners in Salt Lake City, Northern Utah, and Idaho, according to Sophia Proler, who is the director of the South Central Region for Best Friends Animal Society. Between the two flights, she said over 60 dogs and cats were able to get a second chance.

Best Friends Animal Society is dedicated to ending the killing of cats and dogs in shelters across the U.S. The pets from the flight are currently receiving lifesaving care at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, along with three other partner organizations — Dustin Time Rescue, Kitten Smitthen Rescue, and Utah Beagle Rescue.

Proler said that Best Friends had been alerted that the shelter had been over capacity, and wanted to find a way to step in and help.

“They really needed to move some dogs out of there as quickly as possible to maintain a healthy population and make sure that those animals had a live positive outcome, so we went down to South Texas and started working with that shelter and with the community there,” she said. “We realized that we really needed more help, so we contacted Dog is MyCoPilot, which is a fantastic partner of Best Friends. They helped us during the L.A. wildfire response and have been supporting our mission for many years.”

The organization offered flights if rescue partners could be found. Proler said Best Friends reached out to Utah organizations, knowing how passionate the state’s rescue organizations are when it coems to helping groups in need.

This flight transport is following the City of Mission in Texas approving an agreement with Best Friends to provide shelter operations support through July 29. The agreement offers incoming staff with guidance, tools, resources, and programs to help the shelter reach a 90% save rate for pets in their care.

“These kinds of collaborations are essential, especially in south central shelters like in Texas, where there may not be as many affordable spay and neuter resources. There’s a national veterinary shortage, so there’s still unwanted litters and people are still just struggling on their own to be able to keep their pets, so shelters are very much overcrowded and need all the help they can get,” she said.

Proler shared how you can get involved at home. She said one way to check if your community is no-kill is to use Best Friend’s Pet Life Saving Dashboard, as well as go into your local shelter and consider adoption, volunteering, fostering, or reaching out to rescue groups to see if they can help.

If your community is no-kill (meaning it’s at a 90% saving rate), she said to look to other communities to see how you can help there.

“We are just really grateful to the collaboration and efforts across shelters and communities and partners like Dog is MyCoPilot, because without collaboration we will not get this country to no kill. It’s going to take all of us working together to help shelters and communities reach their goal,” she said.

Matthew Drachman contributed to this report.