Animal shelters across the country have been in a capacity crisis for the past two years due to rising intakes and adoptions that are simply not keeping pace with the number of animals coming in.

At the 2023 Best Friends National Conference, speakers Tori Fugate and Misty Valenta told the audience during their session that by reframing the perspective to “never let a good crisis go to waste,” they allowed themselves the opportunity to try new and creative marketing that they never thought possible - and they say you can do it too.

This week, we’re sharing a session from this year’s conference titled “Capacity Crisis Marketing.” You’ll hear how Tori at KC Pet Project and Misty at the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter publicized their shelter capacity to their communities while still promoting their pets, programs, and services. You’ll hear unique ways to use different mediums to effectively communicate the current capacity of your shelter and engage your community to get involved. Through effective messaging on social media, email, text programs, and more, you’ll continue to see support from your community, obtain media coverage, and ultimately save lives.

• To watch the video or to check out the slides for this presentation, visit the website for The Best Friends Podcast: https://network.bestfriends.org/proven-strategies/best-friends-podcast/best-friends-podcast-ep-149

After a hiatus, we’re excited for the return of the Best Friends Podcast! 

To catch up on what’s been happening around the country since our last episode, we contacted the Chief Program Officer for Best Friends, Marc Peralta. We discussed what’s happening regarding intake and outcomes in animal shelters and dug into the details around some less-than-helpful news articles that came out over the last few weeks. 

Marc also shares how, when times are tough, he leans on his experiences from the past 17 years in animal welfare.

To access resources from this episode, check out the website: https://network.bestfriends.org/proven-strategies/best-friends-podcast/best-friends-podcast-ep-148

The animal welfare industry’s approach to data has come a long way in the last few years. As a result, we understand more than ever the importance of tracking our lifesaving efforts and using that data to ensure we have the right resources in the right places to save the most lives. However, the processes and tools available to help collect and analyze data have been due for an upgrade. 

This week we focus on a newly launched platform that aims to help you take the way you use data to the next level. The Best Friends data science team designed the features of Shelter Pet Data Alliance. It includes automatically populated dashboards that quickly show you what you need to know and help you understand what you need to do to improve and how to do it.

The Chief Mission Officer for Best Friends, Holly Sizemore, joins us this week to discuss this exciting new platform.

Links:

• Shelter Pet Data Alliance: shelterpetdata.org
• Best Friends Pet Lifesaving Dashboard: bestfriends.org/no-kill-2025/animal-shelter-statistics
• BF Podcast episode 147: network.bestfriends.org/proven-strategies/best-friends-podcast/best-friends-podcast-ep-147