When a big, shaggy dog named Trooper bounds across his yard in Tucson, Arizona, his floofy legs hit the ground like a staccato drumbeat while the breeze pins his soft, velvety ears to his head. You’d never guess that not long ago, he could barely walk.
Trooper arrived at Santa Cruz County Animal Care & Control Services after a community member found him near a road with an injured leg and brought him in for help. He needed veterinary care that the small shelter didn’t have on-site — but thanks to a new collaboration, help was already on the way.
Santa Cruz is a small shelter nestled in the smallest county in Arizona. “We only have 20 kennels available,” says shelter manager Jose Peña. A dedicated team of animal services officers handles everything from daily care of the animals in the shelter to helping animals out in the community. Trooper was one of many pets coming through their doors, and staff wanted to better support them on their way to new families.
That’s one of the reasons they signed on to take part in Best Friends’ Prince and Paws Shelter Collaborative Program. Through this program, Best Friends connects no-kill shelters (mentors) with shelters working toward no-kill (fellows), providing funding, training, and hands-on resources to help them get there. This kind of collaboration is just one of the ways Best Friends is helping shelters nationwide reach no-kill…