News Releases

Best Friends Animal Society recently recognized the Pocatello Animal Shelter as a no-kill shelter for 2022. 

Pocatello Animal Services has been working with a variety of resources to place every dog and cat into a home.  This was made possible by working with rescue and shelter partners, the support of Friends of the Pocatello Animal Shelter, donors, and especially the support of the community by donating funding and time, and by adopting our animals. 

Each year Best Friends Animal Society evaluates shelters to see if they can be classified as a no-kill shelter, according to Best Friends’ criteria. Pocatello Animal Shelter also achieved this award for 2021 and staff are working hard to achieve this award each year. 

“This is a great accomplishment for Pocatello Animal Services.  It wouldn’t be possible without the support from other shelters and rescues in the animal network, Friends of the Pocatello Animal Shelter, and other donors, as well as the support of the community. Our staff has worked hard to get to this point, but; it is only the beginning. We will continue to rely on our volunteers, fosters, and community to help keep this a safe place for the animals,” said Animal Services Director Chris Abbott.

A shelter is considered to be no-kill when it has a save rate of 90% or higher, according to Best Friends Animal Society. 

Here’s more information from the Best Friends Animal Society website:

A 90% total save rate for all animals in a shelter system is an effective benchmark for measuring a community's progress towards no-kill. Being able to reach that percentage indicates that shelters have the relationships and resources that make it possible to save the life of every cat and dog that can be saved. The number of pets brought to shelters who are suffering from irremediable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being saved typically does not comprise more than 10% of all pets entering the shelter system. Therefore, any shelter operating at or above a 90% save rate will automatically receive the designation of no-kill in the Best Friends Pet Lifesaving Dashboard.

For more information on Pocatello Animal Services and to view adoptable pets, visit pocatello.gov/animal, call 208-234-6156, or like the department’s Facebook page at facebook.com/PocatelloAnimalServices.