Acts of kindness transform animals’ lives

The opportunity to do good is all around us every day, and even a seemingly random act can have a life-changing impact. Best Friends Animal Society’s vision is a better world through kindness to animals, and across the country people’s kind acts are adding up to make that vision a reality. Here are some of their stories.

Andrew Duhe wanted to do something special for his wife Jennifer’s 40th birthday, especially because their family was in the midst of grieving the loss of one of their beloved dogs. He came up with a deeply meaningful gift that he knew would boost Jennifer’s spirits: In her honor, he sponsored adoption fees for 40 dogs at Chesapeake Animal Services in Virginia, where both he and Jennifer are dedicated volunteers. For Jennifer, the gift was a testament to Andrew’s true understanding of her. Her only birthday wish? That all those dogs would soon know the love and comfort of homes of their own.

It’s not uncommon for people to find best friends and soulmates on social media, and that’s exactly what happened for Ash, a cat at an animal shelter in Texas. Ash has feline leukemia virus (FeLV), a contagious virus that weakens cats’ immune systems and has no cure. It can be difficult to find homes for cats with FeLV because they must be the only cat in the home or live with other cats who already have the virus. To help spread the word about Ash, a shelter employee created a post about the striking charcoal-striped kitty on Reddit, where he gained thousands of fans — including Joshua. He was looking to adopt a cat and felt a special connection with Ash. So it was a no-brainer for Joshua to make the 21-hour round-trip drive from Illinois to bring the lucky feline home.

In Oahu, Hawaii, a white baby goat recently became a local celebrity — but for the wrong reason. Residents spotted Bala stuck on a cliffside, alone and unable to find his way back to his mom. They grew concerned as days passed and Bala still hadn’t moved from his perch. Local agencies weren’t able to help, so residents took matters into their own hands. Through social media, a scrappy band of strangers organized into a rescue team, complete with climbing gear and expertise. They slowly approached the goat, and one of the rescuers picked him up and held him snugly for the hike back down. They brought Bala to Aloha Animal Sanctuary, where it was determined he was in good shape, just a little hungry. Soon, Bala was off to a home of his own, where he has plenty of space to play and there are no scary cliffsides in sight.

Gita the dog takes her role as man’s best friend very seriously — so seriously that when her person fell and injured his leg near their cabin in rural Washington, Gita went off to get help. A sheriff’s office deputy found the 13-year-old rescued pup sitting in the roadway and sensed that she was trying to communicate with him. Gita guided him along the path that led back to her person, and the deputy quickly got him the medical attention he needed. Meanwhile, good girl Gita received lots of praise for being the hero who saved the day.

A call about a tiny orange-and-white kitten running down the highway changed a California Highway Patrol officer’s life forever. Officer Ryan Moore had to temporarily stop traffic to rescue the kitten from her precarious position. But she wasn’t ready for her road trip to end just yet. She jumped into the wheel well of a stopped car and crawled behind its engine. The vehicle was driven slowly to a nearby parking lot, where the driver graciously allowed a few car parts to be removed in order to reach the feline stowaway. SPCA Monterey County took in the kitten, now named Chippy, and made sure she was healthy. But she’d clearly made an impression on Ryan, who decided to adopt her and bring her home.

This article was originally published in the March/April 2025 issue of Best Friends magazine. Want more good news? Become a member and get stories like this six times a year.

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill in 2025. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.