In 2018, Abilene Animal Services (AAS) had a 55% save rate. That put them at 27th on the list of shelters nationwide most in need of help. The community wanted the shelter to succeed and the city’s elected officials took action.

In May of this year, Abilene’s City Council passed a resolution that approved Best Friends to take on the role of Animal Services Director. The City of Abilene officially became the latest community to join the Shelter Embed Program. This unique approach to public-private partnerships has already proven successful in other communities, including Edinburg, Texas, where Palm Valley Animal Society’s save rate increased from 34% to almost 90% in two years.

This week we chatted with AAS Supervisor, Jacqueline Hernández, National Embed Program Specialist for Best Friends, Jen Adkins, who is helping AAS save cats through a community cats program, and Mike Bricker, the Director of Embed Operations for Best Friends who has taken on the role as the new director at AAS.