In the 1980s, an estimated 20 million dogs and cats were being killed in U.S. shelters every year. Today, that number has dropped to approximately 400,000, and 68 percent of the nation’s shelters have reached no-kill status.
That progress did not happen by accident.
It happened because people challenged long-standing systems, changed policies, created new programs, collected better data, and refused to accept the idea that killing healthy and treatable animals was simply an unavoidable part of animal sheltering.
In this episode of the Better Life for Animals Podcast, Cheryl Moss talks with Tawny Hammond, National Advisor for No-Kill Advancement at Best Friends Animal Society, about what it takes to 
create shelter systems that put life first.
Tawny brings decades of experience in public service and animal services leadership to this conversation. Before joining Best Friends, she spent 25 years in municipal government and later served as Chief of Animal Services for Austin, Texas, where her leadership helped Austin and Travis County achieve a 98 percent save rate for more than 17,000 animals in a single year.
What No-Kill Really Means
The term no-kill is often misunderstood.
Tawny explains that no-kill does not mean keeping animals alive when they are suffering with no reasonable hope of recovery. It means ending the killing of animals when lifesaving solutions are available.
The shift is significant. Instead of entering a shelter system where survival is uncertain, animals are given a life-first commitment. Shelter teams look for solutions through adoption, foster care, reunification with families, partnerships with rescue organizations, behavioral support, and other resources.
The question changes from, “How many animals can we save?” to, “What solution have we not tried yet?”
Austin’s Journey to a 98 Percent Save Rate
When Tawny arrived in Austin, the community was already technically no-kill. Yet she saw animals still losing their lives when other options could have been explored.
One of her priorities was changing the culture.
Shelter employees were working under enormous pressure and often felt isolated from the community and nonprofit organizations. Tawny worked to break down the “us versus them” mentality and create stronger partnerships between shelter staff, advocates, rescue groups, foster families, and the community.
She also focused on expanding practical lifesaving strategies, including managed intake, short-term and long-term foster programs, and specialized foster placements for animals struggling behaviorally in the stressful shelter environment.
Many dogs once considered “unadoptable” were actually animals reacting to noise, confinement, unfamiliar surroundings, and the constant stress of shelter life.
Changing the environment could change the outcome.
Animal Sheltering Is About People Too
One of the most important parts of the conversation is Tawny’s explanation of the connection between human hardship and animal suffering.
Where people face housing insecurity, poverty, domestic violence, food scarcity, and limited access to resources, animals are often at risk too.
Keeping animals safe sometimes means helping people keep the animals they already love.
Tawny also discusses the role animals play in strengthening communities. Animals can reduce loneliness, create connections between neighbors, support emotional well-being, and even contribute to the economic vitality and reputation of a city.
A strong animal services system is not simply a charitable extra. It is part of a healthy community.
Developing the Next Generation of Animal Services Leaders
Tawny helped create a national executive leadership certification program for animal services professionals through Southern Utah University. The program addresses a major gap in the field.
Unlike other established public service disciplines, animal services practices can vary dramatically between communities. Shelter leaders may also face complicated political structures, outdated policies, limited funding, institutional resistance, and fear of trying something new.
Leadership development is therefore an essential part of saving animals.
The program helps animal services leaders strengthen emotional intelligence, self-awareness, communication, strategic thinking, and the practical skills needed to implement lifesaving policies and programs.
Find Out Where the Real Barrier Is
For people who want to help their local shelter become no-kill, Tawny offers an important piece of advice: understand the problem before deciding who to blame.
Sometimes shelter employees desperately want change but are blocked by supervisors, elected officials, inadequate budgets, or outdated policies.
In other communities, city leaders may support lifesaving changes while shelter leadership resists them.
Effective advocacy requires knowing where the barrier actually exists.
Before attacking shelter staff on social media or sending angry emails, Tawny encourages people to learn how their local system operates, what resources are missing, and where change is being blocked.
Everyone Has Something to Contribute
Not everyone can foster an animal. Not everyone can donate large amounts of money. Not everyone has hours each week to volunteer.
But everyone can do something.
You can foster for a weekend or several weeks. You can volunteer. You can donate. You can advocate for better policies and funding. You can learn whether your local shelter has reached no-kill status and, if it has, find out whether a neighboring community needs help.
The road to no-kill is not built through numbers alone.
It is built through leadership, collaboration, better systems, informed advocacy, and communities willing to ask a fundamental question:
What can we do differently to give this animal a chance to live?
Episode Highlights
[00:00] Introductions
[03:00] From Parks & Rec to Law Enforcement to Animal Advocacy
[05:15] One city committed to no kill shelters
[08:30] Non profits working together
[10:30] What no kill shelters actually are
[16:00] New foster programs for troubled dogs
[20:00] BFAS announces bold move for the animals
[26:30] Social justice for the animals and underserved communities
[33:00] All animals matter
[38:00] Some farmers do truly care
[42:30] How to get involved to make a difference
About Tawny Hammond
Tawny Hammond is a nationally recognized animal welfare leader, public servant, executive coach, author, and speaker with more than three decades of experience in municipal government, leadership development, and community transformation.
As National Advisor for No-Kill Advancement at Best Friends Animal Society, Tawny works with animal services leaders and communities across the country to advance lifesaving shelter practices and help bring the nation closer to no-kill. Her work focuses on leadership development, organizational change, community collaboration, and creating sustainable systems that give healthy and treatable animals a chance at life.
Prior to joining Best Friends Animal Society, Tawny spent more than 25 years in municipal government. She led the transformation of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter in Virginia, helping it achieve a 90 percent save rate in less than two years. She later served as Chief of Animal Services for Austin, Texas, where her leadership helped Austin and Travis County achieve a 98 percent save rate for more than 17,000 animals in a single year.
Tawny is also deeply committed to developing stronger leaders within animal services. She helped create a national executive leadership certification program for animal services professionals in partnership with Southern Utah University and continues to mentor and coach leaders navigating organizational change, political challenges, and the complexities of creating lifesaving shelter systems.
Through her coaching work, Tawny helps individuals and leaders better understand the patterns that influence their decisions, align their actions with their values, and move forward with greater clarity and purpose.
She holds a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on Leadership Studies and Contemporary Animal Services. She is also a certified U.S. Coast Guard Master Captain and a graduate of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Leadership Program.
Whether she is working with shelter leaders, coaching individuals, speaking to audiences, or advocating for animals, Tawny’s work is rooted in the belief that meaningful change happens when compassionate values are supported by courageous leadership, strong systems, and communities willing to work together.
www.BestFriends.org
About Cheryl Moss
Cheryl Moss is the host of the Better Life for Animals podcast, where she shares uplifting stories from sanctuaries and highlights the work of vegan activists, ethical consumers, and animal welfare leaders. She is also the founder of the Funding Blueprint for Sanctuaries summit, designed to empower those involved with sanctuaries to create sustainable funding streams.
A passionate advocate for animal welfare, Cheryl is dedicated to ending factory farming and supporting underrepresented sanctuaries.
Beyond podcasting, Cheryl is a banking professional and an accomplished children’s author. A graduate of Main Street Vegan Academy, she recently added Vystopia Transformation to her resume. The Vystopia work, created by psychologist Clare Mann, focuses on the emotional impact many people experience after becoming aware of animal suffering and exploitation. The training offers tools for resilience, communication, and emotional well-being while continuing to advocate for positive change.
Through her books, Gabriel, Cluck, and Pickle the Pig, Cheryl inspires young readers to embrace kindness, sustainability, and compassion for animals.
When not advocating, she enjoys Pilates and spending time with her rescue dogs and grandchildren. Through her work, writing, and activism, Cheryl continues to inspire positive change for animals and the planet.
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