Wyoming has reached no-kill status for dogs and cats in its animal shelters, Best Friends Animal Society announced Oct. 7. Every shelter in the state saved at least 90% of the animals in its care for 12 consecutive months, and the statewide rate was 92%. Best Friends is a national animal welfare group that sets the benchmark and tracks the data.
At a glance
- Save rate: Wyoming reached the mark at the end of August 2026 C.E., with a 92% statewide save rate over 12 consecutive months.
- Standard: No-kill means saving at least 90% of the dogs and cats that enter a shelter. The benchmark allows for animals with severe medical or behavioral conditions that prevent rehoming.
- Still needed: Best Friends says shelters still need adopters, foster homes and volunteers, and new animals will keep arriving.
What Wyoming achieved
Best Friends announced the milestone on Oct. 7. The state crossed the line at the end of August 2026 C.E., after 12 months of data. The measure covers dogs and cats in shelters, not other animals.
Wyoming joins Idaho, which reached the mark in January 2026 C.E. Best Friends judged each shelter on its own, so strong results at some could not cover for weak results at others, Greater Good reported.
Wyoming was close a year earlier. In April 2025 C.E., using 2024 C.E. data, Best Friends said the state needed to save about 200 more pets to reach no-kill, according to its national report. A month later, Best Friends said 75% of Wyoming’s shelters had reached the benchmark.
Nationally, shelters killed about 425,000 dogs and cats in 2024 C.E., down 59% from more than 1 million in 2016 C.E., Best Friends reported. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. shelters are now no-kill.
How Wyoming reached no-kill status
The gap was mainly cats, Best Friends said. Second Chance Sheridan Cat Rescue, a special-needs cat shelter with veterinary capacity, took in vulnerable cats from shelters across the state. They included medical cases, kittens, pregnant cats and other high-risk animals.
Best Friends staff also checked in with shelters often. That let them arrange transport or medical support early, Greater Good reported.
Community cat programs helped too. In 2025 C.E., a trap-neuter-vaccinate-return effort in Casper targeted outdoor cats near the airport, Best Friends reported. Best Friends CEO Julie Castle called Wyoming an example of what saving every healthy or treatable pet can look like in rural and frontier areas.
What no-kill does and does not mean
No-kill is not a promise that no animal dies. Best Friends defines it as a save rate of 90% or higher. Some shelters that offer specialized care, such as neonatal kitten care or end-of-life support, may fall slightly below that level.
The standard is Best Friends’ own. Its release does not say how the 92% was calculated or which shelters sit closest to the line. A statewide average can also hide a struggling shelter, Greater Good noted.
The work is not finished, Best Friends says. Its national goal is that no healthy or treatable pet in a shelter is unnecessarily killed.
Read more
For more on this story, see: Best Friends Animal Society announcement and Greater Good
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