Asheville, NC ─ Asheville Humane Society is excited to announce its participation in the Paws in the Field Challenge, a national initiative to increase the number of lost dogs who are returned home.

The Paws in the Field Challenge, hosted by Best Friends Animal Society, a leading national animal welfare organization working to end the killing of cats and dogs in America’s shelters. Participating shelters and animal services officers from around the country have received support to pilot innovative community-based field services tactics that will increase return-to-home (RTH) rates and lifesaving. The challenge runs from May 1–31, 2025.

Nearly 1.5 million dogs entered U.S. shelters as “strays” in 2024, yet only 20% are successfully returned home, according to the industry’s most comprehensive data set collected by Best Friends. Creating and implementing effective return-to-home programming is an important part of achieving and sustaining no-kill.

“Asheville Humane Society is committed to helping pets and the people who love them—and losing a pet can be heartbreaking,” said Jen Walter, Interim Executive Director. “With community support, we’ve already reunited countless families, and Paws in the Field is the next step in keeping them together. This initiative empowers neighbors with the tools to reunite pets with their families, ensuring more animals find their way home.” Paws in the Field expands on AHS’s Community Sheltering Center, launched in 2023, which offers a five-step system to reunite pets with their owners and house lost pets within the community by connecting people with vital resources.

“Many if not most ‘stray’ dogs are actually lost pets who just need some help to be reunited with their families, but it’s not always easy to do,” said Whitney Bollinger, Director of Strategy & Network Operations, Best Friends Animal Society. “The Paws in the Field Challenge is all about organizations like Asheville Humane Society innovating and implementing the strategies to get more of these pets back to the people who love them, instead of sitting in shelter kennels. This will reunite families and save pets’ lives.”

Every participating organization will receive up to five field services kits for officers containing supplies to help lost pets get home. Plus, organizations meeting challenge requirements will receive a $1,000 grant and a one-year individual officer National Animal Care & Control Association (NACA) membership. Five top performing organizations with the greatest year-over-year increase in return-to-home rates for dogs will receive an agency NACA membership and a $500 gift certificate to Tomahawk Live Trap for animal services equipment.

Asheville Humane Society is proud to be part of this initiative to help lost dogs return home and save pets’ lives.

The return-to-home strategies Asheville Humane Society will be implementing for the Paws in the Field Challenge include:

• Equipping all animal services officers with microchip scanners and scanning lost/stray pets for microchips in the field.
• Making a first attempt to contact an owner before a lost/stray dog is brought into the shelter.
• Leaving flyers about a lost/stray dog who’s been picked up and brought to the shelter at the intersection closest to the impoundment location, along with instructions about how to reclaim them.

About Asheville Humane Society

Asheville Humane Society is building a supportive community that positively impacts pets and people and has consistently received top ratings for its transparency and impact. 85% of donations directly support life-saving programs.

About Best Friends Animal Society

Best Friends Animal Society is a leading animal welfare organization working to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters and make the country no-kill in 2025. Founded in 1984, Best Friends is a pioneer in the no-kill movement and has helped reduce the number of animals killed in shelters from an estimated 17 million per year to 415,000 last year. Best Friends runs lifesaving programs across the country, as well as the nation’s largest no-kill animal sanctuary. Working collaboratively with a network of more than 5,100 animal welfare and shelter partners, and community members nationwide, Best Friends is working to Save Them All®. For more information, visit bestfriends.org.