Best Friends Sanctuary Inc. was organized in 2001 due to the rampant overpopulation, abuse, and neglect of animals in our county, which has no animal control, causing packs of dogs to run wild and be a threat to safety.  Best Friends Sanctuary Inc. is the only animal welfare shelter in Fentress County, Tennessee, that covers 499 square miles. All adopted animals are “fixed” before they leave us. We are a “NO Kill” shelter. Euthanasia is only done when all other options are exhausted under vet recommendation, when an animal cannot recover, and/or the suffering is too great. Our shelter averages 60-80 dogs and 10-15 cats daily.

Fentress County has no animal ordinances, rules/regulations.  The police/sheriff departments are ill-equipped with no training for any kind of “dog/animal abuse or abandonment calls,” so they forward all public calls they receive to our shelter, but provide no compensation for animal control. All pick-ups and rescues are carried out by volunteer staff members. The animals’ health is often very poor, with worms, fleas, mange, and starvation, which Best Friends treats and cares for. Sometimes rescues have to be rushed to the vet for surgery or other lifesaving procedures. Despite everything possible being done to help these animals, around twenty percent of rescues will die.

Our spay/neuter program is called Fix Fentress. Our goal is the reduction of animal neglect, overpopulation, and abandonment in Fentress County, which are discarded in the woods or on roadsides. 98.8% citizens of Fentress County qualify as “low income”, so some financial assistance is required for most spay/neuter.

We need funding for helping with fundraisers for adoption, we need more equipment for housing at the shelter to help stimulate and give these animals a better environment to live in, along with training to increase adoptions, supplies needed for care daily, with the biggest issue facing extra costs to cover emergency rescues involving surgeries with prolonged medical care, which we average three times a month.

For over twenty years, Best Friends Sanctuary has been in existence. Our shelter has eliminated the packs of wild dogs roaming the woods, making our county a safer place to live. Our vision is that all animals in Fentress County will have a loving and caring forever home where they can live out their life in the best way possible.

We have an active transport program that transports adoptable approximately 25 dogs/puppies to OH about two times a month, or to another shelter after being fully vetted, vaccinated, and any medical issues needing attention are addressed. The average cost for one dog to be ready for transport (not counting shelter costs) with a written health certificate by the attending vet is $150.00. Some months, the vet bill can be as high as $5,000. Our yearly average for transports is= 500