'Best Friends' come to help Selma Animal Shelter

National nonprofit Best Friends Animal Society has “embedded” a team at the Selma Animal Shelter to help raise funds and get the building on Medical Center Parkway cleaned up.  

Through their Embed program, Best Friends Animal Society brought staff and volunteers to Selma to start from the ground up focusing on “cleaning protocols, intake protocols, medical protocols, a basic foundation” at the Selma shelter, said team lead Emily Lancione.  

As part of the program that was founded in Utah, program leaders institute best practices like a low-cost adoption campaign and make recommendations like pushing the city to increase their financial support. Best Friends is also asking the community for donations of pet food, cleaning supplies or cash and to foster animals.  

The City of Selma gives about $20,000 to the shelter through the Police Department budget. Dallas County gives another $20,000 for handling animals for them. 

Best Friends Animal Society, which has a goal of having all no-kill shelters, supports local shelters with staff training, facility maintenance and a lot of love for dogs and cats for several months. 

The organization is helping with medical, food and otherexpenses for basic needs at the shelter and works with the staff on best practices.   

“They’ve been awesome,” she added. “They have really taken to it. We currently have three staff, and they are doing an awesome job.”  

Earnest Johnson, who has worked at the shelter for about a year, said the shelter has seen great improvement since Best Friends has been in town. “It’s improved. There was a lot of stuff that needed to be fixed. They got here, and they made it happen.”  

Johnson said even the morale of the employees is better.   

“It’s a job that has to be done. I can’t complain,” said Johnson who was a little nervous about working with the animals at first, but now he loves it.  

“We are trying to get programming in place that will be sustainable long term so that the Selma shelter has animals that are healthy, altered (spade or neutered) and ready for adoption,” said Taylor Lefebvre, who works for Best Friends and is part of the team embedded in Selma.  

Lefebvre and Lancione separately said Selma’s shelter animals are the sweetest and most friendly compared to other shelters they’ve visited throughout the country. Animals in Selma’s shelter rarely have problems getting along with people or other animals, they said.  

Part of getting the animals healthy is socialization, and Best Friends worked with Selma to make sure the dogs and cats have plenty of play time and toys. Lancione said it is important to let the animals play with people and each other.    

Another major aspect they addressed was naming the animals, which Selma’s shelter didn’t do before. Without names, Lancione said, “it was hard for them to connect with the animals, especially not knowing if they were going to be adopted out.” But now the staff has regular playgroups for the animals, making both the animals and the staff members much happier.  

Right now, there are around 100 dogs and cats ready for adoption at the Selma Animal Shelter. Currently, Best Friends is having a special promotion. There is no adoption fee for dogs weighing over 40 pounds.   

Lefebvre added that they want the Selma shelter to be a place people in Selma and Dallas County will come to adopt pets “because they know that they are getting healthy, altered animals but also that we are here as a resource.”  

“I would hope that people feel comfortable coming to the shelter and seeing the animals and the changes and what we have to offer,” Lancione said.  

Both Lefebvre and Lancione said the public should know that the shelter is not just for adopting pets but also a resource for pet owners. Lancione said some families have come to the shelter wanting to keep their pet but just could not. “I understand everything is expensive now days. I’m happy to help them out.”  

Another way the public can help is by fostering animals. One employee put it this way: “Fostering is a bridge from death row to a forever home.” Sometimes they get very small kittens and puppies that will not function well at the pound, so they get foster families to care for them. For more information about the Selma Animal Shelter, adopting, donating and sheltering, call 334-877-2204