A Promise Kept: Leitchfield Animal Shelter Earns No-Kill Status

In the world of animal sheltering and rescue, some victories are quiet. They arrive in small ways—through an adoption finalized, a medical case resolved, or a transport completed. But some wins are so big, so hard-fought, and so meaningful that they deserve to be celebrated out loud.

This is one of those moments.

We are proud and deeply moved to share that Leitchfield Animal Shelter (LAS), one of Happy Bark’s shelter partners in Kentucky, has officially been recognized by Best Friends Animal Society as a no-kill shelter. This milestone means that LAS saved 90% or more of the animals who came into their care in 2024.

LAS Staff Proudly Announcing No-Kill Status

For those of us in rescue, we know that reaching no-kill status isn’t just a number. It’s a reflection of tireless commitment, community collaboration, and an unwavering belief that every life matters.

What No-Kill Really Means

No-kill, by Best Friends’ standards, means that a shelter saves every animal that can be saved. It acknowledges that some animals—due to untreatable medical or behavioral conditions—may not be candidates for adoption, but that the vast majority are. The 90% benchmark gives us a measurable way to evaluate how a shelter is doing and how many lives are being spared.

Reaching that benchmark is a huge accomplishment for any shelter. For an open-intake, rural county shelter like Leitchfield, it is a monumental feat.

Rescue: The Missing Link in the No-Kill Equation

This milestone could not have been achieved without the efforts of rescue organizations like Happy Bark—and many others—who partner with shelters like LAS to alleviate overcrowding, expand placement options, and give dogs and cats a second chance when the shelter runs out of room or time.

At Happy Bark, we’ve taken in hundreds of dogs from Leitchfield over the years—each one a life saved not just because we had space, but because we made space. Every transport, every foster home, every late-night adoption follow-up contributes directly to shelters like LAS being able to lower euthanasia rates and save more lives.

This is the power of rescue.

It works.

It matters.

And it makes a real, measurable difference.

Our Visit to Leitchfield

In January 2025, our team visited Leitchfield Animal Shelter in person. What we saw left a deep impression on us—not just because of what was there, but because of what wasn’t.

The shelter is made up of an aged group of buildings, some connected, others freestanding and separated by walkways or fences. Every inch of the space is used. There are no extras. No luxuries. Every room, every enclosure, every hallway has been transformed into a place for animals to rest, recover, or simply wait for their chance.

From the moment we arrived, the LAS team welcomed us warmly—but they didn’t stop working. They couldn’t. Animals needed feeding. Medications had to be given. Kennels needed to be cleaned. New arrivals had to be assessed. It was all hands on deck, all the time.

This is a shelter operating at full capacity, every day.

And yet, despite all the challenges—no veterinarian on-site, limited volunteer support, and the demands of open-intake housing—they continue to do the work. When animals need veterinary care, it means transporting them to local clinics, which puts more pressure on a small, stretched-thin staff. When volunteers can’t make it, the already busy team picks up the slack. And when space runs out, there are no magic answers—just the same small team making hard decisions and doing everything they can.

The Heart of the Operation

Two of the key people we met during our visit are Alison Saltsman and Savannah Miller, who embody the heart and grit behind Leitchfield’s success.

Alison is not only a devoted staff member—she is the founder of Fix Grayson County, a nonprofit that provides free and low-cost spay/neuter services to the surrounding community. Her vision is rooted in prevention: fewer unwanted litters means fewer animals entering the shelter in the first place. The ripple effects of her work are being felt throughout the region—and it’s changing the landscape of animal sheltering in Grayson County.

Savannah, the shelter’s Assistant Director, is the kind of person who doesn’t wait for someone else to solve the problem—she takes the dogs home herself. When the shelter reaches capacity, she fosters. When the team needs coverage, she steps in. When logistics get tough, she figures them out. Her work behind the scenes often goes unseen, but it is absolutely essential to the shelter’s survival.

Together, Alison, Savannah, and the rest of the LAS team—many of them young, like-minded individuals with a passion for animal welfare—have transformed a place that once struggled into a community beacon. It’s a living example of how fragile animal sheltering can be, and how progress hinges on the shoulders of people willing to show up and do the work, day in and day out.

Why This Matters

This moment is not just a gold star on a chart. It’s not just a plaque on a wall. It’s a promise kept—to the animals, to the adopters, to the community, and to everyone in the rescue world who believes in a better way.

It’s a reminder that the burden of saving lives doesn’t fall on one person or one shelter—it’s shared. At Happy Bark, we are honored to be part of that shared responsibility. When we transport dogs from Leitchfield to Pennsylvania, when we place them in loving foster homes, when we match them with forever families—we are helping write this story of success.

One Shelter, Many Heroes

Leitchfield’s no-kill designation isn’t just about a number. It’s about people who stayed when it was hard. It’s about community members who adopted instead of shopped. It’s about volunteers, rescue partners, transporters, fosters, and donors. It’s about collaboration and compassion—two things that will always be more powerful together than alone.

To everyone at Leitchfield Animal Shelter: your work inspires us. We see your commitment, your creativity, and your sacrifice. And we are so proud to stand alongside you.

Here’s to many more lives saved—and many more promises kept.