(uplifting music) - Best Friends Animal Society's national network partners and lifesaving centers have become hubs for innovation and inspiration, bringing lifesaving tactics to shelters and rescue groups across the country.

Our guest today, Nick Lippincott, is joined by a special adoptable friend.

Hey Nick, welcome.

And first, thank you for sponsoring Contact.

We really appreciate that.

- Of course, thank you so much for what y'all do as well.

- Yeah, well what you do.

And introduce us to Bob Cee.

- Bob Cee, you nailed it.

Yeah, this is Bobsy.

She just joined us in Salt Lake from our sanctuary in Kanab.

She's about seven months old.

Just got spayed, little pit bull mix.

A whole bunch of something.

She's a total sweetheart though.

And we just actually met today and we're already this close, so I think.

- [Mary] I know, look, you may end up adopting her.

- [Nick] Oh well we want to save the really sweet ones for everybody else, but she definitely does still need a home.

- Adorable, adorable.

And talk about what you do, you do a lot.

I mean, you have what, 52,000 animals come through your shelters?

- So within the state of Utah, Yeah, last year we had almost 52,000 animals enter shelters throughout Utah.

And the work we do, the work our teams do throughout Utah and the nation at Best Friends Animal Society is to try to help shelters find the best placement, the best outcomes, life saving and saving outcomes for animals that, you know, in some places they're hard to get homes and we want to help everybody reach no kill by 2025.

- Which is great.

A great goal.

And I know during Covid, a lot of people got pets.

Covid is over and they're giving them up.

- Yeah, and we think that's part, you know, maybe part of that story and part of that narrative there is that, you know, there was a big increase in people really doing amazing work during Covid and that was fantastic.

And it still continues to be fantastic.

And you know, because of that and the changing times we are seeing more animals come into our shelters.

Where this year in Utah alone, I'm sorry 2022, from our data set, we saw that, you know, almost doubled the animals entered shelters last year than they did the year before.

- Wow, wow.

- Yeah.

- Well, I'm so glad for the work you do and thanks for bringing Bob Cee in, I'm sure someone out there's gonna want her.

- We hope so.

(dog whines) - So thanks for being here.

Listen to her cry.

And if you'd like to know more about Best Friends Animal Society and the work they do and find a pet that may be right for you, bestfriends.org.

That's bestfriends.org.

I'm Mary Dickson.

Thanks for watching Contact.

(uplifting music) - Local events, arts, culture.

It's what brings us together.

Hi, I'm Mary Dickson.

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