Best Chance Program

Best Chance Program is sponsored by Seattle Animal Foundation. Established in 2024, this program provides pets and pet owners with free monthly clinics offering veterinary exams, dog and cat vaccines, deworming, flea treatments, microchipping, and pet licensing, along with free pet food and supplies.

For over a decade, the Seattle Animal Foundation has supported programs at regional shelters. Below are highlights from what we have accomplished, thanks to your support. Read our 2024 Impact Report Seattle Animal Foundation has committed over $500,000 in grants in 2025.

Best Chance Program $150,000 Established in 2024, this program provides pets and pet owners with their best chance at health and wellness with free monthly clinics across Seattle. The clinics, administered by the Seattle Animal Shelter and with no reservation required, provide free veterinary exams, dog and cat vaccines, deworming, flea treatments, microchipping and pet licensing in addition to free pet food and supplies.

Emphasis is placed on building relationships with historically harder to reach populations, especially different ethnic and language groups. In 2024, more than 1,500 pets from over 900 households were assisted by the program. In its first year, the program had an overwhelmingly positive impact on public heath and serves as a blueprint for animal welfare organizations looking to make similar strides in the community.

Foster Care Coordinator Grant $125,000 The Foster Care Coordinator Grant provides funds for a full-time Foster Coordinator and consultants instrumental to development of the program at the Seattle Animal Shelter. On any given day, on average 100 animals of SAS’ total animal population are in foster homes providing love, compassion, and a much needed break away from the shelter.

Through the foster program, thousands of animals have been given a second chance and the program is critical to the shelter’s ability to adopt out as many as 3,000 animals each year. Shelter Diversion Program $75,000 SAF continues to fund programs and projects that provide owned-pet assistance, shelter animal support, staff and volunteer training, and outreach and engagement activities for the Seattle Animal Shelter.

This grant provides assistance to families to better care for their pet and avoid having to relinquish them or risk being cited for insufficient or substandard care. Services include uniformed field outreach to pre-identified areas of need and a free bi-monthly Pet Food Bank staffed by volunteers.

Behavior Program Grant $131,250 Open admission shelters like Seattle Animal Shelter are seeing an increase in animals with behavioral needs entering the shelter system. The Behavior Program increases the likelihood that pets at the Seattle Animal Shelter will be adopted and transition more smoothly into their new homes.

The program also helps to better identify animals who might present a risk to staff, volunteers, fosters and adopters, and creates programs to mitigate those outcomes. The SAS Behaviorist coordinates the program overseeing the dog behavior team, monitors the quality of life and capacity for care for in-shelter animals, and monitors and maximizes behavior health and well-being for all SAS animals.

Doney Coe / SNAPS Coalition Grant $20,000 Seattle Animal Foundation is proud to announce its first ever external grant awarded to Doney Coe and the SNAPS coalition to launch a pilot spay/neuter clinic serving pet owners in Seattle who would otherwise go without this vital care.

The pilot clinic is the result of collaboration among some of the 25 animal welfare organizations that gathered at the Seattle Animal Foundation’s April 2025 symposium. This program isn’t just about surgeries – it’s about access and compassion. Everything we do is to support our vision of a Seattle where every in need animal is treated with dignity.

View our 2024 Impact Report Established Best Chance programs providing access to free vaccine clinics for low-income pet owners. Run monthly, these clinics served over 1400 pets for owners who otherwise would not have access to veterinary care and encouraged reduced-cost offering for spay and neuter services.

Expanded Foster Coordinator Grant which provided oversight and expansion of foster program placing 1,749 dogs, cats, and critters in foster care during 2024 Expanded Owned Animal Assistance program, continued to help pet owners better care for their animals and avoid having to relinquish them to the shelter; served 481 humans and 942 pets Ongoing Food Bank running twice monthly, a much needed community resource distributing free supplies Additional underwriting for vital staff and volunteer training programs Funded a new full-time Foster Coordinator shelter staff position to expand the shelter’s volunteer foster program and better support existing foster parents.

Renewed full-time Animal Behaviorist shelter staff position. Renewed Shelter Diversion and Owned Animal Assistance programs, including on-site Pet Food Bank. Funded the establishment of the Shelter Diversion Program to provide help for pet owners facing hardships enabling them to keep their pets.

Renewed full-time Animal Behaviorist funding and increased number of behavioral training sessions for shelter animals. Created behavior enrichment programs to decrease shelter animal stress. Renewed full-time Animal Behaviorist funding.

Renewed support of the Owned Animal Assistance Program to subsidize a variety of resources for shelter staff to help owners keep their animals. Renewed support of the Outreach and Engagement program to fund promotions that generate awareness of the shelter’s programs. Expanded the behavioral program to include a full-time Animal Behaviorist.

Renewed medical equipment and supplies funding. Renewed essential programs funding. Construction of X-Ray Suite dedicated to Ziva, retiring SPD K9 Officer.

Implemented and funded the Behavioral Training Program which has saved the lives of hundreds of dogs. Funded the new and permanent onsite dog walking area named in honor of the volunteer Fit With Fido team. Purchase of medical equipment and supplies for in-house veterinary clinic fund.

In-house x-ray suite approved. Support of existing programs for animal care and well-being. Launch of behavioral training and assessment program.

Spay & neuter licensing assistance programs. Feline fospice (foster-hospice) care program. Adoption support and foster care programs.

Support of staff training. Construction of the in-house veterinary clinic. Design and purchase of event tents.

Inception of the licensing assistance program. Support the development of the Fospice Care Program. Support the development of the Owner Support Program.

Completion of the critter room, cat rooms, and meet & greet room. Construction of the cat and critter rooms. Construction of the meet & greet room.

Inception of the quality of life improvements program. Construction of the dog kennel doors. Construction of the cat kennels.

Professional digital camera for cruelty investigations. Inception of the animal health and safety program. Inception of the sponsored adoption program.

Inception of the outreach and training program.