Best Friends Pet Resource Center Celebrates Two Years in Bentonville

Since opening its doors on March 11, 2023, the Best Friends Animal Society Pet Resource Center in Bentonville has welcomed thousands of Northwest Arkansas locals and visitors each week looking to adopt, volunteer, attend an event, or simply grab a drink from on-site local coffee shop Third Space while hanging out with adoptable pets.

The Best Friends Pet Resource Center was designed to demonstrate a new model of how a community and shelter can intertwine to achieve pet lifesaving. It serves as a community destination that connects people with adoptable pets, offers support for families to help keep pets in homes, and provides opportunities for animal lovers to help make the state of Arkansas, and the entire country, no-kill*.

To give a sense of the impact that the Best Friends Pet Resource Center (PRC) has made in just two years, below are a few statistics collected since the center’s opening on March 11, 2023:

• 4,905: The number of pets that the PRC has placed in homes, like mama dog Berry, one-of-a-kind cat Sweet Pea, and bespectacled pup Doug. This number includes 3,225 cats, 1,678 dogs, and 2 special guinea pigs!

• 695: The number of fosters that have welcomed Best Friends pets into their homes for days, weeks, and even months. The PRC aims to place as many pets as possible in foster homes, where they can decompress outside of a shelter environment and get ready for life in a loving home.

• 11,816: The number of pets seen at the PRC’s on-site Robert H. Wilder Jr. And Susan P. Wilder Veterinary Clinic. This includes 7,195 spay/neuter and 3,216 microchipping procedures. In addition, 13,606 vaccines have been administered. The PRC offers weekly free vaccine and microchip clinics on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., as well as occasional pop-up clinics.

• 4,871: The number of baths provided at Cotton's Beauty Bar, a self-service donation-based bath and grooming center for pets of all sizes located inside the Best Friends Pet Resource Center.

• 3,089: The number of community events hosted by the PRC, including 3,029 on-site activities, 21 off-site events, and 39 virtual events. Some of the PRC’s most popular events have been the December 2025 Posada – a festive gathering traditionally celebrated in Mexico leading up to Christmas Eve – and the ongoing Kitten Bingo series.

• 1: The number of Guinness World Records set at the PRC! In May 2023, Best Friends partnered with Baby Doge Coin to break the world record for the most pet food donated in 24 hours - 81,021 pounds and 13 ounces – which was distributed to shelter partners and the public.

Learn more about ways to connect with Best Friends HERE.