Helping Indigenous people and their pets on the Navajo Nation

The Best Friends Podcast

Rural communities across the country struggle to access essential services such as healthcare, let alone easily accessible and affordable veterinary care for their pets. Few communities are as rural and resource-strapped as the Navajo Nation.

The Navajo Nation is a big area. It spans three different states, is larger than West Virginia, and is also the largest reservation population-wise. The issues facing people and pets are also vast. There are not enough veterinary services - and even when they are available, the distances required to connect people with those services often prove to be too much. The lack of spay/neuter resources has contributed to a free-roaming dog population that has become a public safety concern.

Achieving no-kill 2025 means every shelter in the United States hitting that 90% save rate benchmark. Every shelter, including the four that are part of the Navajo Nation. This week we take a look at the effort to overcome the immense challenges and help the people and pets of this nation within a nation.