Best Friends Animal Society gives 2025 no-kill shelter designation for care, adoption efforts
It is a warm July morning, and the Newcastle Animal Shelter is opening for the day.
Before the phones start ringing and before the first visitor walks through the door, Justine, David, and Kara are already greeted by the voices of the animals inside. Dogs call from their kennels. Kittens wait for breakfast. Every animal is asking, in its own way, for the same thing: care for now, and a home for good.
Now through July 26, Newcastle Animal Shelter is offering reduced adoption fees to help more of those animals find homes. Adoption fees are $20 instead of the usual $40, with BISSELL Pet Foundation paying the other half.
That reduced fee can be the difference between someone thinking about adoption and someone walking through the door.
For animals like Ms. Tawny, an adorable dog who gets to spend part of the day resting in Kara’s arms, or Kelce, a kitten with enough personality to make a food bowl look like the best seat in the shelter, adoption means the day ends differently. It means a ride home. A new routine. A family.
And for the shelter, every adoption matters.
“Every adoption makes a difference,” said Justine Petalcu, Director of Animal Control. “When one of our animals goes home, it means that pet gets a family, and it also helps us continue caring for the next animal that needs us.”
The shelter was also recently recognized by Best Friends Animal Society with a 2025 no-kill shelter designation, honoring its lifesaving work and commitment to helping animals find homes. For Newcastle Animal Control, that recognition reflects the daily work behind every adoption: feeding, cleaning, walking, comforting, socializing, and preparing animals for the people who will one day take them home.
Community members who cannot adopt can still help. Donations give the shelter resources to keep animals fed, clean, comfortable, and ready to meet future owners. Needed items include towels, blankets, cat litter, pet food, dish soap, pet toys, treats, cleaning supplies, and pet beds.
Residents are asked to call before dropping off donations because officers may be out of the office. Cash donations are also appreciated and may be received by cashiers at City Hall.
For Ms. Tawny, Kelce, and the many others waiting now, adoption can turn an ordinary July day into the day everything changes.
The address of the facility is 721 N. Walker Drive. To contact the facility, call 405-3016038. They are open 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 7:30-11:30 a.m. Fridays.
• photo provided Kelce the cat is among pets available for adoption at Newcastle.
