Dr. Carley Faughn

Senior Strategist, Lifesaving Research

Dr. Carley Faughn (PhD, CAAB) has worked with canines, felines and nonhuman primates since 2007, merging her passion for comparative cognition, animal welfare and animal rescue. Dr. Faughn is a certified applied animal behaviorist (CAAB) and the senior strategist of research for lifesaving programs at Best Friends Animal Society. She focuses on solving advanced behavior challenges in dogs and works with teams to develop lifesaving behavior modification models for shelters across the country. She also develops and implements applied animal behavior research, initially focusing on large dogs and saving those most at risk nationwide, while also investigating successful lifesaving programs in general.

Dr. Faughn consults with various teams within Best Friends and with Best Friends Network Partners across the country to develop creative wellness and enrichment plans and to facilitate teachings about animal behavior and cognition. She has held various roles within Best Friends, from Dogtown manager to senior manager of animal care to her current position focusing on applied research within the lifesaving scope. Before coming to Best Friends, she served as executive director of Acadiana Animal Aid in Lafayette, Louisiana, for three years. She completed her PhD in cognitive science at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2014.