Where do I start?
When I met Mark while traveling through California in 2004, he handed me one of his favorite books to read. It is called “Best Friends – The True Story of the World’s Most Beloved Animal Sanctuary” (published in 2001). Ever since absorbing this story about some of the founders and the animals, we have been captivated by the organization and its no-kill sanctuary in Utah, the biggest one in the country.
Red, Tiponi, Dingo, Dale, Inky, Cliff, Mandalay, Janko, Lordes
As some of you probably noticed, Mark and I have been donating a small amount to Best Friends every month for five years. We believe in their strategies and goals, the most recent one “Save them all by 2025” to end all unnecessary killing in animal shelters. Since “moving” to the United States, a visit to the sanctuary has been on our agenda. In October 2017, we basically drove past, but decided against stopping. We were too worried about falling in love with a dog and adopting it. House and pet sitting made up a big part of our lives, so we didn’t want to risk it.
Earlier this year, a planned three-day visit turned into a quick afternoon tour of the sanctuary, as we had unexpectedly won The Wave lottery. Then, after our house sit in Albuquerque, Kanab was our main destination to spend time with the animals of Best Friends. Mid-May, we returned to the sanctuary, our minds made up about not adopting. By then, we had built up our strength and determination, knowing we could get our doggy fix on the road or during pet sits.
One of the horse paddocks at Best Friends
These days, Best Friends Animal Society (a non-profit) is so all-encompassing, innovative, well-funded, organized, respected, and famous that it comprises over 2600 network partners in all 50 US states, including shelters, rescue groups, and other animal welfare organizations. Every partner in the network has one common goal: to save the lives of homeless pets. (Hover over or click on photos for captions.)
The Beginnings
In the early eighties, a group of animal lovers (that had been rescuing pets from shelters in Northern Arizona for years), bought land in Angel Canyon, Kanab, UT to move themselves and heaps of four-legged creatures to a new location, as they needed more space and resources. They built Best Friends Animal Sanctuary with their own hands, struggling with issues as they came up (explained in the book – read their (hi)story here).
Angel Canyon
Over the years, after working hard, rallying throughout the country – even begging for money – overcoming their adversities, and with the help of many donors, they turned the sanctuary into what it has become now: an incredible place for over 1600 animals (450 dogs); most of them wouldn’t have made it elsewhere. An example are the 22 of ~50 fighting pit bulls of Michael Vicks, called the “victory” dogs, seized in 2007. Most of them ended up getting adopted (There is a fantastic documentary about this called The Champions. It is sometimes available on Netflix); three still remain at the sanctuary. Best Friends’ involvement in that case changed animal rescue forever.
Meryl – called Mama Meryl by her caregivers – is one of the three remaining “Victory” dogs left at the sanctuary
A couple of years ago, I noticed a house and pet sitting ad on one of the sites we are a member of. The home owner: one of the founders of Best Friends. We couldn’t do that particular sit, but I remained in touch with Jana De Peyer, telling her we would swing by “one of these years.” While being active at the sanctuary last month, we met up with her (and husband Tim) twice, once for lunch, and once to meet her three dogs, in case we’d sit for her in the future. Learning first hand about the sanctuary opened our eyes even further.
The Sanctuary
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is situated on 3,700 acres (15 km2) of land in Kanab, Southern Utah (close to the border with Arizona) and leases another 33,000 acres (130 km2) from the BLM. It’s a home-between-homes for dogs, cats, bunnies, birds, horses, pigs, and other barnyard animals from all over the country, finding refuge, love, and acceptance here. With our own eyes, we have watched how every single animal receives personalized food, care, and training. It’s truly mind-blowing.
People can visit or volunteer in Dogtown, Catworld, Horse Haven, the Bunny House, Marshall’s Piggy Paradise, Parrot Garden, and Wild Friends. There is also Best Friends Animal Clinic (and they are building a brand-new indoor area to house horses and a large animal vet clinic), Angel Village Café (where $5/person vegan buffets are available every day from 11:30am – 1pm), and Angels Rest, a beautifully landscaped cemetery for pets, with windchimes, benches, statues, and memorabilia. Worth a visit.
Mark and I dipped our volunteering toes into the Bunny House (cleaning runs and socializing with rabbits) and Horse Haven (feeding, petting, brushing, and mucking – a fancy word for cleaning up horse poop) for one shift each. Mark also helped out at Wild Friends (where hurt or abandoned creatures from the wild heal, rest, and live, from owls to snakes to ducks to fish) and I hung out with cats one morning in Cat World, cleaning a run inside and out, doing dishes, spoiling the furballs with baby food, petting the social ones, and taking one for a ride in a stroller. Cat World has an area with designated stroller trails! That’s the day I forgot my camera. And no, I don’t have a phone.
There is so much more to say about this sanctuary, but the most important piece of information is that most of the animals are adoptable.
Volunteering in Dogtown
Reservations for volunteer shifts have to be made online or by calling. The slots fill up quickly! When we left Albuquerque, Mark and I only had a few lined up. We took our chances, Mark checked the website three times a day for cancellations, and we managed to fill up our schedule in the end.
Dogtown HQ – volunteer check-in desk
As many of you might have guessed from the get-go, our favored area to volunteer was Dogtown. For an entire two weeks, we immersed ourselves into everything “Best Friends” – we attended presentations, demonstrations, and programs, talked to coordinators and caregivers (staff), did another tour, and soaked up each and every tidbit about the sanctuary, especially Dogtown and Old Dogtown (where the most difficult cases reside).
We camped on BLM-land every evening, five minutes away from Dogtown. We volunteered as much as we could, usually two shifts a day. Everything else fell by the wayside. We savored every moment of it and went to bed utterly exhausted!
“Where do you want to volunteer this morning?” one of the Dogtown coordinators (Deb, Terry, or Jan) would ask as she saw our faces – again. The list was extensive with each area ranging from 1 – 6 volunteer spots. “If you are new to Dogtown, anything on the first sheet would be perfect,” we heard. So, the first two shifts we picked an area on sheet one: Fairway, Garden, Old Friends, Puppy Preschool (with a separate sign-up sheet for puppy socialization classes every morning), Height’s Laundry, and Clubhouse.
On day two, we were promoted to Old Dogtown, where the shifts were distributed over Dulcie’s School of Dance, Maggie’s Mercantile, Sid’s & Daisy’s (1&2), Hall’s & Hermosa’s (3&4), Admissions, Angel’s Lodges, and Deja’s Lodges with most of them only requiring/requesting one volunteer, because the buildings are not open to non-staff, unless the animals are “locked” outside.
During our time there, Mark and I tried as many areas as possible, mainly in Old Dogtown. Upon arriving at Dogtown HQ, we would ask the coordinators where our help was most needed and go with that option. We made sure to do at least one shift “everywhere”. Puppy Preschool was in high demand, so we waited for our chance. To be honest, it was one of my least favorite buildings, as we left those days with bites and scratches and zero energy left!
The morning shift ran from 8:15am to 11:30am, but we would show up at 8am to take our pick from the list. During lunch break, we’d eat a sandwich in Zesty or splurge with the vegan buffet. The afternoon shift started at 1:15pm (we’d be there at 1pm) and went until 4pm, unless you planned on taking a sleepover dog with you (more about that in another post). Then, you stopped at 3:30pm.
Depending on the area and the time of day, our tasks would include cleaning inside runs (sweeping, mopping, sometimes wiping walls and beds, and refilling water buckets), doing dishes (dog bowls), help with the food prep (most of the food is donated), breaking treats in half, sweeping the kitchen or indoor areas, weeding, socializing, and walking dogs on designated trails, one at the time, which made up the biggest part of our shifts. We never picked up dog poop, which the caregivers dealt with.
Each of them was extremely appreciative of our help and we enjoyed meeting and communicating (and picking their brains) with this committed, responsible, and caring team! Kudos cards were available for everyone who stood out – yep, my hand almost got cramps.
Fun to fill out and give recognition
Mark and I – sometimes together, each with a dog that could be walked with another one, but mostly by ourselves – walked Red, Louie, Charger, Gaby, Boondoggle, Ripley, Yuma, Dingo, Tiponi, Scooby, Elle, Cali, Cliff, Lordes, Mandalay, Dale, Dune, Turner, Pebbles, Roper, Swift, Kojak, Janko, Inky, Tennessee, Ezekiel, Flounder, General Mills, Tucker, Reykee, Blaze, Barat, Bentley, Moon, Tanya, Moira, Marla, Coda, Corban, Marcy, Sunny, Pixi, Martha, Ehu, Manu, and others (I didn’t carry a notebook with me). Over the weeks, we’d walk some of them again as they moved location, or we returned. Every animal arriving at Best Friends receives a new name and no duplicates are allowed until a certain dog was adopted two years prior.
Moon, General Mills, Ezekiel, Reykee, Tennessee, Corban, Marcy, Sunny, Pixi
One afternoon, I attempted to feed a very skittish dog – Wynona – treats in her outdoor run (success!). Another time, I read to a shy dog on his bed (Rella) or took one onto the agility course (Adele). The tasks are extremely diverse and keep you in shape!
One thing to note about Dogtown is that each dog has a color-coded collar. Green means the dog can be approached by everyone, purple collared-dogs are only to be handled by adults, and the red collars are “staff only”. Volunteers are not allowed to deal with them and only caregivers take them for walks. Yet, they are also adoptable and get a lot of training and extra care. When a dog wears a red collar, it likely means he/she has a bite history with humans. The colors are solely based on human interaction. Some dogs don’t get along with others, so they are in a run by themselves and referred to as “singles”. Every dog has an LCP, a life-time care plan, where EVERYTHING known about that particular animal is registered.
Mark and I expanded our vocabulary when it came to the terms “door dasher” (escape artist), “pancaking” (lying flat on the ground, unwilling to move), “stranger danger” (dogs who don’t like new faces/walkers), and “weather head” (dogs scared of thunder).
On a personal level, we took care of our errands in town during lunch break and I managed to complete translation jobs at night. We also made friends with some of the caregivers – such a dedicated and fascinating group.
Having lunch with our new friends, Jeff, Emilee, and Wes at Angel Village Cafe
The weather was miserable: it snowed, hailed, and rained almost the entire period. Quite unbelievable and “slightly” annoying! We still needed our winter clothes and ran the heater in the evenings and early mornings… the end of May!
Conclusion
Mark and I thoroughly enjoyed our two-week immersion and volunteering experience at Best Friends and we recommend anyone passing through to at least try one shift. You’re truly making a difference. The sanctuary could not be what it is without the help of their generous donors and passionate volunteers. If we ever apply for a normal job again…
Please, ask any questions you might have about Best Friends and our experiences in the comments!
June 11, 2019 at 13:50
How special and amazing that you and Mark could spend the time volunteering for this worthwhile organization, Liesbet! All those precious fur-babies look like they are in a wonderful environment. Is the pet cemetery for the residents or is it open to the public?
June 12, 2019 at 08:08
The pets are extremely well-taken care of here by professionals, Terri. It’s an amazing place. Hard work, but we’d return any time! The pet cemetery is open to the public as well and they are expanding the grounds as we speak. It’s a beautiful setting. People from all over the country (world) can get a little plot for their beloved pets.
June 11, 2019 at 13:58
What a wonderful place! I’m glad you were able to fulfil your ambition to volunteer there.
June 12, 2019 at 08:09
We liked it so much that we are playing with the idea to return, Anabel. And that is unique for us. 🙂
June 11, 2019 at 14:09
That’s great you got to do it and spend a lot of time there. The place sounds massive. Glad it’s well-funded.
June 12, 2019 at 08:11
I’m pretty sure it’s the biggest animal sanctuary in the US, Alex. It’s unbelievable how far they’ve come and the amount of support they get. They deserve it. Some animals are sponsored, so their transportation costs and adoption fee are free. Other donors are responsible for reconstruction of the buildings, etc.
To be immersed in any situation, the longer one can stay/participate, the better. 🙂
June 11, 2019 at 14:53
So lovely to see you and Mark were given the opportunity to volunteer here Liesbet and that you were able to get such a variety of slots during your stay. It looks like it’s very well run but I can’t help but wonder whether the sheer scale of this centre and the frequent changes in volunteer helpers could be overwhelming for some of the animals. When it comes to training, rehabilitating and caring for animals with a troubled past I personally prefer the smaller shelters where the same staff and volunteers help to restore the animal’s trust and provide the consistency that they need at this time. I’m glad you enjoyed the experience though and look forward to hearing more 🙂🐾💖🐾 xxx
June 12, 2019 at 08:25
Good point, Xenia! To explain more about Best Friends, I’ll have to write my own book. 🙂 Their main goal is to make the animals as adoptable as possible. For the shy, but friendly ones, this involves kind interactions (voice, touch, treats…) by different people. For the more troubled ones, the same people would work with them.
Every section in Dogtown has three caregivers. They take care of about 20-30 dogs. There are areas where only local volunteers are allowed in. Those volunteers either walk dogs, help out in different ways, or have a “project”. For example, in one octagon (which is a fantastic design for a shelter, by the way), there is a couple of “lame” dogs that can’t walk. Their hind legs are paralyzed. The entire run is covered in blankets and pillows, they get physiotherapy (one can now stand and walk a little bit), and a couple of dedicated local volunteers comes almost daily to socialize and entertain the dogs and provide enrichment. We, as outsiders, were not allowed to interest with these dogs (Kid and Kadoodle).
There are many examples like this. There are trainers on staff and animal behaviorist. Every dog gets assessed upon arrival and again every few months. They get personal care and everything is done in their best interest.
Yes, it’s a tremendous organization and sanctuary, but (a bit surprisingly as we are cynical people), we haven’t found anything out of order. We were baffled by everything we learned and witnessed. We wouldn’t do anything differently, except for one thing (which we might be wrong about)… Dogs are not corrected or disciplined at Best Friends. It’s all about positive reinforcement and ignoring the animals when bad behavior occurs, instead of yelling or saying “no”. I’m not saying that we disagree with that, but we have had success in the past with stern correctional behavior by us.
June 11, 2019 at 14:57
I love that picture of the attack pile of puppies on your shoes! That sounds like such a fantastic experience and a great place to get your doggy fix. I’m afraid that I’d have a few kitties hidden under my clothes when I left after a volunteer stint there.
June 12, 2019 at 08:36
Those puppies were so cute, Janis! The “best” one had already been picked by a staff member. Our next two favorites had been selected for the K9 program of Best Friends, where they would train them to become support animals or therapy dogs. By now, we’ve heard, all the shepherd puppies have been adopted. They all come spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped.
You could have gotten your kitties for free, if they were black. Best Friends had a month-long promotion that all black pets came without the adoption fee. 🙂
June 11, 2019 at 15:08
What fun! These are great pictures, Liesbet. I’m happy you and Mark were able to volunteer…that’s wonderful. I’ve always wanted a pet pig…a little one. 🙂
June 12, 2019 at 08:37
Hi Jill! When we were there, we heard that they used to have sleepover pigs as well. But, hearing one story of a couple taking one to their cottage for the night, well, let’s say, there’s a reason they don’t let potbelly pigs go on sleepovers anymore. 🙂
June 11, 2019 at 21:17
Liesbet, that is a wonderful experience especially when you see them going to good homes. Like Janis I would find it extremely hard not to have a kitten or puppy in my arms as I walked out! We have a similar organisation here in NZ called S.P.C.A. where we have chosen our animal family which we have had over the years.
June 12, 2019 at 08:43
Good for you for adopting from a local shelter, Suzanne! Honestly, I don’t understand why people pay hundreds of dollars for purebred dogs, while there are plenty (too many) of fantastic adoptable dogs. Many of those are euthanized due to over population or lack of resources at shelters. If you ban breeding programs (except for special needs situations), most of those dogs in shelters would find a good home.
June 12, 2019 at 02:18
What a fantastic place and how lucky you were to get a chance to volunteer there. Hat off to you.
June 12, 2019 at 08:46
Luck or perseverance? We learned that after the National Geographic TV series “Dogtown” – which was filmed at Best Friends – aired, the number of volunteers got out of hand, so they needed to put restrictions in place. That’s why there are only a certain amount of volunteer slots available now.
June 12, 2019 at 07:11
What a wonderful place! Such a great volunteer opportunity. I don’t think I could spend any time there without walking away with a few adopted pets.
June 12, 2019 at 09:14
Hi Ellen! We had to think deep and hard about adopting a dog, but knew a puppy would be too much work and commitment while living in a van on the road. And, where would we put the crate to house train it? 🙂
June 12, 2019 at 08:48
Love this post ~ it is positively heartwarming! It’s obvious from your descriptions and the photos how well run and organized and caring this place is! Really impressive. And so great that volunteering is such a large part of it all.
(MY first book about animals was Dr Doolittle and then Gerald Durrell’s “My family and other animals”… somehow this triggered those memories.
Kudos to you both for volunteering there ~ giving time and energy … So great that dogs get to go out in sleepovers !
Wonderful pics and post.
Peta
June 12, 2019 at 09:13
What a wonderful read, Liesbet. This is such a special place where special people come to volunteer. Our youngest dog is a rescue dog, and when I found out how he had been treated by his previous owners, it made me so sad to know that some humans can be so cruel to animals.
As you know, I help raise funds for The Dogs Trust, a dog charity that homes and tries to find new homes for homeless dogs or those that been treated cruelly It takes up such a lot of trust for some dogs to trust another human being, but I’m so glad that there are volunteers like Mark and you who do all they can to give these animals some love and attention they all deserve.
My heart melted when I saw the photo of Ehu (the kitchen dog).
As for the unseasonal weather, we had to put our heating back on two days ago. We’ve just had two months of rain in two days, and temps in the mid 50s (and the longest day is only 8 days away!).
June 12, 2019 at 09:20
Hi Hugh!
The weather has been crazy all over the world, it seems. I blame the human race for it, unfortunately. I hope the temps warm up soon for you (but not too much :-))!
Ehu is an amazing dog. He is actually sponsored by Ruff Wear, which means that whoever adopts him receives a bunch of free Ruff Wear dog gear and the adoption fee is waved!
Ehu is the perfect dog for outdoor people (hence the sponsorship by that company). He loves being outside, watching the world, hiking, and chasing lizards. How do I know? He was one of the dogs we took home for a sleepover. So, stay tuned for my next blog. Many more fun photos of Ehu! And, if I manage to upload it, an incredibly cute video. 🙂
June 12, 2019 at 18:31
Wow, what an amazing place! And what an amazing experience for you. The sheer amount of labour and resources required boggles my mind!
June 12, 2019 at 21:16
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is like a village, but for animals! 🙂 It’s extremely well-organized (they have decades of experience and improvements) and beautifully located. Quite the experience for us, indeed, and we already miss it!
June 13, 2019 at 04:27
How wonderful. Now I’m sorry we drove past when we were in the area. Something told me to stop, but i ignored the intuition.
June 16, 2019 at 10:32
Sometimes, it’s good to trust our intuition. I’ve ignored it many times in the past as well, though. I hope there’s a next time for you both and HaRVy to drive through Southern Utah and enjoy its scenery and animal sanctuary. 🙂
June 13, 2019 at 13:58
How was taking care of the pigs? I think I would be a little trepidatious around an animal that big – although I understand that they make good pets, in fact there used to be someone who had a pet pig here in Cabbagetown. I think I am really just apprehensive around any large animal like horses or cows – really large dogs, etc.
Next winter might be our season of volunteering and Best Friends is definitely on our list.
Great pics!
June 16, 2019 at 10:36
Hi Duwan!
We actually didn’t volunteer with the pigs, but saw others walk them, which was hilarious. Mark and I just went inside their pens to say hi and pet them one day, when waiting for our horse caretaker. The pig caretaker saw us standing around and – seeing we were volunteers – let us in for a few minutes. Cool animals, but we had all our shifts booked in Dogtown, by the time we checked out the pigs.
Large animals are intimidating! Mark did quite well with the horses, despite being intimidated. It’s all about trust and intuition, I think. And, they won’t let volunteers anywhere near “dangerous” or unpredictable animals, so there’s that as well.
You will both LOVE volunteering at Best Friends. We’d like to go back one day, but ideally to get paid for the job. 🙂
June 14, 2019 at 05:59
So gratifying to read! I knew only the surface details about this place, but it sounds superb. Thanks for the virtual tour!
June 16, 2019 at 10:37
Hi Lexie! Thanks for reading. There is so much more to be said about Best Friends – so many more impressions, insights, and experiences, but the post was long enough. 🙂 The place is amazing, though, and I hope you’ll get to check it out for yourself during one of your trips west.
June 15, 2019 at 19:35
What a story! So much love. Well worth a share. And as the old sailor sailing goes ‘our plans are lines drawn in the sand in a rising tide’ …”Mid-May, we returned to the sanctuary, our minds made up about not adopting. By then, we had built up our strength and determination, knowing we could get our doggy fix on the road or during pet sits”
June 16, 2019 at 10:39
Yep! You and I both know very well how the “best-laid plans” often change. 🙂 One of our advantages is our flexibility. And, sometimes making sacrifices is totally worth it!
June 16, 2019 at 15:07
As you can tell, I’m just catching up here. What admirable work!
I find it intriguing that when you met Mark you were also introduced to “Best Friends,” a double connection, really. Aside from knowing you as a writing pal, your posts also provide “armchair anthropology,” giving a virtual tour of a place I’ll probably never be able to visit. Thanks, Liesbet!
June 16, 2019 at 21:48
Hi Marian!
I’m so glad you enjoy my Best Friends posts. I rarely blog in-depth about our sights and experiences, but this one sure was different. It was the first time I ever volunteered on such a scale (always thinking I’d never be able to do anything like it until I “retire”) and the organization and location is just incredible. Plus, we just love dogs and this visit was as good as it gets when it comes to dog interactions, without having our own. 🙂
June 17, 2019 at 07:39
Hi Liesbet,
Great story…can’t wait for part 2!
June 17, 2019 at 10:42
Thanks, Nancy! I guess you found part 2 already as well. The coming days, part 3 and the epilogue will follow.
June 17, 2019 at 18:00
You guys are wonderful. I can picture you two running your own shelter when you get tired of traveling. 🙂
June 17, 2019 at 20:04
Nice idea Debby, but after our last (and only) business, we’ve pretty much vowed to not run anything anymore. 🙂 That being said, we are seriously considering applying for a job at Best Friends in the future.
June 17, 2019 at 19:56
Amazing story of people following their passion to help so many animals in need! I think you share that passion for animals. Like you, my style is to be stronger with them, too.
June 18, 2019 at 07:52
Hi Aixa! Welcome to Roaming About and thank you for leaving a comment. I assume you are an animal lover and pet owner as well? Best Friends is such an interesting and fascinating place to visit. We’d go back in a heartbeat. 🙂