Best Friends Animal Society - Kanab, UT (Sandy: allergies, maintenance)

[Rayedog]

Has anyone been to this awesome place? I drove there in October of 2011 all the way from East Texas by myself. It was a long and exhausting drive but well worth it! I was only there a day but here's some photos I took around the sanctuary.

Pic 1 - Some of the canyon walls. The sanctuary sits in Angel Canyon outside of Kanab.

Pic 2 - Angel's Rest the animal cemetery. It actually isn't a very sad place. It's very peaceful.

Pic 3 - Some of the resident horsies checking out my vehicle.

Pic 4 - Horse pasture.

Pic 5 - Omar, a Beagle, whom I shared the day with. I think he's been adopted since then as I can no longer find him on the website.

I have a lot more pictures from my vehicle (moving) that were taken on the road and they are lower quality, but I can share those too if anyone is interested! Also have a few more around the sanctuary and the town of Kanab.

[UTES]

My wife takes a van-load of her girlfriends to Best Friends each year for a week to do volunteer work. While there, they do small projects, maintenance and spell the regular workers so they can get a little R & R. It's a great facility with caring, dedicated people running it. One of my wife's friends has become such a fan of Best Friends she's decided to retire to Kanab and work at the facility as a volunteer.

Bill

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by Rayedog

Has anyone been to this awesome place? I drove there in October of 2011 all the way from East Texas by myself. It was a long and exhausting drive but well worth it! I was only there a day but here's some photos I took around the sanctuary.

Pic 1 - Some of the canyon walls. The sanctuary sits in Angel Canyon outside of Kanab.

Pic 2 - Angel's Rest the animal cemetery. It actually isn't a very sad place. It's very peaceful.

Pic 3 - Some of the resident horsies checking out my vehicle.

Pic 4 - Horse pasture.

Pic 5 - Omar, a Beagle, whom I shared the day with. I think he's been adopted since then as I can no longer find him on the website.

I have a lot more pictures from my vehicle (moving) that were taken on the road and they are lower quality, but I can share those too if anyone is interested! Also have a few more around the sanctuary and the town of Kanab.

Loving animals as much as I do, I have been to Best Friends several times, and would love to spend a few days down there volunteering. It is truly a wonderful place. Thank you for starting this thread about it.

[Rayedog]

Glad to see there are some fans of Best Friends out there!

I did volunteer for the day and it was wonderful! Just wish I could have stayed longer.

I'd also really love to do the internship program they have which is a month long, but you have to pay for your own room and board, food and other expenses (gas, etc.) and there's no way I could afford all of that any time soon. :\

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by Rayedog

Glad to see there are some fans of Best Friends out there!

I did volunteer for the day and it was wonderful! Just wish I could have stayed longer.

I'd also really love to do the internship program they have which is a month long, but you have to pay for your own room and board, food and other expenses (gas, etc.) and there's no way I could afford all of that any time soon. :\

I'll tell you what I plan to do in the upcoming year... Best Friends has what they call a "First Response Team." This is a group of people (not necessarily trained professionals like veterinarians but just regular old animal-lovers like us) who is sent to areas where there has been a natural disaster (like Katrina or Sandy, for instance) to rescue the animals that have been abandoned and hopefully reunite them with their owners. The group goes in after the Red Cross has been there a few days and got a good start helping the people who have been displaced, etc. It would be something that you only are called to do a few times a year, but it sounds like something I would absolutely love.

[Rayedog]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

I'll tell you what I plan to do in the upcoming year... Best Friends has what they call a "First Response Team." This is a group of people (not necessarily trained professionals like veterinarians but just regular old animal-lovers like us) who is sent to areas where there has been a natural disaster (like Katrina or Sandy, for instance) to rescue the animals that have been abandoned and hopefully reunite them with their owners. The group goes in after the Red Cross has been there a few days and got a good start helping the people who have been displaced, etc. It would be something that you only are called to do a few times a year, but it sounds like something I would absolutely love.

That sounds like something I'd be interested in, too. And it would make sense, as I live in a hurricane zone. :P Thanks for the info!

[brightdoglover]

I've been a B.F. member for many years. I've been out there for one volunteer week (felled by allergies- was useless!) and a quick two-day visit. I've adopted several dogs over the years and they've all been shipped to me in eastern Mass. Kristi, the adoption manager, has a target on my back- I like seniors and other... slowed... dogs because I'm no ball of fire.
I love how B.F. is becoming a national advocate/training/etc. force. I think everyone that works in rescue sooner or later becomes frustrated with always picking up the end result of flaws in the system or in people, and so on, and want to address the causes of animal homelessness (and cruelty... grrr).

In retirement, I'd like to spend a period of time out there- have never lived in a beautiful, remote town, and would have some volunteering to make some structure. It couldn't be during the later summer- the allergens out there are spectacular! I've never been allergic elsewhere and was really knocked flat. Maybe late winter/spring sometime.
I am glad B.F. is addressing the causes of homeless animals and not only helping the animals but looking at and addressing the causes. They also have great workshops. There's one for people who are involved in their own shelter work, for instance.

I love to hear people talk about Best Friends!