Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

Today we drove down to Kanab, UT and took a tour of  Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.  Best Friends is the largest no-kill animal sanctuary in the country and has been operating since 1984.  It covers about 3700 acres and is home to around 1700 animals. 

Because we’re dogs…we weren’t allowed in the tour van or buildings, but they gave us a CD of the tour info to listen to, and let us follow along in our car!

So, we just sat back, enjoyed the ride, and looked out the windows.

from the comfort of our air-conditioned car

This is the Welcome Center

We drove through Dogtown first

The Fitness center is for rehab of injured animals

We stopped at one of the dog houses.  Mom got to go inside for pictures while we waited in the car with Dad.  Each room of these houses has indoor & outdoor areas and they have 2-4 dogs in each room here.

Smith got to come outside and visit

Then we drove over to Catworld and stopped at Benton’s House.  These houses all have indoor/outdoor rooms too.

This is the kitchen

This room has 16 residents, all special needs cats.

The porch even has a tree they can climb

There’s a special house for overweight cats!

A Bunny House

 

A Parrot Garden

Angels Rest

Click on the link and read about it.

It’s filled with windchime trees.

 There’s really too much to cover in one post, but one of the most special programs (we think) is the Vicktory Dogs.  These dogs were rescued from the property of professional football player Michael Vick in 2008.  22 of the most traumatized came here, to the Sanctuary, where the quest to heal them began.

We’ve become a sponsor of one of these dogs…Denzel

Because of his painful past, Denzel remains uncomfortable around people he doesn’t know well. It takes caregivers about two months to gain his trust, with a plan in place to help guide the process. And although he can’t have regular dog beds or blankets (he shreds them and ingests the fabric), caregivers have found other ways to spoil him.

Denzel thrives on training sessions. He knows how to wave and go to his “place.” He’s learned to balance a giant three-foot ball on his nose, and enjoys taking himself for walks with his leash. And while he has faced a series of medical challenges, Denzel goes on outings to the creek for a bit of splash therapy to help keep him feeling spry.

If you’re anywhere near here, make a point to visit. 

If you’re interested in knowing more or becoming a member or sponsor…Go HERE.