Best Friends cares for wild creatures like this raptor. Notice the red rock background! (Courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society)
Few things get me down more than a sick or hurt animal. But few things get me cheering quicker than people who help animals in need. Travelers who help animals, then, really rank high up there for me.
Recently, a friend of mine got married at an amazing no-kill animal sanctuary in southern Utah. Best Friends Animal Society is home to about 2,000 animals – mostly cats and dogs, but some others, too: horses, birds (including wild raptors like the one to the right), livestock and more. My friend and her new husband made some time to volunteer after exchanging vows. Brilliant!
Best Friends animals come from all sorts of situations. Some are abandoned. Some are displaced by events like Hurricane Katrina. However they wind up there, the Best Friends staff and volunteers do their best to rehabilitate the animals and get them ready to be adopted. Others might be too sick or too old to be adopted – or may have physical or behavioral problems. In those cases, they stay at Best Friends, living among people who can care for them properly.
The sanctuary seems to thrive on visitors. There are four tours per day, seven days a week. And if you have a few spare hours on your vacation, the staff can find some way for you to help. The Web site says a lot of the animals have special needs, so any hand you can lend is sure to make a few creatures’ lives a bit better. You can contact the staff ahead of time to arrange some volunteer time.
If you don't love this photo, I don't even want to know you. (Courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society)
The sanctuary is broken into sections according to animal type, and they give them great names like Dogtown, Parrot Garden, Cat World, Piggy Paradise, etc. Over in Dogtown, the canines (dogs, to the layperson) get divided into packs. Each one has its own territory and amenities.
Horses and sheep get their due at Best Friends. (Courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society)
The Best Friends Web site really seems to take a less maudlin and more optimistic approach to its image. Cruising through the pages is less gloom and doom than similar organizations - each Best Friends animal reminds me of Rocky or Rudy! Maybe it’s because many of these furry/feathered/scaled friends would otherwise be destroyed, while Best Friends is directly responsible for saving many animals and creating happy human/animal matches. The site also gives advice on planning your visit, with essentials like where you can stay nearby.
If you’re short on time, Best Friends has many options for donating. You can drop a little cash, sponsor an animal, become a member and more! Oh, and you can adopt, too.
It’s really great that organizations like Best Friends exist. I just wish that they could focus on accidentally injured, sick or orphaned animals rather than those in their care because of human cruelty or neglect. I can’t imagine any excuse to abuse an animal. But until we have better people overall, we have Best Friends Animal Society.
A last point: Being in southern Utah, you’re going to see awesome scenery. Best Friends is really close to some spectacular parks. Bring your hiking boots, your GPS and your trekking poles!
Dogtown's denizens out for a happy walk in beautiful scenery. (Courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society)
That kitten picture is KILLING ME with the cuteness. I fear I would have to take all the animals home with me if I visited there.
Great post!