Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, Kanab, UT Part one

April 1-4, 2016

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary has been on my list of places to go for quite a while.  Friends from Shelburne, NS, Joan and Bob Preston, have been members for years and were the people who introduced me to this non-profit organization.

According to the website, bestfriends.org,  "Thirty years ago (1984), a group of people made a leap of faith to realize a vision that they had long shared – to create a sanctuary for abandoned and abused animals. This was the logical extension of the rescue and advocacy work they had been doing for years. Little did they appreciate that their endeavor would catapult them to the forefront of a fledgling movement to end the killing of 17 million dogs and cats who were dying in our nation’s (US) shelters at that time."  They created what has become "the largest no-kill animal sanctuary in the world and a national movement to end the killing of companion animals."  The 31 founders of Best Friends believed that "by relating with kindness and unconditional love toward the most vulnerable and unfortunate recipients of humankind’s irresponsible actions, animals, they were being consistent with their aspirations for society as a whole."   

Today, the organization has grown to yearly operating budgets of about $18,000,000.  The Kanab sanctuary houses 1700 animals, employs over 300 people, and welcomes thousands of volunteers and 30,000 visitors a year.  The work done at Best Friends extends beyond the Kanab, UT location.  They partner with hundreds of animal shelters in the US from which they get many of their animals.  They have education programs, spay and neuter programs, trap, release and return programs and outreach initiatives in several states, branches in Los Angeles and soon, a facility in New York City.  Their funding is mostly obtained by individual donations (88%) and  corporate donations (5%).  Monies go to programs (80%), fundraising (14%) with only 6% going to management .  

We spent three days on their 2000 acre facility where there are two housing options available to visitors: a handful of cabins and two RV sites on the edge of a beautiful ravine.  Although there are no bathroom facilities at the RV sites, they are equipped with full hook-ups:water, electricity and sewer.  

Morning view from the RV site

On the afternoon of our arrival, we took a guided tour of the facilities aboard a 12-passenger van.  We were impressed with the breadth of services, quality of the structures, roads and the obvious meticulous planning of the Sanctuary.


Best Friends provides housing for 1700 animals yearly.  The majority of these are companion animals: dogs, cats, rabbits, horses and parrots, for whom the goal is adoption.  They also have a section called "Wild Friends" where they provide rehabilitation of injured or sick wildlife.  The goal is to ready these animals for return to their own habitat.  If this is impossible, the animals are kept at Best Friends for the remainder of their lives where they help in education.

 At the time of our visit, there were no large wild mammals as all had been released into the wild.  The majority  were birds, several raptors, owls, crows, ravens, most of whom were injured by colliding with a vehicle.  There were also half a dozen mink who were escapees from mink farms.


The Sanctuary has state-of-the-art veterinary facilities which are staffed by four full-time veterinarians and several vet technicians.  Companion animals are taken to their appointment in golf carts, quite a sight to see!

Obviously, my main interest in Best Friends is dogs!  Dogs and cats are their main business and there are numerous buildings dedicated to their care.

The dogs are divided into new admissions, puppies, adult dogs who are housed in one of several octagonal units, and elder dogs.  There is an area dedicated to small dogs and there is a unit for dogs who need intensive training prior to becoming adoptable.  Many dogs who end up at Best Friends from other shelters have "special needs". 

One of numerous octagonal dog buildings

Roommates: a 10 year-old pit bull with scarred ears and a deaf mixed breed on a diet.

 Dave and I both volunteered for three three-hour shifts:  two afternoons and a morning.
The scheduling of volunteers is done very carefully and the comings and goings of everyone are carefully monitored.  For example, a person who has volunteered with adult dogs in the morning is not allowed to work with puppies in the afternoon.  Why?  Because of the possibility of contamination or transmission of disease to vulnerable puppies.  I was able to spend one of my shifts at the puppy preschool.

Puppies are housed in runs in groups of two to four, usually littermates.  All the runs have inside and outside sections with doorflaps/trapdoors between the inside and outside.  All pups have access to several toys, blankets, and a raised bed.  Each puppy run is colour coded with its own cleaning implements, again to prevent contamination of parasites or other things through feces, etc.   Everything is thoroughly cleaned daily by people like myself!  Happily, I also got to walk a puppy (who was fondly described by the caregiver as the"problem child" of the litter) and spent an hour with other volunteers and several pups in the socialization playroom.  In addition to being medically evaluated, vaccinated, spayed/neutered and microchipped, all the pups attend puppy classes before their adoption.  Puppies do not last long at Best Friends as puppies are quite irresistible!

Who could resist these little ones?

Sticking out her tongue at me!