Best Friends Animal Sanctuary Part two

 This is Part 2.

During our first day general tour, we visited some of the cat facilities, which, like everything else, were spotless.  Most of the cats at Best Friends have access to outdoor equipment, private corners where they can hide away, numerous toys and lots of cozy comfortable bedding.

Kitty on a shelf

 Dave and I had a tour of the Parrot department on our second morning.  Most of the parrots come from private homes and are surrendered because their owners are not prepared for the long-term commitment required to keep them, or because of noise (they are very noisy!).  Currently, there are about 60 parrots of various kinds at Best Friends.  Most are available for adoption. 

I spent two of my three volunteer shifts with adult dogs in an octagon called "Dulcie's School of Dance",  where dogs in need of some special care/training are housed .  At Best Friends, all dogs wear colour-coded collars. Green collar dogs can be handled by anyone, red collar dogs by staff only and purple collar dogs by adults only. I took several dogs for walks: Shift, a deaf female, Yale, a pitbull mix, Cleveland, a very shy boxer-like former stray who could only be walked along with the caregiver as he was much too frightened to go with a stranger and Racko, my purple collar favourite...

I also hand fed Cleveland on both days, to help him associate good things (food) with people and help with his socialization. I played frisbee and did some clicker training with Racko.

While I was working my last dogtown shift, Dave spent his last volunteer shift with horses, grooming them and, predictably, like in all volunteer areas, cleaning some manure.  However he also had the good fortune of going on a little extra tour aboard a golf cart!

There is abundant wildlife on the property. Deer abound are plentiful. They often come to share the horses' breakfast!
We saw several wild turkeys roaming around.  Mating season is here and the males are displaying, even in front of a cooped-up rooster!

 One of the perks of being a volunteer at best Friends is the excellent $5.00 lunches at their dining room, which has a beautiful view!

When the animals at the Sanctuary die, they are buried onsite in a peaceful cemetary full of wind chimes.

Our three-day visit at Best Friends went by in a flash.  It is  indeed a very special place.