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!

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.

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

March 23-27, 2016

After almost four months on the road, we reached this landmark.  And grand, it certainly is! 
Everything about the Grand Canyon is on a massive scale.  The Canyon is more than 200 miles long, 10 miles wide (enough to fit New York City inside it according to a Park ranger) and over a mile deep. 

We managed to secure four consecutive nights in one of the park-run campgrounds by booking more than two months ahead.  Even still, there was not a single campsite available for those four consecutive nights.  We had to move twice, not an onerous task, but an example of how busy the Park is.  We tried to go to the Canyon after school breaks were over.  However, "Spring break" is staggered over several weeks in the US to prevent over congestion of places such as these.  There were hundreds of people! Many families, clearly there during school break but also many, many tourists, from Europe and Asia, and even a few Canadians!  The Park is prepared to accommodate the crowds and, if one picks one's spots to view the Canyon,one can indeed get away from the feeling of congestion. 
There are several large parking lots which fill up quickly in the morning.  Line-ups at the Southern (most popular) entrance apparently can be miles long during peak periods.  Private vehicles are not allowed on most Park roads.  Instead, there is a very efficient system of free shuttles buses, which run all day and evening, for sunrise and sunset viewers and photographers.

Sunrise

 

Sunset

 

There are a few accommodations on Park land, most of which were designed in the 1920s and 1930s by Mary Colter, an architect keen on meshing designs with the natural environment.  Needless to say, these lodges book years in advance!  

Hiking opportunities abound in the Park.  One can take a leisurely stroll along the Canyon rim trail, which goes for miles and miles and provides beautiful views at all times of the day.  There are a few trails leading into the Canyon and, again, one can hike a few minutes, hours, days or weeks.  One can join a trail ride aboard a mule (booked months ahead!).

Canyon Rim Trail

Bright Angel Trail

 

 

Good advice any day of the week!

There is a small number of cabins at the bottom of the Canyon (Phantom Ranch), where one can stay after hiking the several hours needed to descend the canyon's full depth and before launching into the very arduous climb back up.  One can also obtain permits to camp on one's own inside the canyon.  We met a group of four men returning from a six-day trek and, rightly feeling quite proud of their accomplishment!

The geology of the Canyon is very complex, involving 14 layers of different rock types forming over several hundreds of millions of years.  Much of the erosion has been done by the mighty Colorado river, or mighty as it was prior to be dammed at both ends of the Canyon, creating two reservoir lakes: Glen Canyon Dam creating Lake Powell on the upstream eastern end, and the massive Hoover Dam on the western downstream end, creating Nevada's Lake Mead.

The Colorado River seen from above

 

There is plenty of wildlife to bee seen in the Park, and we enjoyed the many elk, some of whom are quite unfazed by the traffic!  The elk are shedding their winter coats now, getting ready for the heat of the upcoming months.  Most are sporting the springtime "scruffy" look at the moment!

Everyone on the shuttle enjoys the elk!

We saw many ravens in the park.  We were warned by campground staff not to leave ANYTHING out as the ravens would quickly get at it.  We were told that a raven took some car keys left on a picnic table the day before our arrival, resulting in a $500 tow!  The raven is deservedly known as the trickster in some Native cultures.

"Raven was not thought of as a god. He was thought of as the transformer, the trickster. He was the being that changed things—sometimes quite by accident, sometimes on purpose."
—Christian White, Haida artist

Smart guy raven, proclaiming his numero uno status in a parking lot!

 From West to East, Grand Canyon truly lives up to its name!

West, near Hermit's Rest

 

Desert view, Eastern edge of the canyon