Best Friends

 

Each year, tourists from around the world find their way to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the nation’s largest no-kill animal sanctuary for abused and abandoned companion animals. Located in the scenic red-rock country of Angel Canyon, five miles north of Kanab, the sanctuary is operated by Best Friends Animal Society, one of the nation’s best-known animal welfare organizations. Established in 1984, Best Friends, in addition to the sanctuary, manages national initiatives on a variety of animal welfare issues, including puppy mills, saving the reputation of pit bull terriers, and saving the lives of community cats. Often described as the nation’s most beloved animal sanctuary, Best Friends is home on any given day to about 1,700 cats, dogs, bunnies, parrots, birds, horses, potbellied pigs and other companion animals. The homeless pets come from shelters and rescue groups around the country. However, at Best Friends they are under the watchful eye of caregivers who attend to their needs, always with the goal of a happy ending to their story – adoption into a new, loving, life-long home. Take the short drive and the large welcome sign directs visitors to a scenic, serene welcome center and gift shop. There, free daily tours delight visitors with a beautiful drive through the sanctuary’s 3,800 acres. The tours take approximately an hour and a half and wind through Angel Canyon, a sacred place to generations of people for thousands of years. Along the way, visitors are sure to see wild species because the area is populated by jackrabbits, wild turkeys, deer, bald eagles and hawks. Occasionally, a bobcat shows up, perhaps bounding off a nearby cliff on the way to Kanab Creek. To reserve space on a tour, please call 435-644-2001, ext. 4537 or e-mail visiting@bestfriends.org. Tours start at 9 a.m. and book up fast, so reservations are recommended. Not surprisingly, Best Friends has a busy, vibrant wildlife department. Visitors can sign up for special wildlife tours through the Welcome Center. “Wild Friends” operates a state and federally licensed wildlife rehabilitation program to help injured wild animals return to freedom. Over the years, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary has become one of America’s top destinations for volunteer vacations – and of the more than 29,000 visitors who came to Best Friends in 2011, nearly 8,000 of them decided to volunteer at the sanctuary. That means they spent time taking dogs, cats or potbellied pigs for walks, socializing or feeding the animals, cleaning animal living areas and performing other important tasks critical to the care of the animals. Many families volunteer for a couple of days, then head out to visit the national parks. To volunteer at the sanctuary, call 435-644-2001, ext. 4119 or e-mail volunteers@bestfriends.org. Don’t just make a visit to Best Friends a stop on your travel itinerary, but make it an enriching experience that will certainly leave its mark on you for years to come. Who knows? You might even come away with a certain special animal that has captured your heart! To find out more about Best Friends Animal Society, visit www.bestfriends.org.

 

 

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