BowDog Does Dogtown: The Experience
It’s been a week or so since we got home from our trip to Dogtown April 30th-May 4th. After taking some time to take it all in, the much anticipated compilation of tales is ready!
Leaving for Vegas the night of the 30th, we arrived in Sin City around 8pm with the time change. Around 10pm we finally got on the road to Kanab after some grub at Jack in the Box and a quick stop at the Liquor Store (Gillian was afraid Kanab might be dry)! There was another time change, back to MST driving to Kanab so the drive was almost 4 hours in length from Vegas. Our rowdy entourage (Coreen (Dexter and Moblee’s mom), Loralee (Misty Creek Dog Rescue), Kathleen (Misty Creek Dog Rescue), Jessica (Jaxson, Amber, Cooper and Sasha’s mom/Misty Creek Dog Rescue) and Lauren (Misty Creek Dog Rescue) preceded us and had done the dirty work of checking us in and grabbing our room keys knowing we were going to be getting into Kanab around 1-2am. About 1.5 hours into the drive I started to crash and called Dallas in for reinforcement, leaving Gillian to keep her company with tales of how bad her night driving is while I passed out for the remainder of the drive! LOL
When we arrived, we pulled up at the Treasure Trail Motel, our gem of a hide-away for the duration of our stay in Kanab. My first thought was “Oh my God this where “No Country For Old Men” was filmed…where’s the guy w the bolt gun”?!? A tad on the creepy side we comforted each other by laughing it off and passed out knowing we had an early morning ahead!
The retro and creepy Treasure Trail Motel. Vintage...but clean.
Saturday morning May 1st we hit the pavement around 8am meeting the rest of the crew and grabbing a delish $5 breakfast buffet down the street from the Treasure Trail. We had a 9am tour of the sanctuary booked so we all headed over and signed in. Raven, our tour guide, loaded all 8 of us up into one of their 4 vans reserved for daily 90 minute tours to passers by, visitors and newbie volunteers.
Sign that Greets you off the main hwy
Leaving the visitor’s centre, Raven shared with us of the history of Best Friend’s Animal Sanctuary. Originally just a group of 25 friends volunteering their time and efforts from home in the 1980s the sanctuary started out like many other non-profits across North America. When one of the founders was on holidays in the area of Bryce Canyon area he found for sale ~3,000 acres of what’s now known as “Angel Canyon”…the current home of the sanctuary. Moving their headquarters out to the canyon they quickly opened “Old Dog Town” or the “Dog Headquarters” you might recognize from the television show “Dogtown”. When Best Friend’s opened in the late 80’s more than 17 million dogs and cats were being killed in shelters every year. Today, the number is fewer than 5 million.
Peace Pole dedicated to volunteers in front of the Welcome Centre
I must say that I was quite overwhelmed with the positive spirit that seemed to float throughout all 3,800 acres. The sheer size of the place is amazing. Heading off the pavement, the entire road throughout the sanctuary is public 24/7. With gorgeous red cliffs, dirt and bright blue skies we passed the livestock area (which we were unable to attend as non-US residents) where we saw horses and wild turkeys.
Many of the horses in the sanctuary are mature and retired from lives racing, as “lab rats” or rescued from deplorable living conditions. Living “the life” in the canyon it was clear they knew our van definately WASN’T the feed truck :) Many of these horses are un-ride-able because of their condition but are adoptable to families as “pasture pals” or friends/companions to other horses out to pasture for horsey “retirement living”. In and amongst the livestock are wild animals, turkeys, deer, elk all recognize that water and food flow plentifully and that there’s no danger in hanging out, even near Dogtown, staff often see deer/elk hanging around water sources and shade striking up an unlikely friendship with the dogs.
New horse outbuilding, recycled shredded shoe soles make up the flooring
From the road Raven pointed out “the summer pasture”, an area only accessible by a narrow, winding, cliff-side, clay road Spring-Fall. Needless to say, we thought it was a golf course!!
- Summer Pasture
From the summer pasture we moved on to Angel’s Rest, the sanctuary cemetery for all of the pets that spent their final years, weeks, days or hours with Best Friends.
Incredibly beautiful and respectful the cemetery was a very moving experience. Nearly two acres itself, the loving tributes to each and every pet (hummingbirds, pigs, dogs, cats, horses) really provided a display of the kindness and compassion in Best Friend’s work. Immaculately clean and well maintained, trees of wind chimes decorated the space.
When we arrived we all said we wished the wind had been blowing thinking it would be quite a sound…yet every time we walked into a different area, the chimes in that space would start chiming. I couldn’t help thinking they were like wagging tales welcoming us for a visit, it was incredibly beautiful and brought tears to all our eyes. Surrounding the cemetery were walls providing space for owners to bring pet remains and mementos to final rest.
Angel's Rest Cemetery
From the sanctuary Raven took us to Dogtown. We visited the Jethro octagon and learned that the shape of the Dogtown buildings enables 1 care giver to supervise up to 25 dogs at a time (5 runs per building, up to 5+ dogs per run) with the open space in the middle and all of the runs formed around this core. This shape reduces barking and anxiety as the dogs can see the comings and goings of caregivers and volunteers, not leaving any pooches lonely at the end of a long corridor.
Incredibly well organized, each dog receives a week long behavioral assessment to decide a) which octagon/pack best suits the dog’s energy and needs and b) which collar color the dog will be assigned. At the sanctuary there are 4 different collar colors to indicate to staff and volunteers which dogs are safe for handling and which may come with special instructions. Green means any volunteer, regardless of age/shape/size, may handle that dog. Purple means “ask staff first” before entering the run. Some dogs with purple collars might have physical restrictions, impairments (some of the puppy mill dogs turn obsessively in circles when they get stressed), or reactivity issues volunteers need to be informed of before the dog is taken out. Red collar dogs are to be handled by staff only. Some of these dogs might be the Vick dogs who are not allowed to be handled by any volunteers for human and dog safety. Others might be in the middle of intensive behavioral rehabilitation coming from some very nasty situations where it’s crucial every human interaction counts as a step forward in the dog’s progress. Yellow collared dogs are on medical hold, and may be on exercise restrictions or medical watch.
Gillian and Dallas outside Dog HQ, where we checked in daily
I guess it’s time to tell you that EVERY dog out of the ~500 dogs living at Best Friend’s gets walked almost every day. If not every day, then EVERY OTHER day! Most of the volunteers at the sanctuary when asked “who do you want to take out?” answer “whoever needs to go”…ensuring even dogs who might not be the cutest, most social dog get a good healthy dose of socialization, exercise and exposure to life outside the octagon. Best Friends’ encourages volunteers to take animals on outings or overnight trips for some one-on-one socialization exposing dogs to what it might really be like with an adoptive family. While we didn’t have pet friendly rooms, we did take a few dogs on outings, into town for walks down the “strip”, for coffee in dog friendly restaurants or for just some walks and car rides! Two of our lucky travel mates were Ruffio, a pitty mix and Cowboy, a senior hound mix.
Hailey being attacked (with kisses) by Ruffio the pitty.
Cowboy! Very excited for his car ride with us!
We were all left musing why on Earth, a majority of these green collar dogs are even in the sanctuary (and wondered if our own dogs might make the green collar cut)! Particularly sad were the lovely senior citizens who over the age of 6-8 years have a reduced chance at finding a forever home as most people want a “young, youthful” dog however we found some of the sweetest souls in the “Old Friend’s” octagon. We are happy to say that Kathleen, one of our friends on the trip, adopted Velma, a senior girl rescued from a puppy mill and she JUST landed in Calgary May 24th for a life in a wonderful forever home! What many people may not realize is that seniors may be the perfect pet for someone looking for a companion but not the work a puppy requires.
Raven giving a tour of the Jethro Octagon
From Dogtown we went to Cat World…yet again, possibly the BEST place on Earth if you’re a cat. One of the first rooms in Cat HQ was dedicated to a woman who worked her whole life hoping to retire in Kanab and donate her life savings and the rest of her days to caring for the cats living at the sanctuary. Unfortunately she was diagnosed with a severe form of cancer and was unable to live out her dream. Her husband fulfilled her dream by retiring and volunteering and the entire front room of Cat HQ is decorated with the things she loved; all things cat.
Dallas in Cat HQ
Being mostly dog people, we were blown away. First of all, over 700 cats reside at Cat World. It was IMMACULATE (Dallas and Gillian usually have cat allergies and they weren’t disturbed at all). Not a hair ball or smelly litter box to be found. In fact we visited Cat World on different days at different times and I was amazed by how clean the litter boxes were throughout the day. For some perspective, the Sanctuary goes through 1000 lbs of litter PER DAY! One building is dedicated to cats sick and dying of feline leukemia. Also housed at Cat World were many feral cats who are able to become accustom to humans before being adopted.
Gillian and her buddy Sami, the toothless cat
On one of our visits to socialize with the cats we spoke at length with one of the full time staff members who taught us a bit about cat handling, health and behavior. While cats are smaller and generally easier to care for than dogs, they are also the species more victimized by human cruelty or negligence. We heard of a cat in ICU at the sanctuary who was being cared for after being doused in accelerator and lit on fire. A piece of evidence in the animal abuse trial against the offender, the kitty was under going skin grafts and being nursed back to health until justice is served. We met another cat named Sami who looked to be about 3 years old but was actually 15 and shared a room with her friends at the sanctuary named after her. She had been there for over 10 years and was court ordered to have all of her teeth removed and live out her life at the sanctuary after biting a rough housing child. The kicker? Sami was the most social, lovely cat in the room and LOVED Gillian. Needless to say, the break from walking, the quiet and the cleanliness of Cat World was a welcome change from our daily life with dogs!
One of the Cat World Residents
Also living the life at Best Friends are “Feathered Friends” a very fun, very noisy avian sanctuary. Victims of poor breeding, bird mills, negligent owners just like dogs and cats, we met some awesome characters in some very fun cages. The most like humans in emotion and long lifespan, birds often become suicidal or mentally ill after being neglected or abused by humans. A majority of the birds in the sanctuary were either owner surrenders or rescued from bird mills where they were used for multiple breedings in small cages with little interaction. Birds live in flocks and are meant to be social, often monogamous creatures.
One of the self mutilating cockatoos we met.
We learned about the insane strength some of the large parrots have (I must say we were much more afraid of bird bites than we are of dog bites) and also the attachment many of them have to their kind and loving care givers (Mango, a Cockatoo FLIPPED his (very loud) lid when we were done visiting and his caregiver left the room with us). Similar to dogs (and babies) if they’re able to develop bad habits in their formative years, it’s often more difficult to break them as the parrot ages. The “bird guy” that walked us through telling us story after story over the screaming and screeching talked about how long it took some birds to warm up to him (years in some cases) proof that not just elephants have long memories. The birds are able to get outside in open air enclosures and experience life outside of a cage. There were some incredibly sweet birds up for adoption that perhaps outlived their owners or in some cases outgrew them. Many parents thing cockateils are a great pet for a young teen without realizing that they too have an incredibly long lifespan and will live past the “empty nesting” period of kids growing up and going away to University and losing interest in the childhood pet. With parents eager to travel or downsize, the birds are now in need of a new home and are often surrendered or “released” into the wild despite their domestication.
Dallas and Canon
Our first bit of “work” after touring the entire facility involved puppies. LOTS of puppies. In their brand new, state of the art facility, the puppies are able to live in a safe compound like facility where they can be whelped (if they’ve come in w their pregnant momma) and kept safe from communicable diseases that other adult dogs might have or expose them to. As a result, the volunteer coordinators request that if you would like to work with the puppies at all and plan on working with the adult dogs, that you make your first stop, Puppy Preschool to avoid transmission.
Brand New Puppy Preschool paid for by generous volunteers
Our facilitator lead a room of about 15 of us through the important socialization we were about to provide 15 very sweet pups. The new 1000 sf room was equipped with a door bell, wheel chairs, vacuums, walkers, kennels and other “real life” objects dogs might come in contact with on a daily basis when adopted. He emphasized the importance of socialization and shared that before implementing the puppy programs at Best Friend’s, the percentage of dogs returned was very high due to challenging behavioral issues. After implementing it, the shelter saw a significant decrease in the number of dogs coming back from unsuccessful adoptions. Before bringing us our pups to “play” with he said “Anyone have any questions? No? Then LET’S GO SAVE SOME LIVES!” Something that moved and inspired all of us as animal rescue volunteers or care givers.
The puppies' own playground! BE JEALOUS!
All in all, the experience was amazing. We were blown away by everything from the organization (they knew where we were and who we were every second of everyday we were volunteering despite there being regularly over 100 volunteers at the sanctuary day to day) to the amazingly positive and inspiring energy from the staff and volunteers. They are truly doing remarkable work and if ever you have a hankering for a warm holiday where you can make a difference, consider spending some time in the beautiful canyon Best Friend’s Animal Sanctuary calls home.
For more pictures with detailed stories in every caption of our trip visit our facebook page and the entire photo album by clicking HERE. Meet the Vick pits, and some of the other lovely animals that touched our hearts.
