Sunday, February 25
This morning we awoke to a crying Andrew throwing a fit. I think that the unfamiliarity of traveling is hard on him. He is often unhappy and demanding. I am hoping that he will outgrow it once he gets a little older.
After breakfast we loaded our luggage into the car and left our hotel to head home. We briefly drove to some overlooks in Glen Canyon State park. At 9 am we met up with the Davis’ to begin our drive back home.
We stopped at the Best Friend Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. It is a 3,700 acres property in Angel Canyon started in the 1980’s by a group of animal lovers from California. The area is expansive and encompasses a lower canyon where the hooves animals are kept and an upper canyon where Dog Town and Cat World are located.
We took a two-hour orientation tour through the Sanctuary. Cat World really is a city in it of itself, with multiple buildings dedicated to various types of cats and uses (rehabilitation, training, neutering). Dog Town is also large with a puppy center, a puppy pre-school, old dog building, small dogs homes, etc. There are also buildings dedicated to local wildlife
rescue, parrots, bunnies, pigs and large grazing land for horses.
The goal of the organization is to eliminate pet euthanasia in animal shelters by providing a network of support, training and assistance among various organizations in the US.
I was blown away by the kids of treatments available to animals. I wished other human populations such as our veterans would receive the same level of care.
The wonderful thing about Best Friends animal sanctuary is the way they have organized themselves as a vacation destination for individuals wishing to volunteer. There are a variety of drop-in tours, a selection of volunteer opportunities based on age, animal preferences, and types of interactions. They even have their own cabins, RV camps sites, and restaurant to accommodate visitors.
I would consider making a trip here to adopt one of their puppies after Arthur passes away. In addition to spade/nurturing, vaccinating and chipping the puppies volunteers train the dogs to become accustom to all types of sounds i.e. lawn mowers, babies, thunder, vacuums, fireworks, doorbells, etc. By the time a puppy finishes its 40 day quarantine time, they are well adjusted to a lot of loud sounds and used to interacting with children and strangers.
