Best Friends Animal
Sanctuary:
Two Interns' Perspectives
By Letitia Harber and Morgan Nixon
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is a no-kill haven for animals of all kinds: cats, dogs, rabbits, horses, birds, and other domesticated creatures, as well as wildlife. It is set in the middle of picturesque Angel Canyon, which is located just outside of Kanab, Utah.
Letitia Harber, 21, is a Psychology major at the University of Central Arkansas. She lives on farmland in Viola, Arkansas, surrounded by her many animals. She plans to pursue her post-graduate degree after leaving UCA. You can email her at: [email protected]
Morgan Nixon, 21, is a Pre-Vet/Sociology double major at the University of Central Arkansas. She and her animals live in the country in McRae, Arkansas, and she plans to go to vet school when she graduates. You can email her at: [email protected]
For more on Best Friends as well as other great information, click on the following links:
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary
The Humane Society of the United States
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
Spay/USA
The Dog Hause Spay and Neuter Information Page
Alley Cat Allies
Feral Cat Coalition
We have been best friends and school roommates for five years. On URGE Grant funds we are traveling from Arkansas to intern at Best Friends for one month. This is a journal of our time there.
Be sure to click on our links as you read to view pictures.
We are now in Utah. The drive up was great, but long. We arrived on Saturday,
June 1 and spent our first two days checking out Kanab and driving to Page, AZ.
We love the house where we're staying, and the land is beautiful. Harold, who
owns the house, and Doug, who is also staying here are wonderful. Also residing
here are awesome dogs: Scout, a springer, and
Houston, a greyhound. So far we're
having a great time.
WEEK ONE
Monday, June 3
Letitia's day:
The day started off with a tour and
orientation. After finishing with all of this we headed to lunch, which was a
wonderful vegetarian meal including fresh fruit. After lunch the fun really
began. I went to work with the
dogs, while Morgan headed toward cats. First the two interns I was grouped with and I cleaned out the runs - swept, mopped, and pooper scooped outside. Next we walked the dogs who had not been walked today.
After all the dogs in our building had been walked, we headed toward the next
building to spend the rest of our day socializing (playing) with the dogs. The
dogs each had their own personality and it took a while to learn how to deal
with each dog, but soon I was playing with all the dogs in the run. I came home
dusty, covered in hair and happy. Tomorrow I work with the cats.
Morgan's day:
Wow! What a place! I still can't believe I'm actually here. Even the food is
great -- I was expecting some kind of boxed lunch, but we get healthy vegetarian
or vegan meals every day, for FREE! The best part of the day came after lunch when I had the privilege of socializing with the cats. In Morgaine's (pronounced like my name) Place I groomed, petted, and played with a group of kitties termed "shy kitties." Several of them were brand new to the sanctuary. The goal is to get these guys adoptable, or interacting well with humans, as soon as possible. A calico named Cupcake teamed up with a gray feline named Prospero to steal my heart (but I promised I wouldn't bring any more animals home!). After a few hours I moved to the Kitty Motel, which houses those cats who need special attention. Some have leukemia, others have FIV, quite a few have lost the use of their legs, still more are incontinent, and another group is simply very old. I worked with the geriatric cats for the rest of the afternoon. They may be old, but they definitely don't act their age! I hope I get to work in one of these areas after my 2-week rotation is finished. Tomorrow I go to rabbits…
Tuesday, June 4
Morgan's day:
I was wondering what I would be doing in the rabbits department, and now I
know -- cleaning! These guys make a HUGE mess for such little animals. Most of
the day was spent cleaning, feeding, and poop scooping. I was really surprised
to find out that they get fed so much: pellets, oats, greens, carrots, and
pellets again at different times throughout the day. If they're lucky little
bunnies they might even get a treat of dried fruit (which evidently they go
crazy for!). These bunnies are very spoiled! They have indoor/outdoor living
spaces (called runs) with several bunnies living in each run, except for the
sick ones that have to be kept separate from the others. I got to help give them
their medications today, and I also did a little grooming on Waldo, Mr. X, and
Goober. By the end of the day, I had learned that the best way to hold a bunny
is to place on hand on the stomach with their back against your stomach, and use
the other hand to support the rear end. This seems to have a kind of calming
effect on them, making it easier to transport them and dispense meds. There are
about 175 rabbits here, which includes the babies born on Mother's Day (they're
so cute!). However, rabbits rarely get adopted, so most of them stay here
forever (which to a rabbit is 6 - 10 years). Tomorrow I work with the
dogs…
Letitia's Day:
Today I worked in cats. It was great. I spent the morning cleaning out two rooms in Kitty Motel. Kitty motel is a place for special needs cats. I cleaned out the rooms that house the cats with leukemia. After this I played with the kitties some and then did dishes. As soon as all the dishes were done it was time for lunch. After lunch, I was allowed to go to any building and room I wanted to and socialize with any cats, excepting kittens because they have not had all their shots yet. I chose Morgaine's Place, which houses the adoptable cats. My favorite room was the shy kitty room. I spent much of my time there playing with the cats. Many of them run away when you first walk in, but after a while most will come to at least check you out if not play with you. I can't wait to get time to go back there. :) Tomorrow I work with the rabbits.
Wednesday, June 5
Letitia's Day:
Today I worked in rabbits. It was new to me because I had never been in such close proximity to rabbits before. Most of my day was spent poop scooping, but I also got to do lots of other cool things. After lunch I helped one of the workers give out meds. This helped me understand each rabbit's problems. Many of them have abscesses on their bodies where some type of fly lays its eggs in the rabbits' skin. This gives the rabbits many problems and results in many vet trips. Besides the poop scooping and the meds, I also got to groom and socialize with the bunnies. However, bunnies really do not want to socialize much. At the end of the day we checked everyone's water bowls and put up the bunnies who are allowed to run around outside the bunny house during the day. It was a good day. Tomorrow we start our workshop.
Morgan's Day:
Today I got to work in Dogtown in a place called The Hill (any guesses on why
they call it that?!) This is one of the few places where dogs do not have both
an indoor and an outdoor area to reside in. However, this indoor/outdoor setup
is the ideal, and with the help of volunteers and donations hopefully they can
realize it soon. Quite a few of the dogs on the Hill are adoptable, but most
aren't quite ready. My day began with feeding some of the dogs, which is a
daunting task for 100 dogs and takes several hours. I was only allowed to go
into the runs containing dogs wearing green collars, which means it is a
volunteer-friendly run. Staff members handle the red collar dogs, which are
considered to be more dangerous. However, a lot of them are only labeled as red
collar dogs because they have been misunderstood; some might have acted
aggressively in defense of themselves or loved ones, might not get along well
with other dogs but are perfectly sweet to humans, or may have chased somebody's
cat (well, what do you expect a dog to do?). After feeding a few green
collar dogs I did dishes from the feedings (and there are a lot) and watered the
dogs. After lunch came the really exciting stuff -- I got to work with the feral
dogs (these are the "street" dogs or abandoned dogs that are unused to and
distrustful of a human presence). At first the dogs were wary of me being in the
run, but after I had sat there for a while one or two would get close enough to
sniff me. After a bit longer I laid down flat on the sand so as to be less
threatening to them (being at a lower level), and a dog named Sarah laid down
beside me. However, she wouldn't let me touch her! In another run, a sweet dog
named Loopy kept wanting to play fetch with a tennis ball. She was so endearing,
trying to get me to play, that it didn't take long before I was pretty attached.
I wonder if I could find room in the car for her? J Unfortunately I didn't really get to walk any dogs
because the sand was too hot in the afternoon, but I had a wonderful and
productive day nonetheless.
After work all of the interns (Erin, Heather, Mandy, Megan, Letitia, and I)
went on a hike on a trail across from Best Friends Welcome Center. We came
across a structure (perhaps a storage bin?) that had been built by the Anasazi
Indians, who inhabited the area long before Best Friends. At the end of the trail we discovered a little waterfall. On the way
back we took a nice break by a little bubbling stream and realized that yes,
there actually are mosquitoes even in arid Utah!
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, June 6-8
Workshop
The workshop was entitled "Creating Teachable Moments." This workshop focused on different learning styles and alternative ways of teaching. It was also a cross-cultural workshop so many of the activities and lectures taught the participants about different cultures. Some of the activites included a pipe ceremony, a meditiation exercise at the underground lake, and a drum circle. When the workshop was over on Saturday, we went to Zion National Park to do the River walk and continue through The Narrows. We got tons of pictures and had a great time experiencing the Virgin River and the canyons.
Sunday, June 9
We rescued a kitten while out driving. She was at a roadside jewelry stand. We stopped to look at the jewelry and this man was giving her water. He really wanted to take her with him, but he and his wife were on vacation and didn't think she should have to ride in the car so much. We offered to take her to Best Friends. On the way there we named her Sidda. She was dehydrated and sleepy. After some water, a nap and some food she felt much better. She is doing fine here and we will probably adopt her when we leave.
Read about week two