My husband and I participated in the 8:30 a.m. orientation van tour and afterward saw additional areas and met with Best Friends Co-Founder Jana de Peyer (that's Jana and I pictured together in the lobby area of the Cat World HQ).
What delightful, gracious hosts everyone on the Best Friends team was. We are so appreciative for their hospitality. You can take a look at what we saw in this YouTube slideshow video:
The Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab is simply huge... more than 3,300 acres located in the most beautiful terrain you can imagine. Some 1,700 animals...cats, dogs, bunnies, horses, pot-bellied pigs, goats, birds (and more) call the sanctuary home while they await adoption to their forever homes. Best Friends has partnerships with a network of shelters and rescues across the country to aid in forever home recruitment, plus runs adoption centers in Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and New York.
What's amazing to me is that Best Friends is just a little over 30 years old and has done phenomenal work in a very short period of time. Their network boasts 1,220 organizations and they also make grants to network partners and rescues across the country. I'm personally in awe of Best Friends achievements in the animal welfare space.
I only learned about Best Friends in 2011. In my hometown, I've served on the board and advisory council for a local cats-only shelter called Cat Care Society. Back in 2011, Cat Care Society was under a foreclosure "black cloud" on a commercial building used to house its thrift shop. Long story short, Best Friends had agreed to take some of the CCS kitties if necessary, but good news, Cat Care Society negotiated with the lender and was able to accomplish as short sale that made the foreclosure nightmare go away. Nonetheless, we learned firsthand that Best Friends knows how to be a best friend to shelters and rescues across the nation, particularly in critical times of need.
Since the events of 2011, a trip to Kanab was always in the back of my mind, but it took until this year to make it happen.
One last thing.... yes we found Rita and Reggie's brick. Take a look:
Needless to say, we hope to go back again...next time spending more time and volunteering at Cat World.
Quoting the Best Friends website: "Located in the beautiful red-rock canyons of Southern Utah, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is home to about 1,700 animals and stands as a model for lifesaving programs that we share with others around the country." Link to the Best Friends website to learn more: http://bestfriends.org.
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