Best Friends(click on any photos to see big versions)
It's actually kind of hard to start this blog post. My trip to Best Friends was more than just a regular vacation, more than just visiting a neat place. It's hard to put into words..... so maybe I'll just recount our trip and inject thoughts here and there and hope you guys get the idea.
I've known about Best Friends Animal Sanctuary for so long I can't recall how I found out about them. But they are the kind of organization that you read a little about and then never forget, fortunately.
Going to visit was my idea of a relaxing vacation where I would get to do something useful. I spend a lot of time doing things for me - my dancing, my crafting, etc.... I wanted to do something for not-me. The trip lived up to my expectations and then went way, way beyond them!
We arrived at the sanctuary after a 4 hour drive from Vegas just in time for the last tour of the day. Our guide took a van full of folks around (Best Friends owns 3500+acres and leases another 30,000 acres) - we got a great overview of the place, some of the history, and a few happy ending adoption stories.
After the tour we checked into one of the cottages by the horse pastures - we were lucky enough to get 3 nights in one of the cottages on the sanctuary which was convenient and comfortable. The cottages made us feel right at home and the view outside of the horses was lovely. And at night - the stars - holy cow! Being in the middle of nowhere with no light pollution has it's benefits!
The photo at left (by Kim Werker) shows the view from the cottage.
After the tour we checked into one of the cottages by the horse pastures - we were lucky enough to get 3 nights in one of the cottages on the sanctuary which was convenient and comfortable. The cottages made us feel right at home and the view outside of the horses was lovely. And at night - the stars - holy cow! Being in the middle of nowhere with no light pollution has it's benefits!The photo at left (by Kim Werker) shows the view from the cottage.
After getting up early the next morning to meet with the volunteer coordinator (this was not a sleeping-in kind of vacation, fyi), we headed over to DogTown to spend the day working with dogs. We started at Old Friends where more senior dogs tend to be - since I don't have a lot of dog experience and we wanted to start with the mellow foofers.We spent the morning walking dogs in the snow (see photo at left, by Kim Werker). Some were raring to go, some ambled along slowly and were happy to get back to the warm dog octagons. All the dogs have access to outdoor dog runs whenever they want, but I think they appreciate a change of scenery. They were all sweethearts. I think if I ever became a dog person, I'd want to adopt an older dog.
We also got to attend a shy dog socialization class where they have volunteers the dogs don't know sitting in a room offering treats - a way to get the dogs to associate strangers with happy things. Some dogs were very brave (and bold in search of treats), others were making brave, tentative first steps towards trusting people just by being near them.(Photo at left shows the inside of one of the dog octagons - each kennel has doggy doors to its own large fenced run.)
One dog at the shy dog class - Melissa - stole my heart. She was feral and only recently started letting staff touch her. She's so beautiful and scared (see photo at left of her with her tail between her legs, poor thing). I'm confident the Best Friends staff can help her learn to like people so she can be adopted into a home and doted on like she deserves (and if she never gets to that point, she's got a home forever at Best Friends, because that's how they do it)!The afternoon we spent at Fairway in DogTown, where we met more sweethearts. We helped with the feeding and poop scooping (glamorous stuff - but when you see how hard the caretakers work, you're happy to do whatever to help out) and just hung out with the foofers in their runs.
Kim fell in love with Braxon (see photo at left) and ended up adopting him!! He will be flying to Vancouver in January! Which means Best Friends will have space to take in another dog in need, which is fantastic! Braxon is a love bug (rolled over for belly rolls when I first met him), I can't wait to see him again.The next post - day 2: cats!! In the meantime, here are more photos from our day with the dogs:
While you're waiting for me to write post #2 - go check out the Best Friends website and try not to get all misty-eyed at the wonderful stories of the lives they save: www.bestfriends.org
Fabulous, Lisa. Thanks for sharing! Of course, I didn't see "my" dog in your pix. She would have been 18 or more by now, so not surprising. But the dogs all look happy, which is the main thing.
Not surprised you loved it :)
It is quite the place. Melissa would get to me too, and I love the photo of you, and the hat!
Would have loved to hear what 500 wind chimes sounded like. Amazing all round.
Bev - your dog was very happy at Dog Town, I'm certain.
Mom - my friend took a video of the wind chimes - I'll get her to post it online and send you the link. It was a lovely sound - perfect for the place.