Best Friends Animal Society

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Best Friends Animal Society, founded in its present form in 1984,[1] is an American nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that is one of America’s best known animal welfare rescue groups. Best Friends works in outreach programs with shelters, other rescue groups and members nationwide to promote pet adoption, spay-and-neuter services, and humane education programs around the country.[2] A key component of Best Friends’ work is operating Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the nation’s largest no-kill safe haven for displaced, homeless or unwanted domestic animals, located in Southwestern Utah near the town of Kanab.[3] The hour-long series DogTown, filmed at the sanctuary, is the story of Best Friends' ongoing work with dogs. The series debuted on the National Geographic Channel Jan. 4, 2008.[4]

Contents

[edit] History

What became known as the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary originated in Arizona in the 1970s, developing from a charitable retreat set up by The Foundation, a group formerly known as the Process Church of the Final Judgment.[5][6]

Best Friends never accepted the conventional wisdom that humane societies and shelters "have no choice" but to euthanize animals deemed "unadoptable." The original founders began a program whereby they rescued soon-to-be-killed dogs and cats from shelters, rehabilitated them, and found them new homes. Those not adopted formed an eccentric assortment of creatures whose numbers grew until, in 1986, the group established Best Friends Animal Sanctuary on a large plot of land five miles (8 km) north of Kanab, Utah, only six miles from the Arizona border.

In 1991, Best Friends became a nonprofit, tax-exempt charity and quickly grew to be the flagship of the rapidly growing no-kill movement throughout the 1990s. Articulating its goal of “No More Homeless Pets,” became central to the group’s work, and by the end of the 1990s, the number of animals killed in shelters had dropped from about 15 million in 1990 to less than 5 million.[7]

In August 2011, the City of Los Angeles handed over to Best Friends the operation and management of its Northeast Valley Shelter, which the city could no longer afford to operate. Under the contract, Best Friends is to provide adoptions for shelter animals and spay and neuter services for the community.[8][9]

[edit] The sanctuary

The sanctuary covers 3,700 acres (15 km2) owned by Best Friends, with an additional 33,000 acres (130 km2) leased from the United States Bureau of Land Management. It is located in Angel Canyon (formerly Kanab Canyon), about five miles (8 km) north of Kanab, Utah, at the heart of the famous “Golden Circle” of Zion National Park, the Grand Canyon's North Rim, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Lake Powell. The land in and around the town of Kanab is famous as a backdrop for dozens of western movies and television shows dating back to the 1940s. Among the many dramas filmed in the area were "The Lone Ranger" television series and the movies McKenna's Gold and The Outlaw Josey Wales.[10]

The sanctuary is home to approximately 1,700 animals,[11] most of which are dogs and cats; but the sanctuary also houses horses, burros, birds, rabbits, goats and pot-bellied pigs. Animals arrive at the sanctuary from throughout the United States and abroad, primarily from shelters that don’t have the resources to keep them and from shelters where they would otherwise be killed. A primary goal at Best Friends is to help the animals find good homes with permanent or foster families; but if they are not adopted, they live permanently at the sanctuary.

Best Friends is the nation's largest no-kill animal sanctuary,[12] which means that animals, regardless of illness or handicap, can live out their lives in peace. Animals are only put down in cases of terminal and/or extremely painful illness—only when compassion requires euthanasia because there is no reasonable alternative.

The group also publishes Best Friends, a bimonthly magazine with articles about animals, animal welfare, news and photos of animal-related events, and activities at the sanctuary. As of 2009, the magazine had some 300,000 subscribers.[13]

[edit] Visitors and tourism

Each year, more than 27,000 visitors tour Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, while another 4,500 people volunteer to donate time for the animals. Tours of the sanctuary are available daily throughout the year. Part of the Best Friends philosophy is that visitors and volunteers are a vital part of helping the animals to get ready for adoption into new homes. Among the hundreds of volunteers each year at Best Friends are a large assortment of student groups.

[edit] Work after Hurricane Katrina (2005-2010)

Best Friend’s official role in post-Hurricane Katrina operations was that of a primary animal rescue organization.[14] Best Friends was responsible for rescuing and caring for about 4,000 of those animals and helped transport another 2,000 to new locations for adoptions.[15] Animals in the care of Best Friends were reunited with their families, placed in new homes, or brought to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary for continuing care.[16]

Best Friends’ rapid response teams entered the hurricane disaster area on September 2, 2005 and worked for 249 days in and around New Orleans.[17] During the course of the group’s work, it expanded search-and-rescue operations to include St. Bernard and Orleans parishes and worked in concert with various law enforcement officials, the National Guard, and the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.

Best Friends’ main operations base for search and rescue was on the grounds of St. Francis Animal Sanctuary in Tylertown, Mississippi. The group operated a second rescue shelter at Celebration Station,[18] a former arcade, in Metairie, Louisiana and worked with the Humane Society of Southern Mississippi to transport animals brought to their shelter to foster and adoption groups across the country. Utilizing volunteers from across North America, including veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and information technology experts, Best Friends was able to make a major contribution to the hurricane relief effort.

Since Katrina, Best Friends has expanded its animal rescue work by providing the staff and resources to help revitalize an Pets Alive animal shelter in New York state, rescue approximately 800 cats from an institutional hoarding situation in Nevada,[19] and provide expertise and assist local animal rescue groups in the aftermath of the Peruvian earthquakes of 2007. Best Friends also gave refuge and lifetime care and rehabilitation to 22 of former NFL quarterback Michael Vick's most abused dogs from unlawful dog fighting activities.[20] In December 2008, Georgia, one of the former fighting dogs, appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show with Best Friends' dog trainer John Garcia.[21] The two also appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live" show.[22]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Best Friends celebrates its 25th anniversary, June 2009
  2. ^ Article, American Dog Magazine, "Los Angeles Programs Saves Lives in the Entertainment Capital of the World"
  3. ^ Best Friends, an Animal Sanctuary with a Difference, with Faith Maloney, by Diane Cooper
  4. ^ DogTown | Dogtown- National Geographic Channel
  5. ^ Before Best Friends, pp7-9, bestfriends.org, retrieved 9th May 2008
  6. ^ Timothy Wyllie (2009). Love Sex Fear Death: The Inside Story of the Process Church of the Final Judgement. Feral House. ISBN 9781932595376. 
  7. ^ Statistics - Animals in Print 15 April 2002 Issue
  8. ^ Los Angeles Times, "Los Angeles to hand over animal shelter to nonprofit group," August 17, 2011
  9. ^ Los Angeles Daily News', "Nonprofit to run city shelter," August 16, 2011
  10. ^ The Lone Ranger Movie
  11. ^ Best Friends' sanctuary info page
  12. ^ AR-News: (UT) Best Friends a haven for unwanted animals
  13. ^ Article from Albert Lea Tribune, "A close look at Best Friends Animal Society," April 25, 2009
  14. ^ Manning, Anita (September 3, 2005). "Animal welfare groups rescue abandoned pets". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-09-03-katrinapetrescues_x.htm. Retrieved April 26, 2010. 
  15. ^ Salt Lake Tribune Home Page - Salt Lake Tribune
  16. ^ Animal Planet "Have a Heart" feature
  17. ^ Deseret Morning News | Art spotlights rescue of New Orleans pets
  18. ^ NOLA.com, Adoption Festival notice at Celebration Station
  19. ^ Pahrump Valley Times article, "Volunteers say justice not served, February 19, 2010
  20. ^ NBC "Nightly News," "Michael Vick's Dogs Get A Second Chance," May 20, 2009
  21. ^ "DogTown's John Garcia Shares His Story," "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," December 15, 2008
  22. ^ CNN transcripts, "Larry King Live," "Does Michael Vick Deserve A Second Chance?" with Best Friends' John Garcia and former fighting dog Georgia

[edit] Further reading

  • Kelsey, Nola Lee (2008). Dogs: Funny Side Up! Nola Lee Kelsey's Funniest Canine Chronicles from Dogtown to Bangkok. Dog's Eye View Press. ISBN 978-0980232325. 
  • Scott, Cathy (2008). Pawprints of Katrina: Pets Saved and Lessons Learned. Howell Book House. ISBN 978-0470228517. 
  • Kelsey, Nola Lee (2008). Let's Go Visit Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Dog's Eye View Press. ISBN 978-0980232301. 
  • Kelsey, Nola Lee (2008). The Night Before a Dogtown Christmas. Dog's Eye View Press. ISBN 978-0980232349. 
  • Best Friends Animal Society (2006). Not Left Behind: Rescuing the Pets of New Orleans. Yorkville Press. ISBN 978-0976744252. 
  • Glen, Samantha (2001). Best Friends: The True Story of the World's Most Beloved Animal Sanctuary. Kensington. ISBN 978-1575667355. 
  • Dogtown: A Sanctuary for Rescued Dogs. Sellers Publishing. 2008. pp. 80. ISBN 978-1416205265. 
  • Wyllie, Timothy (2009). Love Sex Fear Death: The Inside Story of the Process Church of the Final Judgement. Feral House. ISBN 9781932595376. 

[edit] External links

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