Helping our best friends

ANIMALS
largest, and best-known no-kill animal sanctuary in the
United States. It got its start in 1986 when a group of 25
friends from Britain, the U.S., and Canada combined their
resources and bought the land at Angel Canyon. Best
Friends has been a nonprofit organization since 1991.
The sanctuary is home to as many as 2,500 animals at one
time, including dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, horses, goats,
sheep, and potbellied pigs. About 80 percent of all animals
that arrive here find new homes through adoption. For those
critters that are too old, sick, maimed, or otherwise unadoptable, though, Best Friends is a home for life. A pet cemetery
called Angel’s Landing is where all sanctuary animals go to
rest when their lives reach a natural end.
“Our goal is no more homeless pets,” Faith Maloney, a
native of England and one of the sanctuary’s original
founders, tells me when I ask her about the organization’s
mission. About 80 people now work at Best Friends fulltime, and as many as 20,000 visitors from all over the world
visit the sanctuary each year.
Best Friends works closely with shelters and rescue
groups nationwide to promote pet adoption, spay-andneuter services, and humane education programs. Best
Friends also performs groundbreaking, state-of-the-art
veterinary work on animals that come here. The sanctuary
promotes itself through its bimonthly magazine, Best
Friends — which has a circulation of 250,000 — as well as
with DogTown, a television show on the National Geographic channel about the sanctuary’s work with dogs.
Anybody age six and older can volunteer. It’s a good idea
for all visitors to acquaint themselves by taking a 90-minute
Finding sanctuary: for some animals, it’s a home for life
tour of the grounds and letting the staff know which animals
they’d like to help out with. Work can include anything
from scooping poop or cleaning cat boxes to cleaning animal areas, feeding animals, walking dogs, brushing cats,
or simply playing with the pets or cuddling them. “Volunteers are a big part of our work,” Maloney says. “In order to
do what we do, we need their support.” Full-time animal
caretakers are present to show how to do the work and to
answer any questions volunteers may have.
During my stay, I meet people of all ages and professions
who are volunteering. Ann and Bree from the East Coast are
t
Lisa Foster (3)
LIFESTYLE
backdrop ['b{kdrɑ:p]
bimonthly ["ba'mÃnθli]
canine ['kenan]
A doggone good time
he hot afternoon sun is shining, and a group of volunteers is
at DogTown, where the canines live, to get their assignments.
Sue German and Shelley Gress, from Chino Valley, Arizona, are
among them. German, who has been coming to the sanctuary once
a month since February, has persuaded Gress to come along and
spend time with the animals. The two are sharing a cottage on the
property and are participating in DogTown’s “doggie sleepover”
with pooches Honey and Tabitha. Sue German talked to Spotlight
about her experience at Best Friends.
canyon ['k{njən]
caretaker ['ker"tekər]
circulation ["s«:kjə'leʃən]
combine sth. [kəm'ban]
critter ['krtər] US ifml.
cuddle ['kÃdəl]
doggone ["dɑ:g'gɑ:n] N. Am. ifml.
goat [goυt]
interact with sb. ["ntər'{kt wθ]
maimed [memd]
nonprofit ["nɑ:n'prɑ:ft] US
participate in sth. [pɑ:r'tspet n]
pet cemetery ["pet 'seməteri]
pooch [pu:tʃ] ifml.
How did you find out about the “doggie sleepover”?
I found out about it on the internet; but also, anytime you volunteer
at DogTown, they tell you about it. It’s a good program, because
you get to meet the dogs and “try them on for size.” It’s also
good for the dogs to interact with people. Shelley and I had Honey
one night and Tabitha for two. My daughter sponsored Tabitha for
me for Mother’s Day, and so when I got to the sanctuary, I wanted
to meet her. Tabitha and Honey were both very shy.
potbellied ['pɒ:t "belid]
property ['prɑ:pərti]
rescue ['reskju:]
sanctuary ['s{ŋktʃueri]
scenery ['si:nəri]
scoop poop
["sku:p 'pu:p] N. Am. ifml.
shelter ['ʃeltər]
T
The joy of caring:
the author (left)
with Best Friends’
Wendy Hatchel
Helping our
best friends
Noah hat nur zwei von jeder Art behalten. Bei Best Friends in Utah finden alle Tiere Schutz und
einen liebevollen Menschen, der sie versorgt — bis sie ein Zuhause finden oder bis zu ihrem
natürlichen Ende. LISA FOSTER traf dort Zwei- und Vierbeiner.
ust north of the Arizona border, Kanab in Utah is a
beautiful town of about 4,000 people. During the
1950s, it served as a backdrop for The Lone Ranger
television series. The area’s stunning red-rock scenery
was again seen in the movies McKenna’s Gold (1969) and
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976). Today, most people come
to Kanab because it is surrounded by several of America’s
best-known national parks: the Grand Canyon and Lake
J
46 Spotlight
medium
US
p lu s www.
Powell in northern Arizona, and Bryce Canyon and Zion
National Parks in southern Utah.
Although the national parks are impressive and Kanab’s
film history is fascinating, I’m here to volunteer at Best
Friends Animal Sanctuary. It’s eight kilometers north of the
town, just off U.S. Highway 89.
Tucked into high desert country in Angel Canyon, Best
Friends sits on more than 140 hectares of land. It is the first,
10/08
What motivated you to start volunteering regularly?
I liked the show on National Geographic. I usually work with dogs
and horses, and after a while, you really get to know the animals
and people. The staff recognizes the importance of volunteers, and
they really roll out the red carpet. I really feel like I have four-legged
and two-legged friends there now.
sleepover ['sli:p"oυvər] US
spay-and-neuter ["spe ənd 'nu:tər]
state-of-the-art ["stet əv ði 'ɑ:rt]
stunning ['stÃnŋ]
try sth. on for size [tra "ɑ:n fər 'saz]
tucked into sth. ['tÃkt "ntə]
volunteer ["vɑ:lən'tər]
Kulisse
hier: alle zwei Monate
erscheinend
(biol.) Hundeartige; hier:
Hund
Schlucht
Tierpfleger(in)
Auflage
etw. zusammenlegen
Kreatur, Tier
knuddeln, schmusen
verdammt
Ziege
mit jmdm. Umgang haben
verkrüppelt
gemeinnützig
an etw. teilnehmen
Haustierfriedhof
Kosename für Hunde;
etwa: Hundetier
Hängebauchhier: Gelände
Rettung
Zufluchtsort; hier: Heim
Landschaft
mit einer Schaufel Kot
einsammeln
Notunterkunft; hier:
Tierheim
Übernachtung im Haus
von Freunden
Sterilisierungs- und
Kastrationsauf dem neuesten Stand
atemberaubend
probieren, ob etw. passt
in etw. hineingedrückt/
versteckt sein
als Freiwillige(r)/
ehrenamtlich arbeiten
Listen to Sue German on Spotlight Audio
10/08
Spotlight 47