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It's Shining Cats and Dogs
November 16, 2000
Last Updated February 2, 2001
We'll use this space from time to time to acknowledge some of our favorite ideas by thanking the good folks responsible. This week we're all abuzz about Utah's Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the largest no-kill refuge for abused and abandoned animals in the United States.
Got a thank you note you've been meaning to write? We'll save you 33 cents - let us post it here. Share.
NEW Reader Responses are coming in all the time! Follow along by clicking here. Join the Best Friends conversation below!
Dear Best Friends:
It was just an unremarkable direct mailing that did it.
It was in there - with its striking resemblance to a discount grocery store coupon book - amongst the credit card applications and record club gimmicks. Simple. Straightforward. The message was, in a nutshell, plain as day - “Help us do something truly humane for all the pets out there that people would rather throw away.” It was the basics (complete with photos and stories) about your no-kill sanctuary for unwanted dogs and cats and horses and pigs and birds and anything else people keep as pets. What a novel concept. Just so you know - your piece of direct mail worked. We're convinced.
Who knew about the no-kill movement in animal welfare? I definitely didn't, but it's been quietly significant. During the 1990s, the movement helped reduce the number of abandoned dogs and cats that had to be euthanized by over 70%. You've advocated the adoption of forgotten pets in lieu of their purchase from pet stores and private breeders.
As one of the pioneers of the no-kill movement, you give these critters a fighting chance. Your 350 acres in southern Utah truly represent a refuge for these animals. That 1800 orphaned animals - 650 of them dogs - from all around the country have access to the Best Friends haven is a testament to the commitment of your organization.
That you've galvanized an entire nation of animal lovers into an active Best Friends Network is another. You connect the pets in your care with people who will care for them, and if you can't find folks that fit the bill, you keep the animals yourselves. That's all there is to it. Your no-kill nation is teeming with folks driven to spay and neuter, to start grassroots animal rights campaigns, to rescue and rehabilitate injured pets and wildlife, and to nurture animals with special needs. 13,000 people actually spent their vacations volunteering at the Sanctuary last year? Phenomenal.
Who could possibly be unmoved by the plight of abandoned and homeless pets? They truly do start out as some of the best, most unconditional friends people can have, but sometimes they fall out of favor with some people. Who doesn't have a story about an amazing experience they had with a childhood pet or a bond that they felt with a dog or cat as an adult?
One of the folks in our office told us an unbelievably stirring story from her childhood about what Tuffy, a stray that her family adopted, meant to her. As a toddler, she had wandered out of her backyard and toward a busy highway. The frantic minutes that they couldn't find her were like decades to her parents, but when they did, there was Tuffy, walking along between her and the road, gently nudging her whenever she would teeter even a little ways towards danger. Without adoption, Tuffy would most likely have been doomed after a short time in the pound. There are Tuffys everywhere. Glad you're looking out for them so they can look out for us.
So thanks again for your unremarkable direct mailing.
All the best,
GOODTHINGS
TALK ABOUT IT
Got a great story about the pet that adopted you? We want to hear it.
THINK ABOUT IT
Visit the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary Web site and read all about the current best friends.
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT
Want to help but not actually adopt a Best Friend? For just $17 a year, you can sponsor one (they'll even send you a photo). Send a check (made out to Best Friends) to:
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary
5001 Angel Canyon Road
Kanab UT 84741-5001
Find a no-kill shelter near you?
Readers Respond
A goodthings.com Web site visitor shares a story of a ball of fur left stranded in a driving rainstorm. Check out "Cry Like a Rainstorm" on this Web site.
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Dear goodthings,
I woke up knowing I shouldn't travel down the highway that day. I knew I would be finding some animal that needed me. These situations cause me such heartache! I seem to have a knack for attracting homeless animals (5 cats, 2 dogs).
Sure enough, 20 minutes down the road, an injured, completely malnourished, white Husky-mix crawled out of a ditch in front of my car. So, I stopped to help him, but he would have none of it. He limped down the road to a "tourist information booth" where he made himself at home. (The staff there was good about feeding him and brought a blanket out for him.)
I traveled the 60km's every other day to see if I could entice him a little closer with food, convince him to trust me. He would let no one touch him for nearly 7 weeks. No one could even get near him, since he was so cagey and afraid. No scratching behind the ears, no belly-rubbing. He would come within about 10 feet, unless you had some food in your hand.
He slept and slept in the sunshine, as he healed himself from his wounds. I believe he had either been thrown from a truck or hit by a car: 2 broken legs, chipped teeth, and a huge 'road rash' on his side. He may have been in a trap for a while too, as he had a circular wound around one foot. Very nasty infection. We fed him antibiotics in pieces of ham, which really seemed to help him heal.
After about 7 weeks, the tourist booth was shutting down for the season, and I knew he would be on his own. This is northern Canada, and winters are long and cold. So, on the last day the booth was open, I armed myself with 3 volunteers, some vet-recommended tranquilizers, a crate and a rabies pole. Wouldn't you know--we arrived at the site, I sat on the ground, and 'Sparky' came right over to me and leaned on me as though we had been friends forever. He let me pet him, scratch him. It was so wonderful after weeks of turning myself inside out trying to figure out how to best 'bring him in.' (The local animal control office wanted nothing to do with this case.)
We easily bundled him into the crate and brought him to my home where he has fit in beautifully for the last 1.5 years as though he had been born there. He is the gentlest, kindest, most devoted pet. His injuries have healed, though he has a slight limp and a stiff hip. He can run like the wind, and gets his share of good walks with his 'canine brethren.' He is a doll. I highly recommend a rescue dog. They are the best!
Betty Jo Weaver, British Columbia, Canada
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There are so many good people I know that this space may be way to small
for me :-)
I am talking about the people who do canine rescues! I am talking about
people that give their time, money, love, share their food, resources, homes
and hearts in order to secure a safe future for these dogs!
I am blessed to have these people in my life as they have rekindled my
trust for the human kind and lit my passion in to an ever-living planet!
1) Tanya - PupSavr4Life, a light in any dog's life, a true loving woman
that expects nothing but finding a good home for her rescue dogs! Rinnie,
her rescue German Shepherd is forever in her debt and so am I!
2) Marian Krueger from secondchanceboxer.com - a giving, loving caring lady working for a cause most try to exploit to gain fame.
3) Kari - from MI GSD Rescue - determined to find her German Shepherds the
best home possible.
I thank you for taking this time to read this and also making it possible
for people to bring notice to the truly wonderful people they have in their
lives.
We live in a world where we choose to dwell on the negatives instead the
positives, I have to "THANK YOU" for not contributing to this horrible waste
of time.
Thank you and may 2001 bring everything you always wanted!
Sevi Kay
CyberCanine.com
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Hi, I wanted to suggest a website that tries to make a positive difference
in the world, as opposed to money for themselves - and they could probably
use some publicity. Seems like the little guys doing a great thing can get
overlooked. Anyway, it is www.animalassist.com, which sends 91% of their
advertising and affiliate revenue to a different non-profit animal welfare
group each month (it is a click-to-donate site) - the animal groups send
their description to be posted on animalassist.com. Past beneficiary groups
I have seen on the site include The Fund for Animals, The National Humane
Education Society, The Humane Society at Lollypop Farm, and currently the
Equine Rescue League.
There is an online form for non-profit animal welfare groups to apply, so
lots of other people (especially those groups needing money and people who
like pets) would probably be quite interested to learn that
www.animalassist.com exists.
Per the site, animalassist.com has a twofold mission - (1) to help
non-profit animal welfare groups spay/neuter dogs/cats, help fund shelters
and rescue groups, and adoption programs, and (2) help maintain wildlife
sanctuaries.
The more visitors they have, the more they can help - so I thought I'd let
you know.
Thanks -
Michael Bass
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A goodthings.com Web site visitor shares a story of an unexpected gift of kittens. Check out "You Never Can Tell" on this Web site.
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Reader Jeannie Britton writes about the incredible bond that exists between pet owners and their "best friends":
Beauregard, an Australian shepherd mix, appeared on our driveway about five years
ago. He was a lively busy pup. We never knew whether someone had dumped him or if he had
run away -- but we were lucky to become his parents. Three years ago we discovered
Beau had epilepsy. Fortunately, we have a wonderful vet, and he immediately
went on medication. Even with that, we spent many sleepless nights sitting up with
him when he had seizures. This summer Beau had a horrible seizure which
resulted in loss of control of bodily functions. I held him and kissed him
goodbye -- it was time to let him go. I feel good in the fact that we did the
best we could for him and gave him five years of quality life. We miss him
terribly but have three other dogs to care and love.
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If you have a cat or dog or other pet that has been diagnosed with
diabetes, I would like to recommend Petdiabetes.org as a great place to find support and information. Along with an email list, bulletin boards and a host of information, you will find that this disease is treatable. A helpful and hopeful place!
--Johanna Zamora
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Ready to adopt a furry friend? Search petshelter.org's powerful database, which is populated by animal shelters around the U.S. Suggested by a goodthings reader from Seattle. |
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"Thanks for your article about the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah. I've always appreciated and sometimes been amazed by animals. However, as far as pets go, I know that my busy lifestyle and somewhat selfish sense of independence would make a rather poor pet owner of me. So, alas, I have been without a Best Friend. Until now. Thank you for showing me a way to give a little by sponsoring an animal at the Sanctuary, and keep those goodthings comin'!"
--Raquel Lewis, Oakland, CA
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"There's a program called PAWS (Pets Are Wonderful Support) in San Francisco that helps very ill/hospitalized patients who have AIDS care for their pets while they're ill/hospitalized. It's a great service. I have had several very sick patients who were going to refuse hospitalization because there was no one to take care of their pets at home. PAWS taking care of the pets throughout their hospitalization allowed them to come in and get treated."
--a doctor from San Francisco, CA
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