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Show Feature SOUTHERN UTAH NEWS WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 1994 10 Just trying to be...animals Best Friends By Dixie Brunner While Best Friends Animal Sanctuary may be heaven to Gods creatures, 5 1 humans have to work like hell to keep it going. Its difficult for people to understand the enormity of all this, comments Sanctuary director Faith Maloney of Best Friends. Its a huge struggle. Best Friends is home to over 1500 animals, and is the largest no-ki- ll animal sanctuary for abused and abandoned domestic animals in the nation. Those animals need to be cared for every day of every year, regardless of rain, snow, heat or caretakers plague. Birth and evolution of the sanctuary cially as they have grown and matured, is that the mission theyve chosen is mind boggling. Best Friends began in Arizona We use 10 tons of dry kibble in the 1970s with a group of and 4,000 cans of dog food a animal lovers who sought an- month, comments Faith other alternative to the Maloney. The cats go through euthanization practices of hu- one ton of dry food, approximane societies and shelters. mately containers of They began a small program canned cat food, and one ton of rescuinganimals whos luck had kitty litter a month. run out. Apart from sustenance, the They arrived at their current animals, many of which have location in Angel Canyon north been brutally abused, need mediof Kanab in 1984, and estabcal attention. Best F riends has a lished a large and unique ani- vet that visits monthly to treat mal sanctuary. illnesses or injury, and to spay But what theyve found, espe neuter the animals at the sanc- - One of the dogs at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary relaxes m the shade of the cooi pines in Angel Canyon. Photo by Dixie Brunner. rf3Acr4A T4 & pi 81 rl mm ?v to take care of the animals forever. This means that we cant take in every single animal." She adds that this fact has on occasion. caused sorrow both to Best Friends, as well as to the general public. i M' i Education Maloney says that the biggest challenge in dealing with animals is educating their friends. "Were dealing with the human problem most of the time. Educatingthepublicabout the crucial necessity of spay, neuter-in- g is perhaps any animal organizations biggest task. That education includes visiting local schools, and as many as 20 institutions in southern Utah. Education and outreach is crucial, says Maloney. Every three seconds, 24 hours a day, an animal is euthanized. Best Friends has learned that perhaps the best way to help the animal crisis is to empower other organizations. Best Friends has become a flagship in education, with national and international outreach. Groups visit from all over the country to learn how to ll set up their own animal homes and sanctuaries. People come in all the time for lessons, two-legge- d ? The Visitor and Welcome Center was added to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary late last year. The number of visitors to the sanctuary is increasing every year. Best Friends offers training for others to set up their own sanctuaries. Photo by Dixie Brunner. tuary, as well as offer the service to the community at low cost. Perhaps the hardest lesson that Best Friends has had to learn is that they cant do it all alone. Cost and logistics dictate that thef cant be responsible for every animal themselves. For awhile we even served as animal control for the city of Kanab, but it just got to be too much, said Maloney. Because we are no kill, we have a pledge Attention: Western Kane County Special Service District Residential Customers, be a date change on the day your garbage will be picked up. This will affect the residents only from the south side of 200 S. to the north side of 300 S. on the east side of highway 89 and from the south side of 200 S. to the south side of 400 S. on the west side of highway 89. As of present your garbage is being picked up on I uesday. this will change to Wednesday. This will become effective September a. 1934. There will 1 frank you. Jerrol Leavitt no-ki- Kane County Narcotics HOT-LIN-E 644-818- 8 Confidential, Anonymous Narcotic Information, Funds available to anyone providing information leading to narcotic related arrests. Leave Recorded Information, or Contact Kane County Narcotics Strike Force Agent I). Scott Jackson conferences and classes." said Maloney. We show others that by doingsomethingthisbig-thetoo can do it." y Public awareness and fundraising Outreach is enhanced by the Best Friends Magazine. The monthly publication produced at the sanctuary is a collection of good news about animals and animal lovers all over the world. With a large international circulation of subscribers, the magazine is giving Best Friends and southern Utah some serious exposure. Largely due to the magazine, support for the sanctuary comes from a national base of members who send in an average of $50 a year each to support the animals and the work of Best Friends. Outreach is rapidly expanding and Best Friends expects to mail to over 1.5 million people this year. The sanctuary has also benefited by some celebrity support. Public service spots by Ed McMahon, Ellen Degeneres, Kelsey Grammar and Robert Goulet have been broadcast on all major TV stations. Economic impact Evolution and maturity have been big factors in Best Friends relationship with Kanab. When the sanctuary first arrived, it had to win over the community. People were confused about what the organization was about. Kanab has come to realize that Best Friends are not only good neighbors involved in many civic functions, but are also purelv and simply, good economic news to the community. See BEST FRIENDS, Page 11 |