Canyon of Angels

Thoughts and impressions from a recent visit to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

By Pam Freni, Best Friends Ambassador

Even though the Best Friends Sanctuary is located in a place called Angel Canyon, each time I go there I’m convinced that they should rename it to Canyon of Angels. Minutes after I checked in at the visitor’s center, I stopped at Dog Headquarters where I dropped off some gifts for Aristotle, the charming, yet very bald dog who has been highlighted on the Guardian Angel page of the Best Friends web site. His caregivers brought him into an exam room where we tried on the tee-shirts I had brought all the way from Washington, DC. They beamed as they pointed out his newly grown peach fuzz on most of his body. One would have thought he was made of gold, they way they treated him.

My next stop was at Benton’s cat building, the home of many special needs cats. What an amazingly dynamic team of people and cats. In one room the caretakers were alternately cleaning the floors and loving on the cats resident in that room. In other rooms, regular volunteers and us out-of-towners alike followed suit, cleaning and loving all the residents we could reach. I worked in Jill’s and Casa de Calmar as well. And while I can’t name all of the angels who work in the cat buildings each day, some of them are Mary Lou, Rachel, Joni, Michelle, Karen, Denise, Cathy, Devin, Rick, Richard, and Linda B. There are many others who should be added to this list in order to make it complete.

Many of the cats have fan clubs. One of the most popular is Dilly, resident of Bentons. Despite her “frailties” she is one of the most active cats in the house. Her little dish with her name emblazoned on it, donated by one of her legion of admirers, is used each night in her tower. Candy from Lebanon, a beauty, and Simone from Pahrump are also residents at Bentons. Peanut, the former feral suffering from paralysis as a result of a gunshot wound has become touchable because of hours of work by the caretakers. Perhaps the most popular of the lobby cats is Sweet William, a cat who lives in his own world, but who the caretakers gently feed and soothe each day.



Sweet William enjoying a nap

A few days later I took a side trip to Feathered Friends to see Aramis, the cockatoo with no feathers. He was in one of the outside aviaries, visiting with Seppi, the mayor of the bird house. Aramis’s naked chest, the product of compulsive feather picking, was clad in a beautiful blue wrap to protect his skin from his beak. His wrap is lovingly changed at intervals to ensure that someday, his skin will stay healed and he will re-grow his feathers. Aramis is housed with other cockatoos in an effort to try to teach him to be a bird. Five of these magnificent birds were enjoying the exquisite scenery, quietly clucking to themselves when out of nowhere, a shadow from the sky passed over. All five of the birds erupted into screams, instinctively giving a group warning that a predator was flying above them. Aramis joined in—his bird instincts returning and he seemed pleased.

By mid-week, I had a chance to work with the Pahrump cats. They are housed in a group of yurts and are ministered to by a most devoted group of caregivers. Many of the cats still suffer from the emotional devastation visited upon them by being abandoned and starved in the desert of Nevada, but many of them are now fat and content lap cats. For those still living the nightmare, they are being entered into a charm school for cats. Using an innovative therapy to convince very fearful and truly feral cats that they can trust and enjoy humans, scores of these cats are slowly becoming loving companion animals. The devoted caretakers of this area are many some of whom are Linda G, Steve, Robin, and Briann.

Equal devotion is provided to the dogs at Best Friends, including the Vick dogs. They are still there, although shielded from the casual visitor, and are also going through a very exciting socialization program that may allow many of them to be adopted into homes some day. Puppies like Dash, who needed splints on his legs because they were growing too fast, and the Pupsicles, rescued just before they froze to death, are socialized in regular puppy classes to ensure that they are adoptable.



Oliver, one of the Vicktory dogs

Being able to take part in just a small part of this for a week is an extraordinary opportunity to see angels at work. For that reason I think we should change the name of the Best Friend’s location to Canyon of Angels.

Article posted by Brandi Bennett, Best Friends Network Staff

Main photo of Angel Canyon and photo of Sweet William by Pam Freni, Best Friends Ambassador. Photo of Oliver by Sarah Ause, Best Friends Animal Society