Utah
": A Better World Through Kindness To Animals":
This World Horizons opportunity has volunteers working at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the nation’s largest sanctuary for abused and abandoned animals. Best Friends Animal Society is guided by a simple philosophy: kindness to animals builds a better world for all of us. In the late 1980s, when Best Friends was in its early days, roughly 17 million dogs and cats were being killed in shelters every year. Despite the commitment of shelter workers to the animal in their care, the conventional belief was that little could be done to lower that terrible number.
Best Friends' No More Homeless Pets campaign created a new vision: A grassroots effort to place dogs and cats that were considered "unadoptable" into good homes, and to reduce the number of unwanted pets through effective spay and neuter programs. Since then, the number of dogs and cats being destroyed in shelters has fallen to approximately 5 million a year.
The next phase of this work -- bringing the number down to essentially zero! As the flagship of a grassroots network of people and organizations that care about animals, Best Friends continues to lead the way towards this future.
At The Sanctuary
The Best Friends Animal Sanctuary at Angel Canyon, at the heart of the Golden Circle of national parks in southern Utah, is home on any given day to about 2,000 dogs, cats, and other animals, who come from shelters and rescue groups around the country for special care they can only receive at Best Friends.
Most of the animals who find their way to Best Friends have special physical or behavioral needs, and our expert staff of veterinarians, trainers and caregivers offer them all the help they require. Most of them are ready to go to good new homes after just a few weeks of special care. A few, who are too old or too sick, or who have suffered extra trauma, find a home and haven at the sanctuary, and are given loving care for the rest of their lives.
And that's why our purpose remains: A better world through kindness to animals.
Volunteers will work alongside staff helping with the daily routine as they feed, exercise and care for the animals. Volunteers will also do some grounds maintenance, small repair projects, i.e. fences and pathways, as well as work hands-on with the dogs, cats, pot belly pigs, rabbits, horses, mules, birds and more. Weekend excursions usually include a trip to Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon as well as other locations.
"My experience at Best Friends was great and I recommend it to all animal lovers...We volunteered with all the animals, dogs, cats, bunnies, horses, pigs and both domestic and exotic birds...but the majority of time was spent with the dogs. Each of us got our own dog for the three weeks to socialize and bond with so it would be ready for adoption and we were able to match up with a dog we felt comfortable with. Mine was named Sheena and of course I fell in love with her right away, growing closer and more attached each day. I came to know 33 dogs by name and by the end I knew all their stories, personalities, likes and dislikes. Each day was full of love both given and received. It was an extremely rewarding and satisfying experience. Leaving was really hard but it was worth it looking back at how much we had done. Be prepared to both love and work hard!" -- Rudi, CA
"... but I wanted to tell you what a wonderful time she had on the trip. She really enjoyed the program at Best Friends, and she loved the national parks. She made new friends, and in fact, she was in Connecticut a couple of weeks ago, visiting Olivia and a couple of other girls from the program. So, many thanks for setting up and running a great program!" -- Lauren (mom), MA
Utah
Session 1 (2 weeks)
- Description: Community service & Travel
- Ages: 14 - 18
- Requirements: Love of animals
- Dates: June 30 - July 15
- Start/End: Las Vegas
- Fees*: $2,650
Session 2 (1 week)
- Description: Community service & Travel
- Ages: 13 - 15
- Requirements: Love of animals
- Dates: July 29 - August 5
- Start/End: Las Vegas
- Fees*: $1,350
- Description: Community service & Travel
- Ages: 13 - 15
- Requirements: Love of animals
- Dates: July 29 - August 5
- Start/End: Las Vegas
- Fees*: $1,350
*Prices subject to change due to airfare increases
- "This past summer in Hawaii, I experienced what I imagine to be life at its fullest. I felt responsible as an adult with the work we were doing in the community. I learned about many cultures and customs of Polynesian civilizations from North Shore surfing to the Fijian Fire and Knife dance. I will remember the people I helped and met on this trip for the rest of my life."
- Jason Zwang, Connecticut
-- Hawaii
