RUFFING IT, EDGE,
KANAB, Utah — During my three decades as a travel writer, this was the first time I had found myself in the doghouse. Literally. I was in the Puppy Pre-school at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary’s Dogtown, cuddling an affectionate pit bull mix named Challah. She was the last of her litter, and if there is any justice in the world, this adorable mutt has already found or will soon find her forever home.
In the meantime, she — and others like her — receive lots of TLC from the passionate staff at Best Friends. Here, in this sprawling 3,700-acre sanctuary in Angel Canyon, nestled among the red rocks of southern Utah, cats, bunnies, horses, birds, pigs, goats and even the occasional turtle join their canine companions in living the good life until they can be adopted. If, in the rare case, they never are, this is their safe haven for life.
Recently, another animal species has become part of the Best Friends landscape — humans, in the form of intrepid travelers who are looking for a different kind of vacation.
According to Cyrus Mejia, one of the founders of Best Friends in 1984, some 35,000 visitors arrive annually at the sanctuary. Some come to sightsee, but about a third come for the express purpose of volunteering.
They come to feed the equines stabled at Horse Haven; grab a leash and take the residents of Dogtown for their daily walk; and coax a shy feline to come out and play at Cat World. At the end of the day, it’s hard to tell which species — animal or human — has benefitted most from the encounter.
“Volunteers, many who come from as far away as Europe, Africa and Australia, are a great help to our staff in caring for the animals,” said Mejia, “but we feel they get something in return that is positive, uplifting and sometimes, lifechanging.”
Volunteers can choose from three-hour morning or afternoon shifts. Advance registration is required, and the staff will do their best to match potential volunteers with the species of their choice.
If they want to continue canoodling with canines, frolicking with felines and bonding with bunnies, and if they happen to be staying at the Best Friends Roadhouse
and Mercantile, they can arrange with the sanctuary for a dog, cat or bunny to join them on a sleepover.
The sanctuary opened Best Friends Roadhouse in 2019 as a way to both accommodate visitors to Kanab and generate more revenue for its animal rescue efforts. Surrounded by the starkly beautiful Vermillion Cliffs, the Roadhouse is located just five miles from the sanctuary.
The 40 rooms are designed with pet-friendly touches such as built-in cubbies for your dog or cat, while the grounds feature dog-washing stations and a fenced dog park with a splash zone.
The Roadhouse has a friendly staff who always seem to have treats in hand. Just so you won’t feel left out, they offer freshly baked chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookies at bedtime, and a continental breakfast in the Mercantile to get your day started.
To scientists, the red rocks that cover this part of Utah were petrified sand dunes dating back 150 million years. To artists, they were the colorful gems of the desert. To the native Paiutes, they were sacred places sheltering the ghosts of their ancestors. To the movie and TV industries, they were money in the bank.
Kanab is not known as “Little Hollywood” for nothing. During our walk, Mejia points out a break between two canyons.
“There used to be a wooden bridge across it,” he said. “Those old enough to remember the (1950s) movie version of ‘The Lone Ranger’ might recognize that as the spot where the Lone Ranger uttered ‘Hi ho, Silver’ as the horse reared up on its hind legs.” The Lone Ranger was just one of the 100 Western movies and television shows that were filmed here. Movie classics such as “Fort
Apache” and “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” and television classic “Gunsmoke” called Kanab their cinematic home.
As if Kanab can’t get enough of its celluloid cowboys, the town hosts an annual Western Legends, Heritage & Music Festival (this year Aug. 13-15), where guests have a chance to interact with some of their favorite Western heroes.
Save a day for a trip to one of the nearby national parks.
Zion National Park, Utah’s first national park, has the massive red sandstone cliffs common throughout the area, while Bryce Canyon National Park, smaller in size but occupying a higher elevation (9,000 feet) than Zion, is not really a canyon. Rather it’s a series of natural amphitheaters whose tall, cylindrical columns are known as hoodoos. Both parks are nothing short of spectacular.