On Monday, Dave and I took the official Best Friends tour. They start by showing you a video that describes the different areas of the sanctuary as well as successful adoption stories. Then, they take you on a guided tour of the entire 3800 acre property. Our guide, Raven, talked about how Best Friends began and she showed us each section. We didn't get to see Piggy Paradise because the pigs were quarantined this week for treatment. I really wanted to meet a pig! Anyway, we drove past several pastures where the horses can graze and relax. They have about 20 horses, all of whom are adoptable but not ridable. They think of everything - their outdoor water buckets have solar panels so that the horses' water doesn't freeze in the winter! Our tour took us through Angel Canyon which is just beautiful - mountainous with a river running through the valley. At the top of the Canyon is Angel's Rest which is a pet cemetery. Animals who "cross the rainbow bridge" are buried there and anyone can have their own pet commemorated or buried at Angel's Rest. It's quite lovely with windchimes and walking paths. Each month, the staff at Best Friends holds a blessing ceremony to remember the BFAS animals that lay there.
From there, we went to Dogtown Heights and got to meet some of the dogs. We stopped at an octagon in the Fairway which is where I had volunteered so it was nice to see Donna and some of the other pups I had met.
A stop at Cat World was next. Again, we stopped at one of the houses to meet several cats. This time we were at The Colonel's Barracks so I didn't get to see Nenet (which is probably good). Just like Jill's Diner, this house had indoor/outdoor space and a variety of cats at different socialability levels.
We drove past The Bunny House which is obviously for rabbits but also currently has four guinea pigs. They spay/neuter the rabbits and litter box train them to make the more adoptable!
The last areas we drove by is Parrot Garden and Wild Friends. Parrot Garden has far more than just parrots - macaws, cockatoos, etc... Wild Friends is a rehabilition area for various (mainly birds) wild animals. Ideally, these animals will be treated and released back into the wild. However, Best Friends does offer them a place to live forever if they cannot be released into their natural habitat.
When back at the Welcome Center, there is a gift shop as well as an information center to learn more about this amazing place.
This tour was my last visit to Best Friends (at least for this trip). I'm so glad I got to visit and volunteer!
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