Best Friends

Dave and I, as best friends, roamed through Central Utah on Saturday, May 14, 2016, on our way home from a quick trip to St. George.  Kanab was having its Wild West Days as we passed through, with decorated buffalos, cowboy poets, country music concerts, and a parade by the Dalmation Association of America.  Next year!

 The highlight of our drive home was a tour of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary near Kanab.  We were impressed with the huge operation which fosters three main goals:  1) shut down all "kill" animal shelters; 2) prevent discrimination against certain breeds of animals (such as sweet pit bulls); and 3) protect community cats (i.e. spay and innoculate them, then release them to their neighborhoods). The Sanctuary accepts stray animals from all over the country, adopts out 87% of them, and has a full-time "adoption counselor" on staff.  One neurotic kitty lives in the gift shop.  "Don't look her in the eye or you'll scare her," the clerk said.  Many of the animals at the Sanctuary have come from traumatic backgrounds.

 We visited the Dog House, where an assortment of doggies went through training to become adoptable.

 The Sanctuary accepted 27 of the pit bulls which had been part of an illegal fighting ring.  The judge ordered that they couldn't be adopted until they passed the national Canine Good Citizen test.  This pit bull is still at the shelter because she is not yet a good citizen.

 We had a "meet and greet" with Matty, a stray who just arrived from Los Angeles and who is being trained so she can be adopted.  "Get down on her level," Matty's trainer requested.  "I'm trying to teach her not to jump on people, and that helps."  When I told Jonny I had attended a "meet and greet" at the dog shelter, he asked, "What did they serve at this 'meet and greet'--canapes and drinks?"  Actually, no.  Dog biscuits.

 We bought lotion and soap at the Sanctuary to support its programs, and we're considering becoming "friends" of Best Friends.  We then drove home, with a stop in Salina for lunch at "Mom's Cafe."

 The specials at Mom's Cafe are down-home food, like my chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and sausage gravy.

 We loved the homemade cherry pie ala mode.

 We realized, when we next met Mike and Heidi, that they had eaten at Mom's Cafe the same afternoon.  Salina is just down the road from Heidi's home town, Axtell.