John Garcia Interview At Ellen Show 04/15/2009

You'll enjoy this video - John represents BF so well!!! I'm proud of you John!!! Barb

American Humane - North Dakota Deployment

Red Star Animal Emergency Services North Dakota Flooding Red Star Animal Emergency Services Saving Pets in North Dakota Flooding Over the weekend of March 28-29, 2009, an American Humane Red Star Animal Emergency Services team deployed to North Dakota to potentially help with the care and sheltering of animals evacuated from the Red River flooding in the Fargo area. We helped with sandbagging and worked to set up an overflow shelter in Valley City; fortunately, levees held, and the additional shelter was not needed. Updated Reports From the Scene American Humane’s Animal Emergency Services program manager, Tracy Reis, is filing reports from the scene. Tuesday, March 31 The Red Star team was a tired crew when we returned to our temporary homes last night. The blizzard was still in full force and we wondered how the levees in Fargo would fare overnight. The good news is that although it was a long night, all seemed well this morning. We were all prepared to resume sandbagging detail this morning, but due to the weather even that had been discontinued because the roads had been shut down for everything but "essential services." By midday it seemed that any immediate threat had passed. The roads reopened and the decision was made with our hosts, the North Dakota Animal Health Board, that the Red Star team could demobilize and head for home. We'll all be on flights home tomorrow knowing that we were the "safety net" for hundreds of animals that might have gone homeless if the worst had happened. The thought of homes flooded with freezing water and ice, and people and animals fleeing west along I96 to escape the destruction with no place to go, is what brought us here to help. The brave families of the Red River Valley have beaten the river at this point. Thankfully, the worst seems to be behind them for the moment. However, a new high crest is possible sometime in April when all of this snow melts. And if they need us, the Red Star team will be, thanks to our staff, brave volunteers, donors and friends, watching and waiting for the invitation to respond again. Monday, March 30 All 12 members of the Red Star team started work this morning at the Valley City Emergency Animal Shelter. I think I mentioned yesterday that we are the "backstop" for Fargo in case the levees fail in the next couple of days -- evacuees could potentially bring in hundreds of animals to us if the worst happens. We are ready for them if and when they arrive. In the meantime, we put ourselves to work filling sandbags along with the local folks. It was hard work and we must have filled at least 3,000 sandbags, three scoops at a time! Then we stacked them, 40 to a pallet, for transport. We reduced a mountain of sand to walls of sandbags today, and now those walls of sandbags are on flatbed semi trucks headed for Fargo where the shoring up of the levees continues. The community folks were so grateful for the extra hands in this effort. Several of them were surprised that we pitched in -- they knew we were here for a purpose, that we came for the animals -- and they were genuinely appreciative of that. But they were truly amazed and grateful that while we waited for the animals, we also pitched in to do the same hard work that they have been doing for endless days now. For our part, we were just happy to help out in any way we could while we waited for the river to recede. The effort these citizens have put forth to save their community is just astounding. They are true everyday heroes. I also have to give kudos to the Minnesota Veterinary Reserve Corps team that is manning the shelter here with us. With two veterinarians and two vet technicians on board, we know we have a solid crew for the animals, no matter what happens. It’s been a hot and cold day. We work up a sweat and take off layers to cool off, and then the cold gets to us and we put clothes back on. We had army “meals ready to eat” (MREs) for lunch and everyone is looking forward to a hot meal this evening. I’m writing this at about 4:00 p.m. local time, and we have a fierce blizzard going on outside. Luckily, our hotel is only a couple of minutes away, and the big semi trucks hauling our sandbags away are keeping the road clear. We received an update from Fargo a couple of minutes ago, and they are reporting that they have 16 inches of new snow on the ground now and high winds. The river is at 39 feet -- let’s hope all remains well through the night. Sunday, March 29 Flights out for the Red Star team began this morning. By early afternoon we had half of our team on the ground in Valley City with the remainder coming in tonight. In all we will have a team of 12 responders here to set up and to man an emergency animal shelter. We are setting up the shelter in the Winter Show Building -- which we are told is literally the largest Quonset hut building in the world -- and I believe it! This building is enormous and will serve us well for a shelter. You can only imagine what it looks like -- I’ll try to post pictures soon. We have a lot of work to do to get it ready, though, to work as an animal shelter. With additional equipment and food that will be delivered today from the PetSmart Charities Rescue Waggin’® we should have capacity for 450 animals if needed. By now we know that the Red River crested short of the levee tops -- and that is wonderful news. But we are also being told that the water is expected to sit without going down for as long as five days, putting strain on the temporary levees the folks of Fargo have labored so hard to build. We all pray that the levees will hold, but more dangerous winter weather is predicted for tomorrow with additional snow and high winds. The forecast is for eight to ten inches of new snow and up to 25-mile-per-hour winds. That will be hard on the levees as well as the people. At the end of today (Sunday) we do not yet have any animals at the shelter we’re setting up, but we will be busy tomorrow. This same location where we are working is also a main sandbagging facility for the effort in Fargo. The Red Star team will jump in tomorrow to assist with filling sandbags; we will help in any way that we can. Is it cold here? You bet -- bone-chilling cold. Everyone runs around with red cheeks and you don’t take your gloves off for long before your hands are in pain and numb. Saturday, March 28 My boss, vice president of the Animal Welfare Division Debrah Schnackenberg, called me this morning to let me know that Dr. Keller from the State Veterinarian’s Office in Bismarck called her this morning to request that American Humane send in an emergency sheltering team. While Debrah and the North Dakota Animal Health Board arranged the paperwork that will officially admit us into North Dakota, I headed into the office to get the travel arrangements, scheduling, assignments and the hundred other details going to pull the trigger on getting the Red Star team out to Fargo. We have been asked to set up an emergency animal shelter in Valley City, N.D., which is on I96 -- the westward evacuation route out of Fargo. The Red River was expected to crest last night or early today; if it flows over the temporary levees our Valley City shelter will be the first shelter outside of Fargo available to people in need of a safe haven for their beloved pets. We all hope that the river stops short of overflow, but if it doesn’t we will be here ready to support the families and the pets of the Red River area. Friday, March 27 The snow is letting up here in Denver but we were still under a blizzard warning until early this morning. American Humane’s headquarters remain closed for the storm but the Animal Emergency Services team has been hard at work from our homes. We have put a Red Star emergency sheltering team on standby status and we have continued to talk with the authorities in North Dakota about their needs. American Humane, along with our National Animal Rescue and Sheltering Coalition (NARSC) partners, has begun regular daily conference calls with management at both the state and federal levels. Together we are all keeping updated on the situation and needs in the Fargo area. Meanwhile, we have Red Star volunteer responders from all over the country sitting with their winter clothes and boots at the ready and bags packed to get on a plane for Fargo at a moment’s notice. All of these folks are amazing people, willing to set aside the comforts of their own families, warm homes and jobs to go to freezing, water-logged Fargo to help in whatever way they can. I cannot say how grateful I am for all of them. Thursday, March 26 We’ve been watching the Red River situation around the Fargo, N.D., area and I’ve put in calls to Emergency Management and local humane societies in both North Dakota and in Minnesota to see if they need American Humane’s assistance. Meanwhile, here in Denver we are getting hit with a blizzard, and American Humane’s offices are closed. We are all working from home today. Snow is blowing sideways here south of Denver and getting into the office today would just be plain dangerous. These are the times when the true value of all this wonderful technology we use becomes apparent -- it allows us to avoid a local emergency in order to focus on the larger one happening in North Dakota and Minnesota.

I Am Your Dog by J.D. Ellis

I AM YOUR DOG I am your dog, and I have a little something I'd like to whisper in your ear. I know that you humans lead busy lives. Some have to work, some have children to raise. It always seems like you are running here and there, often much too fast, often never noticing the truly grand things in life. Look down at me now, while you sit there at your computer. See the way my dark brown eyes look at yours? They are slightly cloudy now. That comes with age. The gray hairs are beginning to ring my soft muzzle. You smile at me; I see love in your eyes. What do you see in mine? Do you see a spirit? A soul inside, who loves you as no other could in the world? A spirit that would forgive all trespasses of prior wrong doing for just simple moment of your time? That is all I ask… to slow down, if even for a few minutes to be with me. So many times you have been saddened by the words you read on that screen, of other of my kind, passing. Sometimes we die young and oh so quickly, sometimes so suddenly it wrenches your heart out of your throat. Sometimes, we age so slowly before your eyes that you may not even seem to know until the very end, when we look at you with grizzled muzzles and cataract clouded eyes. Still the love is always there, even when we must take that long sleep, to run free in a distant land. I may not be here tomorrow; I may not be here next week. Someday you will shed the water from your eyes, that humans have when deep grief fills their souls, and you will be angry at yourself that you did not have just "One more day" with me. Because I love you so, your sorrow touches my spirit and grieves me. We have NOW, together. So come, sit down here next to me on the floor, and look deep into my eyes. What do you see? If you look hard and deep enough we will talk, you and I, heart to heart. Come to me not as "alpha" or as "trainer" or even "Mom or Dad," come to me as a living soul and stroke my fur and let us look deep into one another's eyes, and talk.

John Garcia & Georgia on TV

Feral Cat Song Performed by Karen Green

Lyrics written and performed by Karen Green @ Best Friends "No More Homeless Pets" Conference held recently in Las Vegas. This is AWESOME ! ! !

We Are Thankful

The following post is a trailer for Marley and Me - Jennifer and I plan on seeing this opening day - December 25, 2008.

Marley & Me

Hurricane IKE - Video Featuring American Humane

Hurricane IKE Destruction

This is a video courtesy of a local TV station in Beaumont, Texas - - - Barb

AMERICAN HUMANE RED STAR TEAM DEPLOYED TO TEXAS IN RESPONSE TO HURRICANE IKE

Here are the daily accounts of American Humane's response during Hurricane Ike. They are taken from the American Humane web-site and were written by Debrah Schnackenberg - Senior Director of Animal emergency Services for American Humane.

American Humane’s Red Star Animal Emergency Services team has returned from Texas after completing disaster response operations for animals affected by Hurricane Ike. We began deploying on Sept. 13 at the request of the Texas State Animal Resource Team (TXSART) and the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), and we completed our operations on Sept. 21 and were demobilized by TXSART.

Our team and our 82-foot-long animal emergency services Rescue Rig were in the Beaumont area, conducting disaster assessments, animal search-and-rescue, and sheltering operations, as needed, in the southeast Texas region.

American Humane’s senior director of Animal Emergency Services, Debrah Schnackenberg -- after just returning from a deployment in Louisiana following Hurricane Gustav -- deployed to Texas and filed reports from the scene of our response to Hurricane Ike:

Friday, Sept. 19

I forgot to mention yesterday -- we also rescued 5 goats.

Today, dog, cat and puppy food arrived at the White’s Park shelter. Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc., sent 3 large pallets of food, and we were all very glad to receive it. Our American Humane Red Star animal search-and-rescue team loaded a large amount of the food on our vehicles and headed back into the ravaged towns of Oak Island, White Heron, Smith Point and Double Bayou. We spent the day providing the residents with pet food for their own animals, as well as for their absent neighbors’ pets, which they continue to feed daily.

The smiles on people’s faces as we get out of our trucks with big sacks of pet food is heartwarming, as are the handshakes and hugs we get when we simply hand the bags to them. They said no one else has come into their community with food, ice or any other supplies -- until today, when we arrived with pet food. And they are in disbelief that we keep coming back every day to see if they and their animals are doing OK, and that today we’ve actually brought pet food!

I made a note to remind myself to write a grateful letter to Hill’s when I get home. I want them to know how much this delivery has meant to the people and pets of coastal Chambers County.

It was another long day for the Red Star Team, but we were happy knowing that the residents now have several days worth of pet food, so they can care for their animals and concentrate on getting through the next week with one less worry on their minds.

Thursday, Sept. 18

We continued our animal search-and-rescue efforts and returned to Oak Island, sweeping it again to make sure there weren’t any additional animals in need, and to check on the residents and their pets to make sure they’re OK.

We brought our air-conditioned horse trailer along. As we rescue animals in distress, our mobile units transfer them to the trailer, where they are housed in cooler conditions until we can take them to the emergency animal shelter in White’s Park, just outside of Anahuac.

After re-checking Oak Island, we conducted sweeps on Smith Point, White Heron Lane and Double Bayou. Smith Point and White Heron both took a devastating hit from the storm. We saw more areas where the houses are gone, and all that’s left is splintered timber or nothing at all. In most of these areas, we see animals running loose. There is no fresh water for them -- everything is contaminated by saltwater from the storm surge. And, unless there are residents nearby who have remained or returned and are caring for their neighbors’ animals, most of these guys haven’t had any food to eat for days.

Heading back from Smith Point, we were flagged down by a TV news crew: A mother dog with 5 puppies are on the highway! Our Red Star team jumped out and quickly began to direct them away from the cars passing by. The dogs headed back for their house, where we gathered them up and safely put them in crates. It appeared that the homeowners had been there recently -- food had been left out, and a couple of smaller dogs were locked inside the house. Concerned that the mama dog and her pups would end up on the highway again and get injured or killed, we decided to take them to the emergency shelter. We left a note on the door of the house, letting the owners know why we took the dogs and where they could pick them up. We also set bowls of food and fresh water inside an open window for the dogs that were locked inside, and we would check on them again tomorrow.

Sadly, as we worked our way down the bay, we saw many dead animals: dogs, cattle, alligators and smaller wildlife that were caught in the path of the storm surge.

The good news, however, is that today we rescued 2 cats and 16 dogs that were wandering without food or water. When we find stray animals, we always check with the neighbors in the area to ensure that the pets’ owners are not around to care for them. Assured that they really need our help, we coax these hungry animals in with a little food, place them in crates and then into the cool trailer. Then it’s off to the emergency animal shelter, where they will be fed and watered and get some welcome rest and medical treatment, if needed.

The Red Star team returned to Beaumont after doing a quick check of the small towns of Winnie and Stowell. Here, people are home and cleaning up, and their animals are safe and happy.

It was good to see our home base again after a long, long day. We are staged here with our “bosses” from the Texas Animal Health Commission. These folks have been fabulous to work with, and their dedication to the safety and recovery of their beloved state and the citizens of Gulf Coast Texas is just wonderful to see. We also enjoy the company of the Texas National Guard. They come over at the end of the day to visit and “talk animals” with us.

One of the Guardsmen asked if we could do a welfare check on someone who has two cats and is physically unable to take care of them right now. Without electricity or running water, this resident’s situation is difficult. We drove to her house and found the cats in need of food and water. We checked them out, provided food and fresh water, and made sure they were OK. He was extremely grateful. But for us, this is what we’re here we do. He has his job, taking care of the residents, and we have ours, taking care of their companion animals. Together, we make a good team, helping people and their pets in the aftermath of Ike.

Wednesday, Sept. 17

American Humane was asked to provide animal search-and-rescue support to the new emergency animal shelter being set up by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) near Anahuac in Chambers County. The county, which borders Galveston County on the water side, was hit extremely hard by the hurricane. This morning we delivered four electrical generators to the new emergency shelter for TXSART and began our animal search-and-rescue operations.

We spent the afternoon doing sweeps of Oak Island -- a little locality on the water that took the brunt of the storm. On the edge of the water, where we worked today, the storm literally scraped houses away. Even our seasoned Red Star responders who have worked in the aftermath of many hurricanes said they have rarely seen destruction and devastation on this level. Many residents evacuated, but not all took their pets with them. One woman reported that her family came back today to what was left of their home and had to take their dog off the roof of their house -- where she had been stranded since the storm hit.

We rescued dogs and cats that had been left behind without owners and took them to the emergency shelter. We rescued one dog that had been stranded on an outside deck with no food, water or protection from the elements. We talked to the few residents who were just returning today (to find their houses totally destroyed) about their needs for dog food, cat food and water over the next few days. We will perform a sweep of this same town tomorrow and also cover the area to the south and southeast, which apparently is just as devastated.

We will continue to work in this area for at least 2 to 3 more days, rescuing dogs, cats, goats and other animals. And we are supplementing the emergency shelter at White’s Park with the 50 crates we brought with us from American Humane’s headquarters in Denver.

We returned to our base in Beaumont late this evening and will be back out at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow to continue our search-and-rescue efforts.

Tuesday, Sept. 16

Today was a very busy day for the American Humane Red Star Team. We were up early, anxious to see what our assignments would be from TXSART. And it didn’t take long to find out -- after an early morning briefing with our TAHC/TXSART liaison, Dwayne, we were tasked to conduct four separate assessments. Team 1, which was Valerie Schomburg and I, were to cover all of northern Orange County. Team 2, Kerri Burns and Rollin McIntosh, were to cover the area west of Beaumont through Jefferson County. Team 3, Tracy Reis and Manny Maciel, and Team 4, Diane Robinson and Barb Davis, would cover all of Hardin County.

You may wonder why we take the time to do assessments -- instead of rescues -- when people and animals may be in distress in the first days after a disaster. Well, the reason is that knowing where the need is greatest allows us to put the right resources in the right places sooner. While everyone on our team is just itching to get out there and rescue animals, you first have to determine where the needs are most urgent and what resources are required to meet those needs. It would be a waste of time and effort to send a lot of people and equipment to an area that turns out to have little or no need, when another area, whose situation is not yet known, may be in dire distress.

The good news is that we found Hardin and Orange Counties to be in fair shape. Homes have wind damage, few have electricity, and there are a good many trees down everywhere. But we found that most of the people have returned home and were out in their yards cleaning up -- with their dogs beside them! With the cloud of property damage and the loss of personal items hanging over the heads of so many people, seeing the many happy dogs having an unexpected “holiday” with their families was a bright spot on this day.

Kerri’s Team 2, however, did find large areas of flooding. A good many cattle and horses are wandering loose, but they are being fed and watered by responders. Team 2 also found a white dog lying in the road near a blockade -- where it has apparently been staying for several days. Dehydrated and sunburned, it was in need of urgent care. Kerri called it in to the Southeastern Texas Humane Society for immediate pickup. A team came and took the dog back for veterinary care and a much cooler resting place, where she can begin to recover from her long ordeal.

Our team also performed a welfare check on a dog that was reported to have been left tethered to a tree for several days with no food and water. Manny and Barb found that he was being fed by a neighbor -- but was in need of fresh drinking water. Our team brought his bucket back to the Rescue Rig, scrubbed it clean and filled it with fresh water. When he saw the bowl brimming with clean water, this was one happy dog! He drank his fill. We were glad to help and thanked the neighbor for keeping an eye on him and feeding him for the past several days while his owners were evacuated.

This evening we received news that a couple of areas seem to be in distress and need emergency sheltering to be set up for animals that are still loose after the hurricane. There also is a need for an animal search-and-rescue team to go in. We hope to assist with those efforts beginning tomorrow.

Monday, Sept. 15

Kerri and I were up bright and early and headed to Beaumont to meet the rest of the team and the Rescue Rig. We will be staged there with the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) personnel directing the local response. Our friends from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the ASPCA are also staged at this location. It’s only been a few days since we said goodbye to them in Louisiana, following Hurricane Gustav.

Upon our arrival in Beaumont, we were tasked with making an assessment of Port Arthur. Kerri and I drove south to assess the needs of the town and its animal control shelter. We had no sooner begun when we spied the prettiest little golden retriever, obviously alone and scared and confused. Kerri walked toward her and whistled. The little “golden girl” ran to Kerri and squeezed between her feet -- looking up at her as if to say, “Oh, thank goodness someone is going to help me here!” She is obviously a loved and cared for puppy -- about 18 months old. She has collar on but no tags. We asked the neighbors if they knew her -- about a quarter of the people seem to be back -- and all advised that she isn’t one of the neighborhood dogs. So possibly she was frightened by the storm and has covered a lot of ground to end up here, lost, confused, hungry and thirsty on Dallas Street. She is just the sweetest dog. She rode with us while we visited the animal control shelter, where Anthony, the Animal Control Supervisor, gave us a tour of the shelter and its hurricane damage: roof torn off in places, water damage to his office and computers, no electricity, no running water. The dogs in his kennels are growing short on food, and he’s going to need some help. We promised to report his needs, and soon help will be heading his way from TAHC and TXSART.

He also agreed to let us take the little golden girl with us and place her with Southeast Texas Humane Society. They will take good care of her and, hopefully, her family can be found and reunited with her.

Ike has really done a lot of damage here. We’ve seen lots of houses and buildings torn up by wind. Downed trees and limbs are everywhere. We even saw a large flashing sign on either side of the road that warned “House in Road.” Sure enough, that’s exactly what it was -- a house had floated away and came to rest in the middle of the road!

Sunday, Sept. 14

Here we go again... American Humane’s Red Star Team is deploying in response to Hurricane Ike. We barely had a few days of rest from Hurricane Gustav when the call for assistance came in from Texas. But this is hurricane season, and this is what we do.

We packed our bags and equipment and headed out. Tracy Reis, our Animal Emergency Services program manager, and Diane Robinson, Animal Emergency Services instructor, loaded up an F-350 pickup truck and horse trailer with crates, another boat and assorted gear, and started driving to Beaumont, Texas. Our Rescue Rig, with Connor Michael at the wheel, also headed to Beaumont. We began deploying a contingent of our Red Star animal search-and-rescue team tomorrow to do whatever TXSART needs us to do to help the animals affected by the hurricane.

OPERATION NOAH'S ARK: A SUCCESS

American Humane: Animal Emergency Services and Volunteers Protect Animals During a Disaster Click on the above link to go directly to the American Humane Disaster Response web page - the following came from that web page as written by American Humane Staff - - - Barb Davis

Cats in overcrowded cage When American Humane arrived on the scene, volunteers found cages like this that were used to house an inhumane number of cats. Crates in emergency shelter warehouse The emergency shelter was established in a vacant warehouse, donated by the Denver Baptist Church. Dog with shaved paws This young dog recovers after having all four paws shaved and treated. Two dogs grateful for the affection All dogs responded to the affection, compassion and regular care and exercise. Operations Noah’s Ark: A Success! American Humane returns to Colorado after caring for 162 animals in North Carolina Updated 9/22/08 American Humane left Denver, N.C., last week after completing a 20-day animal rescue and sheltering mission. American Humane helped care for the animals until Lincoln County Animal Control fostered out the 162 dogs, cats and rabbits remaining at the emergency shelter. Each of these animals will live with their foster organization or family until legal decisions are reached in the case. Their new lives hold promise of happiness and compassion, unlike the future they had just weeks ago when they were rescued from cramped and neglected living conditions. The emergency shelter is now dismantled and volunteers have returned home after what many report was one of their hardest responses ever. A total of 390 animals were seized from a private property on Aug. 26, 2008, by American Humane’s Animal Emergency Services, functioning as part of a team with local law enforcement, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, the Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency, the North Carolina State Animal Response Team (SART) and others in what local media called “Operation Noah’s Ark.” All the animals were identified, examined and either held at the warehouse shelter space donated by the Denver Baptist Church or transported to other organizations. One area shelter took in well over 100 rodents and small mammals. All livestock and most of the birds, including 36 parakeets, were immediately fostered out. At the emergency shelter space, the remaining animals were given toys and enjoyed daily walks and regular schedules. Large cat dwellings were constructed with multiple risers so that cats were able to seek comfort. Generous donations of food and toys came in and were used to prepare these animals for fostering. American Humane’s Animal Emergency Services national responder Karen Spaulding said the mission was a success.

Puxley Madison

We got a brand new Canon 40D and here are a few of our first pics taken - photo credits go to Jen Davis (JEN DAVIS PHOTOGRAPHY). Jennifer is my daughter and Puxley Madison is her rescue dog from NOLA. The first pic is of Puxley Madison on the right and her mother (Precious) on the left.

 

The following two pics are of Puxley Madison.

 

 

Thank you Best Friends - Francis, Silva and Staff

The pictures below are four of our family favorites. Since Jennifer and I are both photographers, finding pics with all three of us was a bit difficult. The credit line for the pics goes to my niece (Kimberly) and my sister-in-law (Bev). Silva asked for a pic of Lyle who most of you know passed away unexpectedly on March 16, 2008 at the age of 61. Two memorials were set up in Lyle's name - one to our local living history museum (The Stuhr Museum) and the other to Best Friends Animal Society. It was our privilege to personally give the memorial money to BF on July 27, 2008. I was a bit overwhelmed at the luncheon and don't remember a word that I said or even if I said anything that made sense. When thinking about Lyle and our family, I find myself at a loss for words or if I do have words, they sometimes do not come out the way I might have planned. I do hope that you understand. THANK YOU to John for taking time away from Dog Town to be at the Village with us. A huge THANK YOU goes to Silva who spent the day with Jennifer and I. It was so special of you to take us to Old Friends where we met Joyce who oversees the day to day running of this special area. For those who do not know, Old Friends is an area for senior dogs most of whom are 10 years or older. Lyle and I had been slowing down a bit in the past two years, hoping to enjoy the fruits of our labor. It is only appropriate that his memorial is to those four legged dogs who are also slowing down to enjoy what life has to offer. Francis and Silva and the entire Best Friends staff - you are very special people doing very special work. Thank you also to Francis and Silva for the evening spent at your new home!!! The view from your outdoor deck was gorgeous!!! Jennifer and I so appreciate everything that you did to make our visit to Best Friends nothing short of FANTASTIC!!! Love to all, Barb & Jen

 

 

 

 

Trip to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

Here are a few special pictures that Jennifer and I took while at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary near Kanab, Utah. My daughter (Jennifer) and I took a trip to Utah the later part of July. One of the reasons for this trip was to deliver money to Best Friends for Lyle's memorial. Jennifer and I chose the memorial to go to Old Friends, a special area for senior dogs. Silva Batista, one of Best Friend's founders invited us to the Village for lunch at which time, we presented the checks to Silva and John Garcia, dog trainer and assistant dog care manager. While at the Sanctuary, we had the opportunity to attend Cathy Scott's book signing for her new book PAWPRINTS OF KATRINA. Both two legged and four legged friends mad this event a reunion! What a wonderful time. As always, Best Friends put its best foot forward in making this event something to remember!!! Barb & Jen

St. Bernard School Shooting Memorial Service

This is a video by Pam Leavy who attended a Memorial Service for the dogs slain at the St. Bernard Schools. Her videos documenting Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath are far reaching. Barb