Sepi my favorite Moluccan Cockatoo







Yep, That's Sepi alright! The group settled into sketching Friday morning at Feathered Friends. No one was sketching Sepi so he yelled "Pretty Bird" "Hello" "I'm a pretty bird" along with a few screams. I got the hint (ha ha) and went over to his cage. "Sepi would it be okay if I sketched you?" Quiet and coy was his only response. As if he was saying "Who ME?" His caregiver Al brought him out and set him on a rock in front of me. So for about 30 minutes I sketched and more and more participants gathered round and more and more of us encouraged him to dance and sing and sure enough he did. Amazingly enough it took alot of coaxing. (If we all turned our backs and walked away he would of responded much quicker!) Anyhow, a girl in the class has a photo of me showing Sepi the sketch I did of him and he actually turned his head to the side (his eyes are on the side of his head) and looked at it, moved closer and touched it with his beak. I went ahead and let him grab the corner of the book knowing full well that these birds rip apart phone books for fun! He took two gentle nibbles on the paper and moved on. The photos show various stages of Sepi fluffing his feathers, bobbing his head up and down sideways and spreading his wings.

ART FOR THE ANIMALS WORKSHOP

Well, I have spent the past week in an Art Workshop at Best Friends. It was wonderful. We sketched cats the first day, dogs the second, horses/pigs the third, bunnies the fourth and birds the fifth day. The afternoons were spent at one of the artists house/studio. Wow, I now have 4 new artist friends here in Kanab. Really good artist. I discovered I can sketch cats, bunnies, horses pretty good. Dogs are an entirely different story. Not so good at dogs or birds but I am working on it! It is probably that I like them the best and really want to capture their essence. I experienced two things I haven't done before - print making and ceramics. Very cool.

Monday and Tuesday were overcast and cold - winter jacket weather. Wednesday - Friday were t-shirt and shorts weather!

This is EGG-actly what I am talking about!!!!

How cool is it to have fresh eggs. Daron gets them from a lady on the reservation. YUMMY. Of course, the first thing I said when I opened them is I want to paint a room that green color...

Fall Party on our New Old Table



Our Girls WhINE Night was crashed by Daron and Bill. I guess girl talk is exciting after all. Although by the look on their faces they don't look too thrilled! Marissa and Gabriella made it and "Ella" as we call her was very very good. Our friends Laura, Renee, and Kathi didn't let the "boys" bother them. ha ha.


The most exciting part of the night was using my new old table. I have been wanting an old beat up dining room table with "history" for about 8 years. They are hard to find. Actually, let me rephrase that "They are hard to find at a cheap price." Anyhow, I was talking to the "dog whisperer" who has been here 20 years and who just moved into his new house on the property. A few weeks later he asked if I was still in the market for a table. He had a wooden table in his old trailer that he was going to throw out. It was from an old western movie set. It has a stamp "Fox Film Studios" underneath and a small metal tag on its side. YES I WANTED IT. Whoo hoo. So, you can see the table in the photo. I need to clean it up a bit but I like the worn look. Oh, he also said that the gum underneath the table was there before he got it. He left it because you never know whos it might be. Just think he said "The actors were sitting around and the director yelled "Action" and John Wayne, Paul Newman, or Clint Eastwood had to quickly stick his gum under the table. Yes, I am convinced it is one of those three :)

Best Friends Makes the CBS Evening News!!!!

This week, viewers are sending Steve to welcome 300 refugees to America — all from the recent conflict in Lebanon, all four-legged. How'd they get here and who's taking them? Steve will find out.

Watch Friday's CBS Evening News with Katie Couric to see Steve's report.

How Cute Is My SISTER????






Lil' Lisa, as Daron calls her, has been getting along just fine in her new house in Kentucky. She lives in Louisville to be exact. You pronounce it like Lew l ville. So don't embarrass yourself by saying Lew Us Ville. That is a big no no and makes you look like a dork. Hate to say it but it is true. Anyhow, this is her photo and the cute gal next to her is her friend Jill. Jill is cute and pretty but not as fabulously gorgeous as my sister. I am biased I know but if you want to remain my friend you will agree.

HOW CUTE IS MY HUSBAND?







So it is a beautiful fall day, BEAUTIFUL and I am driving home thinking what perfect weather to take fall photos with the doggies. Daron comes home and takes a few shots of Rodeo and me. Rodeo couldn't sit still and I pray I look better in real life than I do in photos. Anyhow, Daron was looking very handsome in his fall colors so I asked him to pose for some photos. Whatch out Paris and Milan we have the new IT guy in Kanab, yes K-A-N-A-B Youtaw. I love love love the one of Rodeo and Daron and Zeena and Daron! Who's the cutest dog ever?

Lebanon Compound
Best Friends and BETA staff and volunteers arrived safely in Las Vegas at approximately 1:00 a.m. PST with 295 cats and dogs. They arrived at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary as I was pulling into work this morning! From my office you can see into the lower canyon where we set up a temporary quarantine shelter for the dogs and cats. You can hear the excited barks from the dogs. They are thrilled that thier long journey is over and probably pretty excited to relax in Angels Canyon far far away from the war zone. I will keep you updated on their progress or you can check in at http://network.bestfriends.org for up to the minute news. Also, if ANYONE see's an article in thier newspaper or hears anything on the news please let me know. Thanks Everyone!!! Oh, many might ask why go so far out of the way to rescue these animals in Lebanon when Best Friends gets 500 request a week to take an animal. We network all over the country to try and get those 500 request the training, help, contacts they need in order to solve their problem. A big reason we are helping the Lebanon animals is as much for the animals as it is for the rescuers. From what I remember from past conversations there were 4 ladies running the shelter. They were doing their best but were running into many obstacles. Aside from shelters being destroyed by war they ran out of kitten food and unlike the U.S. you can't just run to PetCo and pick up more! In fact, we helped them contact neighboring countries (not cities COUNTRIES!) and no one had kitten food. So we sent two people who check 175 pounds of baggage. You guessed it, all kitten food.

I took a photo of the Best Friends Welcome Center for Karen. It is really pretty. I also took a photo of the shooting range that I drive by on the way to the sanctuary. I am sure they aren't practicing to shoot anyone or any animal. (this is what I tell myself!) I also added photos of my friend Marissa and her 8 week old Gabriella and two dogs we have at Best Friends from Iran. They are sweet and pretty well trained!

Hello everyone, I am back. Last week was very busy. I was able to attend one of our workshops - the Dog Behavior and Training Workshop. Fun. I am posting photos of the instructor Sherry Woodard and in the background Ethan - Ethan was one of the rescuers during Katrina. He got a first hand lesson in dealing with all sorts of dogs - scared, tired, aggressive, etc.

Party in the kitchen?

Why is it that whenever you have people over they congregate in the kitchen? It is the most unattractive area in the house yet EVERYONE ends up there. Here are two of my favorite couples from work (yes, they all work for BF) One couple is from Chicago and one is from Dallas! How can you go wrong with that! Notice Rodeo is the center of attention - of course!

Saltydogcreations is back up!!!

It is not 100% but it is off to a good start. The best part is the icon that Daron and I came up with. See for yourself. Visit the site - the link should be on the right hand side. Please bear with me it is not finished yet!

Our Guest Volunteer at Humane Ed.


I have always loved Catahoula dogs. They have a beautiful speckeled coat. We have a regular volunteer that comes down from Salt Lake with his dog Max. Max is a Catahoula. Max is a talker. I love Max. He is also great with the other office dogs - Oscar, Zeety, Binika, Clover, and spotty the cat. Yes, we have more animals than people in our office. We have two guinie pigs and sometimes my boss Cathie will bring two of her four dogs and sometimes I bring Rodeo... Ah, the joy of being an animal person and working at an animal sanctuary.

Bunny House

Last week I took a Jr. Intern to the bunny house. I could't resist feeding the little fellas. Daron bought us new cell phones with Utah numbers and (hopefully) more coverage. Apparently, someone shot the only tower that Cingular could piggy back off of and that is why we have had no cell coverage this past week. I have been running in the morning and it has been nice and cool. I wear long sleeves and barely sweat. It is wonderful. Daron and I don't have any plans for this coming holiday weekend except to call all of our friends and family now that we have cell coverage!!!

Navajo Lake

We took a day trip to Duck Creek to hike. Marissa and her family and their dog Reika just moved from Iowa so we all went exploring. The baby, Gabrielle is 6 weeks old. She's very tiny!

Karen and I in Springdale - just outside of Zion National Park. You're probably thinking why does Jen have a hat on? I have a variety of hats now that I am outside in the sun and have been slowly trying to change my look so I have more style. Ahhh it is a never ending battle.

Best Friends Favorites!

Here are two of my favorites. Lollipop, a cackato, just got adopted. I miss him - he used to say "lolli lolli lolli" and "hello" and he would stick his foot out of the cage to hold your finger. He was a doll but if you weren't paying attention to him he would SCREAM and I mean SCREAM. The other photo is of Cody an african grey. His person had to go into a nursing home and couldn't care for him anymore. Keep in mind some birds can live 80 - 100 years! Cody can say hundreds of words and one of my favorites is "Did you have your orange juice?" and "God Bless You."

Bryce Canyon and More!

Dan, Antonio, & Karen ventured up to Bryce Canyon on Friday. Daron and I are jealous because we haven't been yet!!! Saturday we went to the Pow Wow at the Kaibab Pauite Indian Reservation and then Sunday we swam at Lake Powell before dropping Karen :( off at the airport. It was soooo sad dropping her off. Rodeo and Zeena are still looking for thier Auntie Karen!!!!!!!!!!

National Parks and Karen, Dan & Antonio

After the Grand Canyon Karen & went to Zion National Park (my favorite). We did the middle and top Emerald pond hikes and then had lunch in Springdale. We saw some Elk and window shopped. Daron and Karen went golfing two days later and Karen also played with the Kaibab softball team. I am such a loser that I stayed home and chilled while they WON the game. Karen got four RBI's! Go Karen Go Karen. Karen
also volunteered with the dogs and cats at Best Friends. Oddly enough, she came here to RELAX!

Dan and Antonio drove in on Thursday night with their new addition, Blackie, aka Taloola, aka Martini, aka, Lucky. No one likes the name others have picked out so maybe you all can come up with a suggestion! Zeena was not so thrilled to meet her but after a second introduction they have become fast friends. She has become Zeena's shadow. Wanting to everything the BIG GIRL does! Blackie went to work with me on Friday so that Dan, Antonio and Karen could visit Bryce Canyon. They LOVED it. Daron and I need to go now! Saturday we went to the POW WOW at the Kaibab Pauite Indian Reservation and while Daron worked the concession stand the rest of us enjoyed the dancing. That night we all headed to Movie Town owned by our landlords for Best Friends Karaoke and Dancing. The only one to hit the stage from our group were Karen and Antonio! They did a FABULOUS job. Today, Sunday Aug 20th, we dropped Karen off in Page Arizona but not before visiting Glenn Canyon where the lone rock sits in the middle of a man made lake - very cool. Now Daron, Dan & Antonio are grilling on the patio enjoying the 80 ish degree weather and no humidity. What could make this nicer, more friends and family - that's it!

Today, August 13th, we took a 1 HOUR drive from our humble abode in Kanab to the incredible and very Grand Canyon. First time either Karen, Jennifer, or I have ever been there! Surprisingly the drive was almost entirely through dense forest and a meadow here and there. Somehow we all thought it would be all desert and rocks, but it was a beautiful drive.

Karen has been rising before the rest of us so she has morning conversations with the neighbors horses. Not only does she talk to them but she feeds them too. She has become quite popular with our equine friends.

We left the house at 9:30 and picked up Mickey D's for breakfast and arrived at the Grand Canyon at 11 a.m. After a little bit of hiking we ate lunch at the lodge! Yummy. The view wasn't too shabby and the microbrew was good too!

Hello all. Daron and I are expecting a guest - Karen Crumback to visit us August 11 - 20th so we should be getting current photos up of Zion and the Grand Canyon. Hopefully some of us working at Best Friends too! Daron will be working the big Pow Wow the reservation puts on every year so we will get some photos of that too. Right now I will add a few favorites from here at the sanctuary.

The pot bellied pig is Cindy Lou - she's a real charmer.

There is a photo of the Canyon as a storms coming in. It does this often this time of year and the contrast of the dark blue sky and the red/orange mountains is amazing.