Daron (who has been here almost a year) and I have not set foot in the only bar within 75 miles of Kanab. So Saturday night we met a few friends at the Buckskin which is located just over the Utah border in Arizona (5 miles away). It was interesting and as you can see from the photos awfully smoky. In fact, I wanted to take a few photos of Daron, who was looking quite handsome, but I couldn't find him through all the smoke! It was nice to meet friends and I actually played one game of pool. I won (ok, the only reason I won was that my opponent accidentally hit the 8 ball in) but regardless I won :) Later that night Daron and I went to the Tavern Inn next door for their filets. I have not yet converted to vegetarianism although now I don't eat Piggies. The next day we went hiking by Best Friends. We had fun and the dogs were in heaven. I think Daron was mentally reviewing his line up for Fantasy Basketball and was anxious to get back home but he knew I wanted him to hike with Renee and I so he hung in there!

Saturday was a great day at work. Rodeo came with me and we walked up to "Feathered Friends" to take photos of the birds for a 5th grade class from New Jersey. I was in a really good mood because it finally warmed up after many days in the teens. Rodeo is looking up at the bird, Jazzy, on my shoulder. He was really good in the bird building. It can get awfully loud in there! The other photo is him trotting down the driveway headed toward the peacock enclosure. I love this view!

Over the deep end...
Jennifer and I have finally completely lost it out here. We had a professional photographer come out and do some shots of Z and Rodeo. In our defense, we did not have to pay for it and the photographer is her boss's husband. He was very nice and even showed me how to unfreeze our pipes that had cut off all water to our house for 2 days! Clay spent probably 2 hours with a propane torch melting at least 10 ft of frozen solid water supply pipes. He is my new hero! Since, I have insulated all of the pipes I can find, and have even taped on some kind of electrical warming tape to the pipes. Rodeo had ABSOLUTELY no time or concern for this whole "glamour shot" thing as he maintained pretty much the same stoic (bored) gaze or had his eyes shut completely... Zeena was feeling quite pretty and inquisitive during the process. I would swear that she actually posed a few times for Clay. Anyways, here are a few interesting shots... The one of Rodeo (You'll know which one...) sums his day up. I love that one!

Beautiful Babies from Lebanon.


Daron and I took "Lucky" and "Freida" for an outing (aka. home visit). These two dogs survived a war in Lebanon, a plane ride to Las Vegas from Lebanon, and a 4 hour car ride from Las Vegas to Kanab, Utah. They are all so affectionate and happy to see people. The only shelter in Lebanon was becoming over run with animals when the war broke out and people were forced to leave animals behind. Luckily, the Lebanon volunteers were able to offer sanctuary to some of the homeless animals. Best Friends offered to take 150 dogs because the shelter had damage from a bomb and the farm area they fled to weren’t happy about the noise. In fact, they threatened to poison all of the dogs. So we said we could take 150 dogs and they quietly asked if we could take 150 cats. Yikes! Best Friends ran a fund raising campaign specifically for the dogs (and now cats!) to come to America. The dogs have been in outdoor dog runs with shelter and hay and toys since August. The problem now is that it is cold. Lebanon dogs aren’t used to the cold plus Best Friends believes dogs should not be kept outside 24/7 (all of our other 600 dogs have indoor/outdoor runs with heated floors in the winter and AC in the summer). The dog caregivers have been putting all 86 dogs into separate kennels overnight. The first time they did this it took four hours. Now, they have it down to about two hours. Needless to say, they are looking for people to take the dogs on sleepovers or at least outings. I remembered Freida from a previous visit to “Little Lebanon” nd was drawn to her. She looks like a coyote because of her markings. I asked Kristen about her and she said Freida was tortured. I couldn’t believe it she as so brave, friendly and outgoing. Her skin looked like her entire body had been doused with acid or set on fire. I didn’t want to know so I didn’t ask any further. Her kennel mate is “Lucky” and he is dashing. Tall, thin, smart and as Daron and I found out a pillow biter and blanket puller! He definitely has been a house pet and he had begging in the kitchen down to a science. They spent a lot of the time sniffing all the corners and furniture (our dogs Rodeo and Zeena were kept outside during the visit). They LOVED the raw hides and both settled next to one another to chew chew chew. Freida’s little tail started wagging and they didn’t growl or guard their treats at all. We hated to take them back to “Little Lebanon” although they are well taken care of there nothing can take the place of a warm loving home. Little Freida sat in front with me on the way back and would touch me with her paw when I stopped petting her. I looked in the review mirror and saw Lucky stretched out on the back seat – eyes closed. Within those two hours they were starting to relax. If anyone would like to adopt Lucky or Freida let me know. We do make travel arrangements for our dogs. I would love to adopt them but Kanab City Law only allows TWO dogs per household. Criminal isn’t it?

Mom and Dad visit Lisa's new digs




Lisa and her two "babies" Chase and Nala welcomed Mom and Dad to Kentucky. Prior to their visit Lisa had installed a new kitchen faucet and bought a new refrigerator and stainless steel stove. Fancy! Unfortunately, I am just about the only one who hasn't seen her new house in person. Regular visitors include Dan,of course, and Antonio, Karen, various Texas folk, Juliette and Pam from Best Friends and sooner or later ME! I think I am waiting for it to get warmer... From what I hear it is "Zen, beautiful, welcoming, calming and fantastic" I hope I can see for myself very soon. Lisa was able to introduce them to some new wines and they visited wonderful eateries and shops just steps away from Lisa's neighborhood. Looks like Jill, Dad and Lisa took the dogs for a walk in the beautiful KY countryside.

I LOVE these two cats!

They may have been born without eyes but OH MY GOSH can they move! They love attention and greet you first things when you walk into Benton's House. They live in the lobby of Benton's House so they are greeted by many many volunteers and staff a day and they soak up the attention. I would adopt them if Rodeo and Zeena could find the love!



For the whole story on these two check out http://news.bestfriends.org/index.cfm?page=news&fps=1&mode=entry&entry=02D487EF-BDB9-396E-9922361BB992CAD9

I am sad to inform everyone that Zeus passed away. He arrived at Best Friends from Miami, Florida on September 8th and was calm and peaceful as he went over Rainbow Bridge on Sunday, January 7th. He was an amazing mastiff that was a big ol' teddy bear and he touched many hearts here at the sanctuary. We will miss you Zeus!

Daron and I started off the New Years right. We went on a hike with the dogs and it was beautiful!

Happy New Year ~ 2007
We were lucky to have Shannon and Rob drive up from Las Vegas. We went to the Rewind Diner for dinner and had a wonderful visit. They stopped by Best Friends for lunch then headed up to Brian Head to Snow Board. Daron and I went to Howard and Marissas for a New Years Party and I got to visit with the baby! Gabriella is growing. She is 14 pounds now! Rodeo and Zeena donned new blankets from Lisa. They love them.

Our Christmas Photos from Friends and Family
Chip and Sarah tear up H-town, Asia is wondering where Zeena and Rodeo are, Kristy caught Christmas dinner and my parents spent time with long time friends.

The rest of the Andrews's made it!! The week before Christmas we had a great visit with Mom and Dad Andrews, Jason, Petra, Hayden, and little Haley. It turned into quite a task as far as travel to and from Vegas, but we won't go into that... I'll just say that I'm really glad they made it. We packed a lot into 6 days. From skiing in Brianhead (Hayden's first time! Like his dad, it came pretty natural and he was flying down the slopes in no time.) to a visit to Best friends to meet the now famous Seppi and other birds, cats, and dogs. Then there was the 8 hour drive to the Escalante's and Govorno's Arch or something like that... It was cool, though, and Jason and I hiked up to the top of the mountain right behind the arch. We opened gifts to and from all and just really enjoyed the whole visit. Here are some shots from the festivities...