You may already be familiar with Best Friends Animal Sanctuary if you are involved in the world of pet rescue, wildlife rehabilitation or have seen the TV show DogTown or DogTown, USA. But did you know that Best Friends also has an equine division called Horse Haven?
Located in the beautiful red rock desert area of Southern Utah, Best Friends is the largest no-kill animal sanctuary in the USA. It supports animal welfare on a local, state and national level, partnering with many organizations across the States. Their national campaign “Save Them All” has a goal to end shelter killings in all 50 States by 2025.
I have never visited Best Friends, but I have been a long-time reader of their Best Friends magazine. For a $25 donation, you can receive the printed, bimonthly magazine filled with animal related rescue and care information. Go to https://bestfriends.org/stories/best-friends-magazine to subscribe.
I do have a family connection of sorts to Best Friends. My mother, who was heavily involved in cat rescue for much of her adult life, spent about a week at Best Friends some years ago as a volunteer. This was even before working vacations were really a thing.
It’s something I would like to do someday, be a working volunteer at Best Friends. Since my mother’s visit, they built an onsite hotel (that is pet centric, of course) on the sanctuary grounds. What a wonderful idea to vacation in a beautiful part of the country AND give back to animals by volunteering at the sanctuary during your stay!
The variety of animals that Best Friends cares for and the scale on which they do so is inspiring. Best Friends areas include Dogtown, Cat World, Bunny House, Parrot Garden, Horse Haven, Marshall’s Piggy Paradise and Wild Friends. They also have a beautiful memorial area titled Angels Rest to honor animals who have passed on.
Their equine division, Horse Haven, is home to horses, mules, donkeys (and goats too). Just like any other rescue, equines find their way to Horse Haven due to a variety of circumstances, including abuse, neglect and financial/health hardships suffered by their original owners. Best Friends website shows 26 equines (horses/mules/donkeys) currently available for adoption.
If you are at all interested in any form of animal rescue/rehab/adoption, I highly recommend you visit the Best Friends website at https://bestfriends.org/. It’s filled with not only information about the sanctuary itself, but information about animal rescue, care and welfare.
As a horse lover, I am glad that horses, mules and donkeys are a part of the Best Friends vision and mission. To read more about Horse Haven and see their list of adoptable equines, go to https://bestfriends.org/sanctuary/about-sanctuary/animal-areas/horse-haven or https://bestfriends.org/adopt/adopt-our-sanctuary/equine.
The Backyard Horse Blog 
This does my heart good to see this and to know that there is a place like this for horses and equines.
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That looks like a lovely place for the rescue equines to be! We have a similar rescue centre in the uk, called Hillside and they take in rescued farm animals too. I hope you get the opportunity to work there as a volunteer. It would be amazing.
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