I really Live in Utah: Life's Daily Adventures

I often wake up and pinch myself not believing that this really is my life these days. I still cannot believe that I am working for Best Friends or that I get to wake up to the sun rising over the red cliffs every single day. Lots is happening all the time and for the most part it is all good! Work is going great. I have to send out a big congratulations to Lance, Lucas, Layla, Mya, Ellen, Squeaker and Oscar all former Vick fighting dogs who have earned purple collars and can now interact with volunteers at the sanctuary. These dogs have been through so much and it is so nice to see them recovering more and more every day. I am also extremely proud of some of the dogs in my area. Starlight, one of my project dogs, makes more and more progress everyday. She is still very very shy with new people and places but she comes out of her shell a little more each day and I know that together we will overcome her fears and once she overcomes her fears I have no doubt that she will be adopted in a heart beat! Vegas makes more and more progress with me each day as well. She is tolerating her feet being touched!! Any day now we might be able to trim her nails :) Whoever adopts her is one lucky person because she is one of the most loyal dogs I have ever met. Cecilla is overcoming her reactivity one walk at a time and she has even started going to play groups with other dogs. This girl is very smart and will make a great companion for someone looking for an active and intelligent companion. Bessie is overcoming her fear of humans as well. Several staff members can actually pet her on the head now!!! I can't wait to watch her continue to grow and progress. Meryl has been doing a lot better with her reactivity lately as well. I love her so much. She is the best golf cart rider! And Rexy comes out of his shell more and more each day as well!!! This guy was so shy when I started and now he takes meat balls, comes up for attention, splashes around in his pool, he even came up and flopped down for belly rubs the other day! (I have a soft spot for him anyways, since he is the closest thing I have to a pointer.) My days off have been filled with lots of adventure as well. I have started hiking with some people from work on Tuesdays. Last week we hiked Lookout Canyon and it was so so beautiful. The canyon made me forget that I was in northern Arizona. Green everywhere, birch trees, even some patches of snow that the dogs really enjoyed. We even found rocks with fossils in them!!! This week we hiked Snake Gulch-Kanab Creek Trail which didn't disappoint either. The canyon was breath taking and I found myself more and more excited to discover what was around the next corner. Wildflowers and cacti were in bloom everywhere. But the coolest part of yesterday's hike was that we found cave drawings!!! It was a wonderful surprise and it gave me a crazy connection with our ancestors. Thousands of years ago people were standing in the very same cave that I found myself standing in!!!! Crazy!! I also hiked the Squal Trail last week with Haylee and Pepper and it was incredible. Although parts were a little frightening we persevered and made it all the way to the top. The view was incredible, as is everything here, but neither one of us had cameras so we will have to hike it again when we do. Family. I am learning more and more each day that family is what you make it. I am so very grateful for my biological family and all of their support since the move. Happy birthday again mom! So sorry I couldn't be there in person. Anyways, family is more than just your biological family. I also have my college family, my life group family, my HATS family, and now I have become a part of the Best Friends family. Thank you again to everyone who has supported me since the move. My life would not be the same without you all. I really appreciate the care packages and letters and phone calls! I hope you can all visit soon :) The furry family is doing well also! We just said goodbye to the bunker and hello to our new house equipped with a fenced in cattery. Riggs is in heaven and Oreo and LadyBug are learning to deal with this new found outdoor access. Trinity often gets the zooms and runs from one end of the house to the other. She is also continuing to make great progress with her training. She can sit, lay, and wait just like before but we are also working on her social skills. She is meeting new people everyday thanks to my coworkers and new friends and their willingness to help us! She has also been meeting other dogs and learning how to play! She really loves Pepper, a handsome shar pei and possibly rottie boy. I think they are going steady now ;) It's so great to see her make so much progress so quickly. Every time she meets someone new without any issues I smile to myself and think, people really wanted to euthanize this dog. Wow. So grateful that we found each other and that I can be a part of her transformation from scared, awkward kid to confident, goofy dog. I think the only other thing is that as much as I love this place and am settling in I still think it's weird that I will not be celebrating my birthday with any of the people that are back home. So many wonderful birthday memories from the last 5 years!!! For those of you who have been asking what to get or what you can send I would really love it if you sponsored one of the dogs from my area! Just visit the Best Friends website and click on giving to Best Friends. For those of you who feel you have to send tangible things I would love some honey wheat pretzel rods, mint cookie balance bars, feista ranch dip mix, meijer brand raspberry water, sun screen, socks, and bandanas. All of those things are super useful and most are not carried here. You could also donate to Invisible Children or send me something for the house since I have very few house items! But a phone call would mean just as much as a gift so keep that in mind. Now I must decide what to do with myself in this new place with my new friends to make the day memorable! Challenge accepted.

Settling In Nicely

Sorry I haven't been as consistent with this as I had wanted to be. But I figured it was time for an update. The job is wonderful! I cannot wait to get up and go to work every day. I am learning more and more about training and dog behavior each day. As of right now my favorite green collar girl is Vegas and green collar boy is Max. Favorite purple collar girl is Cecilla and boy is Riley. Favorite red collar girl is Meryl and boy is Julio. You can view their profiles and even sponsor them if you wish by visiting the Best Friends website. Aside from work I have been starting to make some friends which has been so so nice. I love hearing about how each person came to be a part of this organization and I love knowing that we all share this genuine and deep love for animals. Great foundation for friendships!!! Went hiking the other day and everything was beautiful. It reminded me a lot of Bike & Build!!! I love when you get bits and pieces of Bike & Build in the real world. I had my first visitor which only further cemented that fact that this really is my crazy awesome life now!!! Living my dreams. Crazy. I made my way back to Zion and I am convinced that I will never get used to it's beauty. The animals keep me busy and everyone is making such good progress!!! I have started to get mail, which is very exciting for me I might add, so send anything and everything that you would like to! Still adjusting to some of the things I miss from Michigan such as fiesta ranch dip, meijer brand raspberry water, pumpkin pancakes, socks free of sand ect. But in the grand scheme of things that stuff doesn't really matter. Anyways, I am hiking some more this afternoon! Here is the very brief update! For more details or to set up your next visit call me. Love you all!! Summer

Address Info!!!

So after being here over a month already I thought it would be a good idea to give everyone my address information!! My new mailing address is

PO Box 384
Kanab, UT 84741

I love to send mail and get mail so please share your address as well!!! Also, it looks like my days off are going to be Tuesday and Wednesday every week so feel free to call or text and update me on your life!!! I am also free most evenings after 8 EST time 7 CEN time 6 MTN time and 5 PAC time.

Hope to hear from everyone soon!

Peace & Love,

Summer

Meryl

Meryl is one of my favorite dogs in my area! This sweet girl is about 6 years old now and she truly has come a long way since arriving at Best Friends. Meryl was one of the 51 pit bulls rescued from NFL star, Micheal Vick's Bad Newz Kennels in Virginia in 2007. 48 of these dogs were placed in rescue groups across the country and Best Friends accepted 22 of these dogs. Meryl was one of them. Meryl is red collar and not allowed to be adopted out due to court orders. But dont worry this girl is healthy and happy here at Best Friends. Meryl is very affectionate. She loves belly rubs and car rides. She also really loves toys however she has had four surgeries for obstructions so she isn't allowed to have toys anymore. This girl also happens to be a poop eater so don't let her give you too many kisses! I took Meryl on a hike up south loop trail the other day and she loved it! Sniffing and marking and rolling in the dirt the whole time. I am so thankful for Best Friends role in the lives of these fighting dogs. Because of their efforts Meryl gets to live out a healthy, happy life. Anywhere else she would have been euthanized for being a product of what men made her. My favorite thing about Meryl is the fact that she gets along well with other dogs! That's right, former fighting dog now shares a kennel with other dogs. Her current run mate, Buddy Arnold, could care less about Meryl's breed or past. He just loves playing with her :) Stories like Meryl give me hope for the future of dog fighting victims across this country. Meryl is not available for adoption however you can support her care by donating to Best Friends!

Brady (Muffin)

Brady is a very special boy! This guy is a mixed breed who came to Best Friends from a rescue group in Florida. One of the volunteers for this rescue used to stand in front of Brady's kennel and kick his door all day long. As a result Brady can be very reactive at his gate with people he doesn't know. Brady is a red collar dog, meaning that only staff members get to interact with him. When I first met Brady I was very intimidated by him. He didn't know me and as a result he really didn't like me that much. However armed with patience, and understanding of his history, and lots of treats Brady and I have become good friends. Once he knows you, you can pretty much do anything that you want with this guy! He loves car rides and hiking the south loop trail on the sanctuary. He enjoys his trips to the dog park and will sit and wait nicely for cookies and meals. But Brady's favorite thing is butt scratches!!! This boy will walk between your legs strategically placing his rear end right in front of you so that you can give him some scratches. Brady's story is a common one among animals I like to believe. Abandoned by his original people, left to rot at a shelter, and then further abused by us "humane" humans. However thanks to Best Friends Brady's story ends happily ever after. Thank God.

Julio & Justice

One of my goals in working for Best Friends is to share as many dog's stories as possible why I am here. Today is about Julio & Justice.

Julio originally came to Best Friends with quite a history of biting. He is pretty notorious around dog town for his past behaviors. Julio fell in love with one of his care givers and was adopted!!! However due to unfortunately circumstances Julio is back. His owner died and the surviving family was unable to keep Julio. Julio was returned to Best Friends Oct of 2011. He is now 12 yrs old and we call him an american eskimo mix. Since I have started working with Julio he has really come around. He walks great on a leash. He knows sit and down and he loves to sniff around Tara's run. I truly love this little guy, despite his history.

Julio came in with his sister Justice. Justice is a 8 yr old rottie mix who is quite the character. This girl loves two things in life. Butt scratches and food. She will do just about anything for a biscuit and is often found with druel hanging out of her mouth at feeding time. Like Julio, Justice loves to cruise around Tara's Run. this girl will go up and down ramps, through the tunnel, she has even jumped through the ring a time or two. Together these two are just precious. Julio and Justice are both available for adoption. Visit www.bestfriends.org for more information on adoption and sponsorship.

What Now!?!?!

In the past three weeks I have successfully moved from a town of about 26,000 people with an elevation of 770 feet about sea level to a very small town with a population of merely 3,800 people with an elevation of about 4,970 feet above sea level. I never pictured myself living in a small town in the middle of nowhere yet that is exactly where I find myself these days and, to my surprise, I am loving every minute of it! However having obtained my dream job and moved to Utah I now find myself asking what's next? What exactly does one do after they have reached their life's goal at age 23?

Several people tell me that I am just supposed to be happy for the rest of my life and although that sounds like a great idea, those of you that know me also know that I am not one to sit around and be complacently happy so to speak. I need goals and purpose and a general direction to my life. I am an ambitious person. I like seeking wholeheartedly after my dreams. So I find myself taking a good hard look at my life and the things that I am passionate about so that I can set some new goals.

Obviously my biggest passion is animal rescue, welfare and advocacy. At first glance working for the largest no kill animal rescue in the country pretty much takes care of this one for me. However I would really like to use everything that I am learning here to help my shelter back home make more progress. They are a small but passionate organization and I am dedicated to helping them better themselves so that we may save more and more lives, educate more and more people, and ultimately create a healthier, happier environment for the staff, volunteers, and every animal in our care. A piece of my heart will always be in Mount Pleasant MI. Along those same line s lies my passion for pit bulls and pit bull advocacy. I sure do love the underdog. In the past four years I have immersed myself in anything and everything pit bull related. The good, the bad, the ugly I find myself drawn to this breed and the main injustices that we humans have inflicted up on them over the years. Within the next year I would really like to expand my understand of this breed and the issues it is facing in today's society. I believe a very important step in this educational endeavor is to visit the world's largest pit bull rescue which happens to have a new center located in New Orleans, LA - one of my favorite places in this country. I am excited to learn from people who have dedicated their lives to understand and rescuing the breed that everyone else shies away from.

This leads me to my second and third passion. Disaster relief and affordable housing. Since 2008 I have been spending at least one week of my life giving back to broken communities across the country. Communities ravished by hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. There is something so humbling and rewarding about helping someone rebuild their home and in turn their life. Too often I take for granted the simple fact that I have a home. Which is why I am also dedicating at least one week of my life to rebuilding communities for the rest of my life. I was greatly moved by hurricane Katrina and it's impact on the entire Gulf Coast. This past summer I had the privilege of working with the Saint Bernard Project- an organization dedicated to rebuilding not only homes but lives throughout the lower 9th ward in New Orleans through affordable housing projects, mental health services and equal opportunity employment. Working with SBP only solidified my love for NOLA and it's people and my dedication to rebuilding what Katrina tore apart. I have also decided that I will be working with the Saint Bernard Project once a year as well.

Living in Southern Utah reminds me of Bike & Build each and everyday. As I drive to work I find myself looking back to that spot I chalked, or that hill I climbed next to Tiffany. I pass that shade tree at the top of the climb and that beautiful decent Corey and I took together. Bike & Build is everywhere here which is why I am looking forward to meeting SUS 12 when they roll through this summer. And as long as SUS is rolling through Kanab I think that it's my duty to spread some SUS 11 love with them by chalking for them and baking for them and if I am lucky enough, riding with them. I am already working on my plan of attack for this year. I would really love to host an SUS 11 reunion during the time that SUS 12 rolls through so that everyone could meet and bike and bond over the heat and some PB & J. Still working on the details though! The weather is so perfect here and the red cliffs are so inspiring I find it hard to sit inside. I can ride my bike everyday here!! Fiona and I were so happy to stretch our legs for the first time after arriving. There is nothing more therapeutic than strapping on your helmet and hitting the road. I have also started running again since arriving. I have decided that if one can bike from ocean to ocean in the dead of summer with minimal injuries there is no reason that I can't train for and run a marathon. But quite possibly the thing that I am most excited about is yoga!!! I have started doing yoga every day and let me tell you there is nothing more beautiful than doing yoga against the red cliffs.

For now I will be working on physical perfection, and giving back to as many people and animals as possible. Please let me know if you have any ideas for me! I am always looking for ways to grow in knowledge and service to others. Who knows what's next!!!!!

Peace & Love,

Summer