Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

The Best Friends Animal Sanctuary sits in Angel Canyon, a 3,700-acre former movie-set location in southern Utah, twenty minutes north of Kanab. The sanctuary is the flagship facility of Best Friends Animal Society and houses, at any given time, between 1,500 and 1,800 animals — dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, parrots, pigs, and a range of farm animals. Most are awaiting adoption; some are residents who, for medical or behavioral reasons, will spend the rest of their lives at the sanctuary itself.

It is one of the largest no-kill animal sanctuaries in the United States, and possibly the most institutionally important. Best Friends — the broader organization — was founded in 1984 by a small group of animal advocates who pooled their resources to buy the canyon and establish a permanent home for animals other organizations had no place for. The sanctuary's existence, and the broader organization's growth out of it, has shaped the American no-kill movement more than perhaps any other single institution.

What the sanctuary actually is

A few things make the sanctuary unusual.

Scale. Most American animal shelters house tens to low-hundreds of animals at any given time. The sanctuary houses well over a thousand. The infrastructure required to do this without compromising welfare standards is substantial — a full veterinary hospital, dozens of specialized housing facilities for animals with different needs, a large staff, and a foster network across multiple states.

Permanent residents. Some of the sanctuary's animals will never be adopted out. Animals with significant medical conditions, severe behavioral histories, or specific needs that make placement impractical live at the sanctuary permanently, with care that meets or exceeds what they would receive in adoptive homes. Dogtown, the dog area, includes long-term residency facilities for dogs who came from particularly difficult backgrounds. Cat World includes similar permanent housing for cats who couldn't be placed.

Adoptions and transfers. The sanctuary actively places animals into adoptive homes — both directly out of the sanctuary (visitors can adopt during volunteer trips) and through transfers to Best Friends' urban adoption centers in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, New York, and elsewhere. Animals from over-burdened municipal shelters across the country are transferred to the sanctuary for rehabilitation, then transferred out once they're ready for placement.

Public visitation. This is unusual among animal sanctuaries. Best Friends explicitly welcomes visitors — daily tours run, volunteer programs accept short-term workers, and the broader Kanab area has become a small but real tourist destination for animal-welfare-minded travelers. Visitors can walk dogs, socialize cats, work in the horse program, or help with any of the dozens of programs running at any given time.

The Vicktory Dogs

A specific note about the sanctuary's history that is worth knowing.

In 2007, federal authorities seized dozens of dogs from the dog-fighting operation run by NFL quarterback Michael Vick. Most American shelter policy at the time would have led to most of those dogs being euthanized — the prevailing assumption was that dogs from fighting backgrounds could not be rehabilitated. Best Friends took in 22 of them, and in collaboration with several other rescue organizations (BAD RAP and others), demonstrated that the assumption was wrong.

The dogs — collectively known as the Vicktory Dogs — were rehabilitated, several were eventually adopted into homes, and the rest lived out their years at the sanctuary. The case became one of the more influential moments in American shelter policy. The assumption that fighting dogs could not be rehabilitated was, after the Vicktory case, no longer defensible. Shelter policies across the country shifted as a result.

Visiting

The sanctuary is open to the public, with structured visit programs of various lengths. Day visits include guided tours of the different animal areas. Volunteer trips — typically 2 to 7 days — include hands-on animal work. The visitor's center in Angel Canyon includes a gift shop, a small café, and a welcome desk that can direct first-time visitors to whichever program suits them.

The area around the sanctuary — Kanab, Zion National Park, the broader southern Utah landscape — has become a small piece of animal-welfare cultural geography. The town's economy reflects this. The Best Friends visitor flow supports several small Kanab restaurants, lodges, and shops.

How to support

The sanctuary takes operational support in multiple forms:

• Adopt — animals at the sanctuary are available for adoption, both during in-person visits and through Best Friends' broader adoption network.
• Volunteer — at the sanctuary itself (multi-day trips) or remotely through the broader organization.
• Foster — the foster network spans dozens of states.
• Sponsor — sponsorship programs allow donors to support specific permanent-resident animals.
• Donate — Best Friends Animal Society publishes detailed financials annually and is one of the most institutionally accountable animal welfare organizations in the country.

Field & Era at the sanctuary

The Angel Canyon coordinates appear in Companion Edition orders shipped to a particular kind of customer — adopters who came to the sanctuary specifically, either as part of a multi-day volunteer trip or as deliberate destination travel, and adopted from there. The customer profile differs slightly from typical urban-shelter adoptions; these are often adopters who have spent days at the sanctuary, formed a specific connection with a specific animal, and are deeply attached to the place.

For those adopters, the map is particularly meaningful. The sanctuary's address — Angel Canyon Road, set against the southern Utah coordinates of one of the most beautiful canyons in the country — is part of the story of how the dog came home.

If you adopted from the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and want the address set on archival paper, see the Companion Edition. 10% of every Companion order supports a rescue partner.

Last verified May 29, 2026. Facts about hours, intake policies, and adoption fees can change. Confirm with Best Friends Animal Sanctuary directly before visiting.