Q - What is Best Friends Animal Society?

A - Best Friends Animal Society is a nonprofit, membership organization building no-kill programs and partnerships that will bring about a day when there are No More Homeless Pets. The society's leading initiatives in animal care and community programs are coordinated from its Kanab, Utah, headquarters, the country's largest no-kill sanctuary. This work is made possible by the personal and financial support of a grassroots network of members and community partners across the nation. In 2009, Best Friends celebrates its 25th anniversary. Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in southwestern Utah is the nation's largest facility for abused, abandoned and special needs companion animals. On any given day the sanctuary is home to approximately 1,700 dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, birds, and other animals. The canine department of the sanctuary is called "Dogtown" and that is where the National Geographic Channel series get its name.

Q - I've just discovered Best Friends on the National Geographic Channel series, DogTown, and I'm curious. How do you decide which dogs come to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary?

Most of the dogs who come to Best Friends are considered to be "unadoptable" at shelters, due to advanced age, behavioral troubles, illness or injury. Every day, Best Friends works with rescue organizations to take in the homeless animals at greatest risk – those orphan pets who need more care than most humane groups and shelters can provide. (To learn more about animal admissions, click here.)

In fact, there are about 1,700 dogs, cats, birds, bunnies, horses and other animals receiving special care here at the sanctuary on any given day. Some of them need just a few weeks before they're ready to be adopted into good new homes. Others need long-term, sometimes permanent care.

Of course, we can’t bring every homeless pet to the sanctuary for long-term care.

That's why we have 12 counselors working exclusively with people who call looking for help with an animal they've rescued or feel they cannot keep in their family.

And Best Friends reaches out to help pets – and the people who love them – in lots of other ways, too. There are free resources in our Pet Care Library and on the Best Friends Network. And for resources on placing pets in good new homes, go here to visit the Animal Help section of the Best Friends Network.

Q - The National Geographic program is great publicity for Best Friends, but what makes that work any more important than what's being done at my local shelter?

A - It's not more important than the rescue work being done at your local shelter. And in many ways, DogTown simply highlights the work being done to help homeless animals each and every day in your own community.

In the first episode of Dogtown, for example, Best Friends is working with the Nebraska Humane Society, which is the first line of defense when local authorities close down a puppy mill.

Best Friends is unique in terms of its ability to reach out across the nation and show how much can be achieved for orphan animals who might be considered unadoptable or unable to be saved. But one of our great hopes for the series is that it will encourage more and more people to support their local shelters and humane groups to help bring about a time when there will be no more homeless pets.

(Want to help orphan pets in your hometown? Click here.)

Q - Is Dogtown a real place?

A - Yes, it is! Dogtown covers hundreds of acres of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. So if you're ever in our neck of the woods, we hope you'll come visit the dogs. While you're here, you can also spend time at Catworld, Horse Haven, Feathered Friends, the Bunny House, and Pig Paradise! Volunteer for a day, a week or a month ... or take a tour through the sanctuary for shorter visits. Best Friends is located at the heart of the Golden Circle of national parks of the Southwest, so there's plenty to see!

For a preview – and to learn more about visiting – go to http://www.bestfriends.org/atthesanctuary.

Q - Is there a plan to do any portion of the National Geographic Channel show on the cat area or any other area of Best Friends?

A - No plans right now, but down the road ... who knows?

Q - Can I follow the progress of a particular dog on the Dogtown show?

A. Absolutely. You can follow every dog on the show at www.bestfriends.org/dogtown. Read about the show, see what's in store for future episodes, check out the bios of the Best Friends caregivers, and track the progress of some of the dogs who wait for new homes.

Q - I've heard that some critics compare no-kill sanctuaries to "warehouses" for animal hoarding. But Dogtown doesn't seem like that kind of place at all. What's the real story?

A - From time to time, we come across people with good intentions who have tried to turn their homes into "sanctuaries" and have taken in far more stray pets than they can handle.

When that happens, organizations like Best Friends go in and help. (We may be covering a case like this in a future episode of Dogtown.) Although these sad situations garner a lot of attention, fortunately for the animals they are the exception. And to help people understand what's involved in caring for larger numbers of animals, Best Friends runs a regular, week-long, intensive workshop – How to Start an Animal Sanctuary – several times a year, to help people who are considering starting their own home sanctuary.

To be truly successful, the work of a shelter or sanctuary is just one component in a local No More Homeless Pets campaign. Humane societies, shelters, spay/neuter and adoption programs, and educational activities all have to work together to save the lives of orphan animals. And we can all help by making sure pets we get our pets spayed or neutered and that we always adopt family pets from a local shelter – never buying them from a pet store.

Q - Is there a waiting list for admitting dogs and other animals to Best Friends?

A - Best Friends does not maintain a waiting list for admission. We take each case as it comes. Most animals need help immediately, and if we're not able to take them right now, we work to help people find other options for them.

Q - How can I adopt a dog from Dogtown?

A - There are hundreds of dogs ready for adoption on any given day. It's easy to meet them. Click here to visit our adoptions page. You just might meet your perfect future family member!