John Garcia, Dogtown Co-Manager

John Garcia is a dog trainer and co-manager of Dogtown at Best Friends. He believes that every dog deserves a second chance, and therethe shy, the fearful, and even the recalcitrant ones who have been through rough times. He instills trust in his students and shows them that humans can be their friends.

A native Utahn, John grew up near Best Friends and he has been working with the sanctuary dogs since 1999. One of the first staff to volunteer at Tylertown, where Best Friends staged its rescue area near New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, John worked relentlessly to save and care for the stray and abandoned dogs who were victims of the 2005 disaster.

In early 2008, 22 pit bulls who had suffered at the hands of Michael Vick in his Bad Newz Kennels dogfighting operation came to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. As part of his dog training job, John began teaching them living techniques that were sorely missing from their daily routines. John worked with all the dogs, but became very involved with Georgia (pictured with John), whose teeth had been removed so she couldnt harm male dogs during forced breeding.

Georgia and John appeared on the front page of the New York Times in early February 2008, spotlighting Best Friends DogTown, which brought John and Georgia Since that time, the pair has gone on to appear as guests on shows such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Larry King Live.

Although John and Georgia have brought the Best Friends message to national TV, John is totally committed to training all the dogs at Best Friends. And he continues to co-manage the real Dogtown at Best Friends.

John and his dog trainer wife, Mckenzie (who also works at Best Friends), live in Kanab with two dogs and a cat. They also take in a foster dog whenever necessary.