Michelle Besmehn, Dogtown Manager
Michelle Besmehn is the manager of dog care at Dogtown. She oversees the health and welfare of the dogs, ensures their safety through proper grouping and decides what new dogs will be accepted into Dogtown. She works closely with the Best Friends trainers, performing behavioral assessments on dogs to determine the training needs for each dogs, the right group for the dog, and the right forever home when the dog is ready for adoption.
Michelle has worked at Best Friends since 1997. She has spent time with a variety of dog trainers and has attended seminars and conferences to keep up on the latest dog care techniques. Over the years, however, she has learned the most from observing and working with the dogs at the sanctuary.
Michelle's favorite part of coming to work is easy to understand: she loves dogs! She enjoys meeting and working with a variety of people from different backgrounds. She also enjoys watching the connection between people and the different dogs that they spend time with. Watching that connection turn into an adoption is the best part of her day.
Michelle grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. She enjoys gardening and reading mystery novels or books that make her laugh. She and her husband have four dogs (all black mixed breeds), one cat and two rats.
