Old Friends

Golden Oldies

They're our top seniors at the sanctuary. And, thanks to you, they're not just getting older; they're getting better every day!

Springfeather (at right) the coyote mix came to Best Friends 16 years ago with her brother and sister, Running Deer and Birdsong. They'd been stolen from their den as puppies, and by the time they were rescued, they were too old to be put back in the wild.

All three became famous for digging spectacular dens with long passageways! They have all since passed over the Rainbow Bridge.

Appaloosa Dee is 42 years old - but not quite the oldest animal at Best Friends. He'd been a pack horse for 20 years, and then retired. But he was 400 pounds underweight, and starving to death because of tooth problems and diabetes when he was brought to the sanctuary.

Dee has a special diet, which he loves, and he enjoys trotting around the pastures with all his equine friends.

Thanks for giving him a new life - and an old one, too!

Quetzl, at 46 years old, is the oldest animal at the sanctuary. He's an African grey, probably caught in the wild and smuggled into the country.

He lived as a pet for 30 years, until his person died and Quetzl was sent to a pet store. From there, he was rescued and brought to Best Friends.

Quetzl has never learned to talk - human talk, that is. But he communicates in Whistle, his own infinitely varied language, which he's very patient in teaching to the bird staff at the sanctuary.

O.K., so Quetzl isn't the absolutely oldest animal. Several staff people are older!

Max Mower signed on to help look after the old dogs and cats three years ago, at age 72.

"They are truly my best friends," he says. And Max is their best friend, too.

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