New-School Jitters
A school in Utah always makes a
beginning-of-the-year field trip
to help ease the students into the
school year

Teen Camp
The Best Friends Experience, a
new summer camp for teens

Kindergartener Summer Camp

Boys and girls in kindergarten through second grade escaped the summer heat to learn about animal care, play some games, and meet some Best Friends bunnies at mini camps for children in Kanab, Utah, not far from the sanctuary.

The children got their hands nice and gooey, making doggie biscuits for their dogs at home. One budding entrepreneur had an even better idea. "I think I can sell mine for a dollar each!"

Another little boy had a request: "Bring mine to the sanctuary. But only give the biscuits to the nice dogs."

"Well, you know what?" replied Cathie. "All dogs deserve treats sometimes, don't they?"

The tow-headed boy scrunched his face, struggling with the moral dilemma of giving a biscuit to a dog who wasn't always nice. At last, he nodded and enthusiastically pinched together the last touches on his dog biscuit.

Highlight of the day was getting to meet some of the Best Friends bunnies. The bunnies were a bit shy, but the kids understood. Asked how they would feel if they were bunnies, meeting all these new people for the first time, they replied, "I'd hop away!"

The children learned about caring for pets at home. "Food, water, shelter, and carrots if it's a rabbit, I think." They read a story about a little girl who goes to a shelter and adopts her new dog. And everyone played "walk like the animals" - like a dog, a cat, a snake (hissing around the room), and, for one girl, walking like a unicorn, at which she was apparently an expert!