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Best Friends Animal Society
5001 Angel Canyon Road
Kanab, UT 84741
Sierra
I had been putting off my volunteer vacation to Best Friends for months . Eight months earlier, my lab/shepherd mix, Boz, died at the ripe age of 14. He had been a stray and wandered into my yard 13 years prior and made himself at home. I was afraid to make the trip to Kanab - I missed my companion and it was taking a long time to move on.
Finally I decided I was ready, what was I afraid of anyway? I was just going to volunteer for a few days, I had no intention of bringing home another dog. I wasn't ready for it.
It was a nice six hour drive from Phoenix, blue skies, sunshine. I cried for Boz on the drive up. Maybe part of me knew something good was about to happen. I arrived on a Tuesday afternoon in 2001 and toured the facility. Wednesday morning, I picked up my Latte and headed straight for Old Friends since I missed my old friend.
After lunch with the other volunteers, I wandered around the entire dog grounds, there, in the last dog run in the Garden, was Sierra. She was smiling at me, wagged her tail and came over and licked my fingers.
I noticed she was a bit unsteady and got help to get her out for a visit.
She had just been spayed and we sat in the shade together for about two hours, with her head on my lap, another yellow lab, like my Boz.
The next morning I went to see her again and we spent the day together. I was told that Sierra had a neurological disability called cerrebellar abiotrophy, mostly found in felines.
She was a bit wobbly, uncoordinated, but totally lovable and she had no clue anything was wrong. That night I took her for a sleepover at my hotel and the next morning I adopted her and left for Phoenix. We immediately went to join the doggie group on the golf course and Sierra made herself right at home.
Sierra has been a total blessing. She has taught me some very valuable lessons in life:
First, be happy in spite of your circumstances. She probably wouldn't believe you if you told her she had a disability.
Second, she teaches me patience. She can be a challenge sometimes.
Occasionally, she will still fall on her walks or stumble, but she's the happiest dog I know. Everyone in the neighborhood praises her and sees her progress since I adopted her. We walk two to four miles a day and she loves her golf course romps with her buddies.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to provide a loving home to Sierra.
Fiona Saulness, Phoenix, Ariz.
