Musical Variety

I am a violist. You can tell as many viola jokes as you want, but I will back my instrument as one of the most beautiful instruments ever created until the day I die. It's been great getting to play it again, now that I've been back in Minnesota for two weeks. My orchestra has a concert coming up in several weeks and we're playing Ravel's Rhapsodie Espagnole and Lalo's Concerto in D Minor for cello (another of the most beautiful instruments ever created). The Lalo concerto is especially fun for me to play because I heard it so often when my older sister would practice her cello when we were young.

During my time spent living in Kanab, Utah, I heard plenty of music, but none of it was classical. I missed the beauty of orchestral music, but I did gain an appreciation for the types of music I did hear: mostly country-type stuff. I know that's vague, but it's so unfamiliar to me, that I don't even know how to classify all of what I heard. All I know is that I was lucky enough to live with and listen to an incredibly talented couple play guitar and sing together and it brought me to tears nearly every time. Their voices are perfect complements to one another and they are both passionate about music. It made me really want to play guitar!

Since I've been home, I have had a fair amount of time on my hands. My future is so up in the air that, aside from applying for jobs, I don't really know where I'm headed. But I know music is always going to be a part of my life. I've started playing the piano again just for fun. I'm trying to work on some non-classical songs, and I'm attempting to sing and play at the same time. That is something everyone I met in Utah who played guitar could do and something I've never been able to do. I feel like it's hard enough to play an instrument, but to be able to sing at the same time? That takes major brain power if you ask me. So I'm starting with an instrument I already know (piano), and trying to add in singing along. It's not going very well yet. I'll keep at it and be glad that no one is home to have to suffer through my experiment!

I was talking on the phone last night to my host family from back in Kanab and it got me itching to play guitar again. Today I remembered that my dad has one here at the house, so I found it, along with a book about teaching yourself to play guitar. So far I'm just learning the strings and single notes, but eventually the book gets to reading guitar tabs and playing chords, improvising, and strumming techniques. It's a totally different world of music for me. I've never been good at improvising and I've never been good at singing while I play. I'm a classical musician: these are things I just never have to do! But I actually think it's going to do wonders for my viola playing. It's pushing me to re-learn some music theory, spend lots of time thinking about chords, and try coordinating many things at once. I want to be able to apply the flexibility and knowledge that I gain on other instruments to the viola. Maybe some day, I'll break out of my strictly orchestral shell and be able to improvise with a band on viola! You just never know where life will lead you, musically!

To me, orchestral music is still the most passionate genre and the one with which I feel the deepest connection. There's no way to really describe the feeling I get when I relate to a piece of music that I really love. I literally feel it in my body. It's an experience unlike anything else I've ever felt, a connection so strong that I am actually part of the music and the music is part of me, and there's no tearing us apart. I feel like the music understands me. I feel the dissonance and resolutions in my heart and in my muscles. It truly is a full-body, visceral, cerebral experience. I know I'm lucky to have something that I feel so passionate about and that fulfills me so much. I know that not every orchestral musician feels that same level of intensity when they play, nor do I feel it every single time I play. I certainly don't feel warm and fuzzy when I'm practicing scales and etudes! But I do know there are other people out there who get that feeling that I'm trying to describe. Music touches something in them too. I just usually thought of these people as classical musicians. I mean, could anybody actually get that intense of a feeling from listening to today's Top 40 pop music? Maybe that just makes me sound like a music snob. And maybe I am, a little bit. But I'm becoming less of one, because I realized in Utah that the people I was listening to were feeling very deeply the songs they were playing. I could hear the emotion in the tone of the guitar or the ache in the voice.

It was incredibly moving for me to be surrounded by a different kind of music. Though it may sound as far from classical music as you might imagine, it has the same effect on different people. It evokes passion. It picks up where words leave off. There are just some things in life that can't be described, but can only be felt with the right music, and when that happens, it's a very special moment. So as I broaden my musical horizons, struggle to sing and play at once, and fumble through my first piece of music on the guitar (of course it was the theme from Ode to Joy, a Beethoven composition!), I just want to pay respect to musicians of all kinds. The ones who "get it." The ones who feel so deeply about music that they just can't describe it. We are very lucky to feel that, no matter what our instrument or genre happens to be.

Minnesota Orchestra Lock Out: Best Concert Ever

While I was away in Utah, the musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra were trying to negotiate with their management to avoid a lock out, an unfortunate situation that has befallen several of America's great orchestras. I was deeply saddened to hear that no agreement was reached and the musicians were in fact locked out. But the musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra are not easily shut down. One of the things that makes this orchestra so special is the passion the musicians feel for performing music. And so, on Thursday night, they played on. They put on a concert by pooling their own resources, relying on volunteers and community support, and getting the word out throughout the Twin Cities. It was the best concert I've ever attended.

I'm one of those people who thinks that standing ovations are overdone these days. It seems that every performance is followed by one, which leaves me feeling that they are less meaningful than they used to be. It's not to say that I'm not grateful for audience support, it's just that there's really something special about an audience letting performers know that they not only performed as expected, but well beyond. At the gala concert last Thursday, there were no fewer than six standing ovations given, several of them before a single note had even been played. But every single one of those ovations was absolutely deserved. The orchestra walked out on stage together as a unified force and the sold-out audience jumped to their feet, myself included, to applaud the orchestra. There was screaming and cheering so loud, you may have thought walked into a rock concert. I felt that I couldn't clap loud enough. I wanted to show the musicians how much I support them and how much I appreciated that they were performing even though they are going through awful circumstances. I only wanted to applaud more as I could see the gratitude and emotion on the faces of the musicians as many of them were overwhelmed by the giant showing of support.

The conductor, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, a former conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra, received the next standing ovation as he walked on stage. The fact that he was willing to conduct this concert, and do so with such passion and disregard for its potential implications with management, was beautiful. The audience was clearly welcoming an old friend back to the podium with gratitude and respect. The orchestra played our national anthem, which chokes me up every single time I hear it, no matter what. As 2,100 people sang along to the standing orchestra, my heart was in my throat. I felt so proud to be an American, where there is freedom of artistry, a Minnesotan, where one of the best orchestras in the world resides, and an audience member in what I felt was the most emotionally loaded concert I've seen in over a decade.

The first piece on the concert was Dvorak's cello concerto, played expertly by the amazing principle cellist of the orchestra, Anthony Ross. I've seen Mr. Ross perform several concertos and I am always amazed at his talent and the emotion that he puts into each performance. I've met many musicians like Mr. Ross: they have all the musical talent in the world and they've been playing with orchestras and as soloists for many years. But here's the difference between many of the musicians I've met and Mr. Ross: he is not jaded and bored. I have never understood the jaded orchestral musician, and yet I've met so many of them in my life, many of whom play for the best orchestras in the world. They've played all the music a million times, they do the same thing each night, they're underpaid, the weary from travel. Fine. But do they realize how many musicians would kill to have their position? Do they know how many of us would love to play the same pieces over and over again because they're fresh and new every single time? The jaded and bored musicians have lost sight of this. Anthony Ross has not. I can't speak for him, but his performance spoke volumes. I've heard the Dvorak concerto hundreds of times, ever since I was little and growing up with an older sister who is a cellist. But Mr. Ross's version woke me up and proverbially smacked me in the face with emotion. His cello was merely an extension of his body, pouring out the beauty, sorrow, angst, and many more emotions reflected in the concerto. The fact that he performed like this, not because he was getting paid the big bucks, but because it is what he loves to do, made his performance incredibly worthy of the standing ovation he received. It was honestly one of the longest ovations I've experienced for a soloist in quite some time, and every second of it was well-deserved.

During intermission, I got to witness another of my favorite aspects of the Minnesota Orchestra Musicians: they interacted with their audience. In some circles this may be deemed "unprofessional," but in Thursday night's performance, it couldn't have been more appropriate. Musicians were hugging members of the audience from the stage, and Anthony Ross, fresh off his performance came out to hang out in front of the stage and chat with people. A musician of his caliber, Mr. Ross has the right to be a standoffish God of Cellists, but he's one of the nicest, most down-to-earth people with whom I've come into contact. I stopped to congratulate him during intermission on his phenomenal performance, and though he'd only met me once before when he gave a master class to a chamber music program I was in, he talked to me like he would talk to a friend. He was humble and respectful and greeted all of his fans in the same manner.

That brings me to one of the most important points about the musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra: they are not just fantastic on stage. They go out into the community and share their talent, intelligence, humor, and musicality. Being a musician myself, I have had the opportunity to work with several of the musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra. One of them is the conductor of the orchestra in which I play. Others have been my teachers or coaches, and still others have led master classes. At times I've had the honor of sharing the stage with them as they perform as soloists. These are special musicians. These are not the jaded, bored musicians I've met in other cities. They love what they do and they use that passion to enrich the entire community both with their performances and with their time outside of work. They are some of the best teachers and conductors I have ever had, and my musical life in Minnesota would be severely lacking without them. We don't just need high-caliber musicians in our city, we need these high-caliber musicians. I've lived in a lot of places, and what we have here with these musicians is very special.

As the orchestra began to tune for the second half of the concert, and Anthony Ross finished up signing a few autographs from his chair on stage, I anxiously awaited the second half of the concert: Shostakovich's 5th Symphony. The musicians could not have chosen a more appropriate symphony. It is one of my all-time favorites. There is so much angst and dissonance in the symphony that reflects the current times, and yet, there is resolution and triumph in spades. This particular piece never fails to take me on an emotional roller-coaster such that I have to remind myself to breathe. The musicians played this piece with the technical prowess that we have come to expect from them, but they also played with more emotion than I've felt in a long time. I was sitting close enough that I could see the players faces. I could see their hands - either steady and soft, or flying with precision. Their bows could eke out the quietest, most pure pianissimos, or tremolo in the loudest of fortissimos. Their faces and body language said it all. But even with my eyes closed, I felt the power and emotion behind the notes.

I have always felt that superstars of all kinds (musicians, sports figures, actors) are overpaid, and that it is the people in true helping professions (nurses, firefighters, social workers) who should be making the big bucks. I still feel this way, except that I classify musicians, such as those from the Minnesota Orchestra, as being in a helping profession. They deserve the money they make, the benefits they receive, and so much more. They provide an escape from daily life and they provide the musical balm that heals individual, invisible wounds of audience members seeking refuge in the concert hall. For someone like me, listening to a heart-felt rendition of a certain piece of music can be the best therapy in the world. It can change my mood, my swirling thoughts, or even my direction in life as I sit and alternatively get shoved deeper into my thoughts by the music, or am completely carried away from them by the notes. That's how I felt on Thursday night with the powerful performance of Shostakovich's symphony.

I took a class in college called "Constraints and Creativity," from which I learned that sometimes when we are under the greatest of constraints we are at our most creative. My final presentation for this class focused on Shostakovich's 5th Symphony and how constrained he was by the necessity that it be well-liked by certain authorities. In my opinion, he came up with his most brilliant symphony under those harsh constraints. The musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra played on Thursday under the constraints of facing unemployment and lack of funds, and they delivered one of their best performances to date. That single performance alone should be enough to end the lock out.

Many measures before the end of the symphony, audience members began to stand, unable to stay seated any longer, ready to applaud. I know based on the reaction from the crowd that I am not alone in thinking Thursday was an especially powerful experience. The musicians came through for us, and we came through for them. Now if only management could do the same.

The Future of the Blog...

To my surprise, people actually read my blog. I knew my family read it, and a few friends, but that was all I ever expected. Since I've been home, I can't tell you how many people have told me they have kept up with my blog and enjoyed it. What an amazing feeling! Thanks, readers! I have really enjoyed blogging my experience at Best Friends. I love to write, especially when I get to write about something for which I have immense passion.

So I've decided to continue the blog. I'm not 100% sure of the direction it will take, but I do know that I will continue to blog about my passion for animals and also start including my passion for music as well. Other than that, we'll see where it leads!

My life is in a huge state of transition right now. I couldn't even tell you what I'll be doing or where I'll be living in a month. So with that in mind, my blog will stay in transition with me. I'll keep you updated on what's going on in my life and what's important to me, and most importantly, where I end up headed next in life!

Thanks for reading!

Advice for future Best Friends Interns

Well, I've been home from Utah exactly one week now. It has a been a long and difficult week of transition. I immersed myself so fully in my experience in Utah that in just five and a half weeks, Kanab felt like home, my friends felt like we'd known each other for way longer than 5 weeks, the family I stayed with felt like true family, and my internship felt like my job. The remoteness of Kanab had become a way of life, as had going to national parks on a regular basis. Suddenly, the city of Minneapolis seems like a giant metropolis! This is, of course, the exact opposite of how I felt when I first moved to Minneapolis from New York City!

After a week of reflecting on my experience at Best Friends, I have some advice that I would give to any prospective intern.

1. Live with a person/family who works at Best Friends. I was hesitant to do this at first because I thought I wanted my own space, and it was hard to conceive of living with a complete stranger for 5 weeks. But it is very helpful to have someone who knows the area, knows the sanctuary, and can answer your questions. I happened to completely luck out on who I stayed with. They treated me like family from the moment I arrived, and I left knowing I have a life-long relationship with an entire family that I didn't have before. Simply getting to know these wonderful people made the trip entirely worth it.

2. Pack lots of clothing layers. My internship was in the fall, so I assume it's a little different for everybody depending on what time of year you are in Kanab. However, I will say that there was often a 40 degree difference in temperature from the time I started work to the time I finished work. I would start out wearing a tank top, long sleeved shirt, fleece, and a jacket in the mornings and I'd still be cold! But as the beautiful high desert sun breaks through and starts to warm the day, I'd shed my layers until I was sweating in just jeans and a tank top. The work you do can be very physical, or you might be just sitting with an animal working on socialization, so you never know how cold or hot you might get through your work. Just bring lots of layers and check the weather each day!

3. Disconnect. Best Friends is a complete bubble. It's heaven for animal lovers, and it's so far removed from the rest of the world (despite the fact that the rest of the world flocks to it to volunteer and visit). Most of us live in a world where we're constantly on our computers, smart phones, tablets, etc. I would suggest embracing the bubble, throwing yourself entirely into the experience, and disconnecting somewhat from the digital age. Your cell phone probably won't get reception most places anyway, and you may or may not have internet access where you live. I found that because blogging became part of my experience, simply logging onto the computer once a day to write my blog and check for urgent e-mails was all I needed to do. I didn't watch one single second of television and I didn't miss it a bit. I did keep in touch with my loved ones on the phone, but not as much as I expected to, given that I usually talk to them everyday. I was so busy with the internship and living in the bubble, that I managed to talk to people maybe a couple times a week if I was lucky. I was okay with that because I had such amazing support where I was living and my loved ones were very understanding.

4. Connect. As you disconnect from the digital world, I cannot recommend enough that you connect with the people and environment around you. I was lucky enough to have the best possible group of interns working with me during my session. Make friends with your fellow interns! You all have at least one thing in common: a love of animals, and you will find that you have more and more in common as you get to know them and more and more that you can learn from them. I have so much respect for all my fellow interns. A great way to connect is to get together for lunches at the cafeteria during the week and head out for adventures during the weekends. Each week, I went to some amazing new place to hike with my intern friends and those are memories I will cherish forever. I feel equally connected to the family I stayed with during my internship, so I know that I now have relationships and friendships that will last a lifetime because of their unique circumstances.

5. Along the same lines as my last point, be sure to connect with nature. Hiking has not been a huge part of my life, but it is a huge part of life in Kanab. You will be within an hour or two of several incredible national parks and hidden gems. Get out there! Even if you do short hikes, or just stop by and sit in nature for a while, your mind, body, and soul with thank you for that connection to the earth that many of us just don't get often enough.

6. Keep an open mind. The first two weeks of the internship, you'll be rotating through all the different animal areas. I can't stress enough how important it is to keep an open mind as you experience what it is like to care for different species. I went in to the internship assuming I'd focus my time in DogTown, but luckily I kept an open mind. I ended up being so enthralled with so many of the species, that I spread my focus for the final three weeks across several areas. One of the areas in which I spent the most time was at Rescue Village working with rabbits. I never in a million years would have thought that's where I would end up. But I learned so much about that species, I loved the staff, and I found a way that I could really make an impact in my short time at the sanctuary by working in rabbits.

7. The internship is what you make of it. The first two weeks are very structured and you don't have a lot of input into your schedule. However, you will soon have complete freedom to design your own schedule. Think about what you really want to get out of this internship and make it happen. The entire sanctuary seems aligned in wanting to make volunteers and interns have the best experiences they possibly can. Leesa, the intern coordinator is especially helpful and will do everything in her power to help you get the most out of your internship. All you have to do is ask. One of the areas I'm very interested in is studying animal behavior. I found out there was a vet working at Best Friends who does exactly that. I took the initiative to schedule myself to work in his building when he'd be around and talked to several people about wanting to work with him. We set up a meeting and I spent my last three weeks basically doing my dream job of helping with animal behavior research. If I hadn't asked, it wouldn't have happened. Pursue your interests and everyone at Best Friends will do their best to make it happen for you!

8. Prepare for tough transitions. Arriving in Kanab, I was excited and nervous. I also got a massive case of altitude sickness. If you live at sea level or you are prone to altitude sickness, I suggest getting to Kanab several days before your internship starts so that you have time to let your body adjust. And drink lots of water! I felt miserable my first few days in Kanab due to the altitude and homesickness. I considered going back to Minnesota before my internship even began. Now, I know about myself that I personally have trouble with transitions, probably more so than most people. But, it is a tough adjustment no matter where you're coming from just because life there is so different than most places. After giving myself time to transition, I had one of the best experiences of my life. And then, before I knew it, it was over. Time for another transition back home. I had grown so close to the animals, people, and even the lifestyle in Kanab, that transitioning back home has been incredibly difficult. My advice is to plan some things that you love to do and people you want to see for when you get back. Seeing my friends and going to my orchestra rehearsals has grounded me back in my life at home, helping me realize that I can also be happy outside the bubble of Best Friends.

There's so much more I feel I could tell a potential intern, but part of the fun is figuring it all out by yourself as you go. Plus, this is getting to be a really long blog post! So, go out there, immerse yourself, and have an amazing experience! This goes for people who are going out just for a few days or weeks to volunteer as well. Same advice applies!

Thank you, Best Friends, for a life-changing experience. I'll be back one way or another!

Week 5, Days 4 & 5: Is it really over?!

I cannot believe the internship is over. Everyone said it would go by so fast and they were absolutely right. The final couple days were pretty tough. I spent a lot of my time outside of work working on my projects. In the end, I ended up doing research for Dr. Frank, bonding rabbits, making a pamphlet about bonding rabbits, and making a silly little video of bonding rabbits. It was definitely a rush to get it all finished in time!

On Thursday morning, I actually was quite sick, so I had to call in to work and let them know I couldn't make it. I was so disappointed because I was scheduled to work in an area that I love. I was feeling a bit better by afternoon, but mostly I felt that I just had to go in to work because it was Pepsi's last training class and I didn't want him to miss it. He was a really good boy, despite the rain and construction noise in Tara's Run. He even did his new trick (spin) with a lure. I was so proud of him. He's come so far in 5 weeks and our bond is unlike any I've had with another dog.

On Friday, I worked from home doing research for Dr. Frank. I'm really excited that I was allowed to do this through my internship because it is basically my dream job. Dr. Frank is amazing to work with and his studies are really interesting. I'm sure I'll continue to do a little more work here and there for the project just because I keep receiving e-mails about it!

The interns had a pizza lunch and I think for a lot of us it was starting to slowly hit us that this was the end. We only had one more shift left!

For my last shift, I took Pepsi on an outing. He was a bit stressed and distracted, probably due to a major change in weather. Mostly, he just wanted to sit on my lap. That was fine with me. I hugged him a lot, told him repeatedly how much I loved him, and then had the hardest time in the world bringing him back to his run. His caretaker said she'll keep me posted on his status and I really hope that my goodbye to him was not an actual goodbye, but a see you later. I miss you, Pepsi!

We ended the afternoon by gathering in the conference room and each intern presented their projects and some of their reflections and thoughts on the internship. The general consensus was that it was absolutely amazing, life changing, and tough to leave. I think we probably had the best possible group of people in our internship session and it was really hard to say goodbye to all the friends who I'd shared this amazing experience with.

I'll write some further reflections later, but I want to give it a little space as I transition back to my life in Minnesota. Plus, I'm too sad to write about it right now because I miss everything and everyone so much!

Week 5, Days 1-3: Oh my heck!

This post is entitled "Oh my heck!" because that's my favorite saying around here in Southern Utah. And, oh my heck, have I ever been busy lately! So you're getting three days in one blog post...

Monday

On Monday, I had my last shift in Horse Haven. I am sad that I won't be working there anymore, but I had a fantastic last day there. I got to say good morning to Squeaky the office pig:

And then I headed out to help muck the pastures. This pretty much sums up life in Horse Haven:

The best part of the day was when I got left in charge of the volunteers and got to drive Ruby (the 4-wheeler-type thing) from pasture to pasture! It was a bit of a rough ride for my poor passengers at first, but I got the hang of it:

We also got to go on an amazing tour of the canyons, where I saw my first petroglyphs. It was just a wonderful morning.

I spent my afternoon in Rescue Village, bonding rabbits and working on my project, finalizing my informational pamphlet on rabbit bonding. It was a productive afternoon.

Tuesday

Tuesday morning was spent working from home on my research for Dr. Frank. I'm still so thrilled that I have the opportunity to assist on the exact type of research I've always wanted to do. I'm getting a really good response from my work so far, so I'll be spending Friday morning working on that as well. I headed into Rescue Village after lunch and bonded rabbits again. The fab four, as I liked to call them, were doing great at bonding in their small indoor pen, but that changed a bit today, which I'll get to in a moment. If you ever wonder what I do at work, I spend hours sitting in rabbit pens:

Wednesday

Today was a really great day. My morning shift was an outing with Pepsi. He's seriously the sweetest, cutest dog on the planet! Everyone loves him, and once again, I couldn't make it through town without getting stopped a few times because of his celebrity status. We had a really great time and I started teaching him his trick for tomorrow's obedience class. I decided on "spin" because he follows the lure of a treat really well. He had a gift for me when I got there today, which was the sweetest thing ever: he gave me a t-shirt with his big ol' head printed on it! Pepsi and I had a great morning and did a variety of things. Here he is fishing in the pond by the Welcome Center and then trying to eat his entire bag of treats!

This afternoon, I spent my final shift at Rescue Village. I have really come to love the animals and staff there, so it was a difficult goodbye. The day was rather eventful as I took my four rabbits that I'm trying to bond outside for the first time into a bigger pen. It did not go well. At all. There were so many fights I couldn't keep track of it. I was disappointed that they all couldn't get along, but we were able to keep two of them out to see if they could bond together without the others. In order to assist in the bonding, I stressed them by placing them in a crate and driving them around on a motorized cart around the parking lot. They bond over their shared experience when that happens. Here they are in their cart:

Even though I didn't love the thought of stressing them, I have to say they were nearly letter perfect after that! I took them back to the indoor bonding area and they relaxed together. Luckily the rest of the afternoon was uneventful!

I can't believe I only have two days of work left before I leave here. I love it so much and I've met the most incredible people. I truly feel like I have family here now and I've been really enjoying my work and spending time with my Kanab family and friends after work. That makes keeping up a blog pretty tough, but I'll do my best for the final few days here. I'll have plenty of time to catch up on the plane ride home if I get behind again...

Week 5, Day 5 and Weekend

I just realized I haven't posted in a few days. That's probably because I've been doing things non-stop since Thursday evening and pretty much haven't taken a moment to rest since! I just wanted to write a quick post to let you all know I'm still alive, despite the fact that I held a snake and went hiking in the dark on Friday, jumped off rocks into Lake Powell on Saturday, and sat on the edge of the Grand Canyon today (Sunday). It has been quite the adventure, but I haven't even had time to upload pictures. I'm guessing this coming week (my last here as an intern at Best Friends) is going to be the busiest of them all. I will keep up the blog as much as possible as I continue to work full-time, complete my two intern projects, and fit in as much time with my Kanab family as possible. Anything I don't have time to post about, I'll catch up on when I get home and have a second to breathe! That is...if I ever can drag myself away from this perfect paradise...

Week 4, Day 4: Maggie's and Pepsi

Today's been a great day because I got to work my morning shift in my favorite area of DogTown, Maggie's, and then work with Pepsi this afternoon. I love working in Maggie's because there is such a focus on training there. The caregiver is fantastic and the dogs are absolutely wonderful. I enjoyed getting to feed them while working on behavior and then walk several of them. They each get a report on how their walk went and any behaviors they exhibited.

There was one dog who particularly touched my heart today. His name is Peek-a-Boo. He's a recent addition to Best Friends, as he was found just months ago tied up in the nearby Peekaboo canyon. Worse than being tied up and abandoned, he also had severe blunt force trauma to his head. It was described to me as clearly intentional and the weapon was something like a baseball bat. This type of story makes me so sad, but so grateful that Best Friends exists. Peek-a-Boo spent the first bit of his time at Best Friends at the Vet Center. He was shut down to humans - not acknowledging our existence. He has come a long way in a couple months. He now interacts with humans and even knows "sit" and "down." He's an amazing and gentle dog. He is still very fearful if you try to touch his head (or in my case, put both a collar and a halter over his head). But he did not lash out at me at all. Once we got past putting things near his head, we enjoyed a wonderful walk together. Here he is doing sit and down on his walk:

He's skin and bones right now but he's finally getting the love and care that he needs at Best Friends. He will make an unbelievably wonderful family dog and I can't wait for him to have his happily ever after.

Thursday lunches are always awesome because different departments throughout the sanctuary share stories of what's going on in their areas. Today, the rabbit update was about bonding and they featured pictures of Benjamin and Fargo that I helped bond in the past couple weeks! There were great stories from every department, and it's always inspiring.

After lunch, it was time to pick up Pepsi and take him to his training class. I get so much joy when I see him and spend time with him. He did amazingly well in class today! He hardly barked at all, and if he did get distracted by another dog, all I had to do was say his name and he would re-direct his focus right back to me. We worked on "sit," which he now can do with only a verbal command, and "down," which he can sometimes do with just a verbal command, but still usually needs a hand lure. We had fun learning to do "Puppy Push-ups," where the dog goes into a sit, then a down, then a sit, and a down, and so on. Pepsi loved doing them! Next week for our last class together, I'm supposed to teach Pepsi a trick. I know he's amazingly smart, so I hope I can come up with something clever and teach it to him in time. 

Pepsi and I spent some quiet time together after class. We usually don't go out and do something very stimulating because class is already over-stimulating for him. We enjoy snuggling together and I tell him what a good boy he was in class and how proud of him I am. After spending some time with him, I put him back in his run. It hit me like a ton of bricks that I only have one more week left with him. I've fallen completely in love with him and formed a strong bond. As I was saying goodbye to him today and he was looking at me through his door, still wagging his tail in hopes I'd stay and play, I teared up knowing that I would have to say goodbye forever next week. I can't stand the thought of abandoning him. He's in a wonderful place at Best Friends, but this boy needs to be in a home! Somebody please adopt him! Here he is in his run as I said goodbye this afternoon:

It was a bittersweet end to my day, but I look forward to the time I have left at this amazing sanctuary!

Week 4, Day 3: Pepsi, Clinic, and Bunny Bonding

Unfortunately, I do not have any good pictures from today, as my point-and-shoot camera has died. Well, the lens has died anyway, so it may not be working for a while. I'll do my best to post pictures from my iphone in the future and of course I'll bring my DSLR if I go anywhere particularly scenic.

Today's morning shift was an outing with Pepsi. We followed our usual routine and went to the training area called Tara's Run. Pepsi and I did some clicker training, he played on the agility equipment, and sniffed around. He loves Tara's Run! At one point, I was sitting on a table at one end of the building and he was at the opposite end. He decided he wanted to check in with me, so he launched into a full on sprint. Those strong little legs make him one very speedy dog! So I have a 70+ pound dog running full speed at me and he launches himself into a jump up onto the table and lands right next to me before gently crawling into my lap and slobbering my face with kisses. It was such an enthusiastic and loving moment. I know a some people would be frightened with a pit bull mix headed toward them at full speed, but Pepsi doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He's one of the gentlest souls I've met. He is proof that we should judge the dog, not the breed.

Pepsi and I spent the rest of our morning at the Welcome Center, where he met with his fan club and introduced himself to a ton of new visitors. He made friends with everyone. Some are cautious to approach him (he does have a very large head!), but as soon as they seem him sitting in my lap, giving out kisses, and calmly lying down, they all come around to love him. Most people walk straight toward him because he is so adorable and has a completely magnetic effect. I truly cannot wait for him to find his forever home.

Pepsi and I ended our morning a bit early because the interns had a tour of the vet clinic before lunch. It was very interesting to see the clinic and all of the wonderful staff and equipment that help diagnose, treat, and maintain the health of the animals at the sanctuary. On a personal note, it was a tough tour for me to take because I've had a lot of medical trauma, mainly stemming from surgical issues, so even though this was not a human hospital with humans on the operating tables, it reminded me way too much of my experiences. I prefer to stay out of operating areas whenever possible! This is why, as much as I love animals, I could never be a vet. Luckily, there are many other ways to help the animals.

After lunch, I headed up to Rescue Village to smoosh some bunnies (aka bonding rabbits). We pulled together the four rabbits that we started bonding yesterday and worked on them again today. They did really well overall. I was able to be outside their pen for the majority of the time. They ate some greens and groomed each other, and relaxed a bit from yesterday. There was one small tussle, however, that required me to squirt them with a water bottle and break up the fight. They all calmed down afterward, but I was a little disappointed in that setback. I just have to remember that bonding rabbits does not happen overnight and I need to be patient.

I was exhausted after work today and didn't feel the greatest because I'd hit my head really hard on a metal frame earlier in the day! Talk about a headache! So I've been relaxing this evening and enjoying the company of my host family. It'll be wonderful to get a good night's rest tonight and look forward to a day full of dogs tomorrow. I get to work in one of my favorite areas of DogTown in the morning, followed by training class with Pepsi in the afternoon. I am so grateful for this experience. How lucky am I to look forward to my job everyday?! The people are amazing, the setting is paradise, and the animals heal my soul. No wonder it is called a sanctuary. If it weren't for a few things that I miss a lot while I'm here, I would be applying for a job at the sanctuary right this moment with no hesitation. I know it will be a big part of my life from now on.

Week 4, Day 2: Research, Creek, Bonding, and TNR

Today was a slightly different type of day: I worked from home for my morning session. I am lucky enough to be helping Dr. Frank with his current research project on dogs who come from hoarding situations. I spent all morning working on ways to accrue dogs to the study. I think I made some good progress, and I'll work on it again on Thursday. I also spent a little time researching more facts for my other project, a pamphlet on bonding rabbits.

After a productive morning at home, I packed a lunch and headed to Kanab Creek on the Best Friends property to eat lunch with the other interns. It was so beautiful down there!

For my afternoon shift, I was scheduled to work at Rescue Village bonding rabbits. Today was pretty exciting because we put together the two rabbits that I started bonding last week, Scooby and Piper, and we added in the other two that we'd initially wanted to bond them with as well: Gretel and Emmitt. Bonding four rabbits was a little intimidating at first because I had to keep an eye on all of them to make sure no one fought. Luckily, it was a great bunch and pretty soon I was smooshing them together and they were lying all in a row, grooming each other!

They still have a long way to go before they're bonded, but I'll work with them again tomorrow afternoon and hope that things continue to go well. Imagine what bonding four rabbits does for a rescue organization: it gives four rabbits a better life and opens up space to take in at least three more rabbits! 

Week 4, Day 1: Bonding

Well, I was supposed to be doing some rabbit bonding today, but that ended up not happening, which I'll get to later. Luckily, I still had a great day and bonded with others in the process.

My morning shift was spent entirely with Pepsi. He was super excited to see me this morning and I was beyond excited to see him. I just adore this boy! First, we went to Tara's Run, the training area, because he loves it there and he can run around and play on agility equipment and get some energy out, all while feeling safe and not distracted by other dogs. We had a blast in there today, going on the teeter-totter, the dog walk, the a-frame, through a little tunnel, over a hurdle, and jumping on on all the tables. Sometime in the middle of all this fun, I pulled him aside into a smaller enclosure to work on our homework assignment from last week's training class, called "101 Things to do With a Box." Basically, we were assigned to just clicker train our dog to pay attention to the box and then gradually shape a behavior out of it. Pepsi did great: by the end of our session he knew to put his front two paws in the box in order to get a "click" and a treat!

After our weekly visit to the Welcome Center, where Pepsi goes to see his fan club, we headed into town. He did very well in town and visited with several people. One staff member even pulled off the road to come get her "Pepsi fix" when she saw us out walking. I swear, there is not a single person I meet who does not love this dog! We met man in town, who Pepsi really took to immediately and this man really liked Pepsi. I thought for a moment I might have found his match. It was love at first sight for them both. Unfortunately, this man has a cat at home and Pepsi doesn't do well with cats. I was really bummed out because they seemed like they'd make a great team.

Next, Pepsi and I decided to take a hike together. He's a very athletic dog, but this hike was much rockier than I expected, so we both were scrambling! The views toward the top were amazing though!

We bonded deeply during this hike because we had to watch out for one another. Sometimes he didn't know how to navigate the rocks, so he'd look back at me, asking me to go first and show him. Other times, he led the way through narrow paths, with a drop off just to the side of us. He was always very careful to not pull me. For example, when he would get momentum up while going down a bunch of steep rocks, he would stop at the bottom so that I could go down the rocks too before we moved on. It was really an amazing partnership. We were both in a situation that was rather harrowing and dangerous in retrospect, but we were 100% there for each other. 

At one point, the trail split, and I let Pepsi decide which way to go. Unfortunately, the decision was not the right one because after walking for a ways, the trail suddenly ended in a sandy cliff that we both began to slip down! It was really scary. After we started sliding down a few feet, we slowed a bit and I just told him to hold very still. I started to slowly move back up, without causing an avalanche of sand and then told him to slowly follow as I was able to help pull him up back onto a flat surface. He acted perfectly and I could have cried as I hugged him and told him what a good boy he was for staying calm and listening to me. 

So we ended up getting out of our scary situation with no problems. Well, there was one tiny problem in that we ran into another dog on our way down. We pulled off to the side of the narrow trail to let it pass, but Pepsi is in love with other dogs, and though I was hanging on to a significantly sized rock to brace myself against his inevitable pulling on the leash towards the other dog, Pepsi was stronger than my rock and I stumbled and cut up my hand on some rocks. No big deal though: two bandaids later, I'm as good as new.

We were both exhausted after our adventure, so we headed home just in time for lunch. This was Pepsi on the ride home:

Thank you, dear Pepsi, for all the dog fur, slobber and paw prints that now adorn my rental car! I put him back in his run when he got home and after a big drink of water (I did have water with us on the hike for him to drink), he flopped down on his side and settled in for what I presume was a very good nap. I wish I could have napped with him!

After lunch, I headed up to Rescue Village to do my bonding with the rabbits, or as I like to call it, smooshing bunnies (because sometimes you literally have to smoosh them together!). However, they were way understaffed today, so Meghan (a fellow intern) and I ended up just helping out however we were needed. It was actually a really fun afternoon. Usually there aren't two interns working in the same area, but Meghan and I both happen to be doing projects up there, so we worked together and bonded while cleaning, feeding, and watering the rabbits. Having her there made the time go by so much faster!

I was happy to see that my first pair of rabbits that I did bond are doing great together. Someone even made them a special sign:

I got home from work today and, after an exhausting day with a not-so-great night's sleep last night, I lay down on the living room floor to greet all the cats and dogs that I live with. They all piled on top of me and I ended up falling asleep! I woke up in time for dinner and I'm looking forward to going back to bed tonight!