Volunteer at our animal sanctuary

On any given day, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary provides a healing home for up to 1,600 dogs, cats, birds, bunnies, horses, pigs, and other animals.

The awe-inspiring canyons of southern Utah ― the backdrop for our lifesaving work at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary ― offer a rewarding experience for visitors and volunteers alike.

As a volunteer, you'll have the opportunity to experience firsthand this magical place, and also contribute to improving the lives of the animals who call Best Friends their home-between-homes.

Volunteers at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary provide the animals with what they need the most: personal attention, hands-on care, and love.

So much sanctuary, so little time

Whether you snuggle with a senior cat or help spruce up some buildings around the Sanctuary, there’s a volunteer opportunity for you.

While all volunteer experiences are different, you can always count on them being meaningful for both you and the animals! When signing up to volunteer, try to schedule your shift as early as you can. They fill up fast.

With seven different animal areas and acres of canyon lands surrounding the sanctuary, you’ll have plenty of choices where to you’d like to lend a hand.

If you’re visiting with your kids, be sure to check out each area’s page for volunteer opportunities for your whole family (including age requirements).

Person kneeling down next to a dog and petting the dog

Dogtown

You can make a difference in the lives of the nearly 400 dogs who call Dogtown their home-between-homes.

Volunteering at Dogtown

Person playing with cats in a screened-in patio

Cat World

It’s the home of more than 600 cats, each of them looking for extra love and attention from you during your visit!

Volunteering at Cat World

Horse Haven

Volunteering at Horse Haven is the perfect way to spend some time in gorgeous pastures with horses, donkeys, mules, sheep, and goats.

Volunteering at Horse Haven

Smiling person watching on as a bunny eats a snack

Bunny House

With so many adorable bunnies to care for, there's never a dull moment volunteering at the Bunny House.

Volunteering at Bunny House

Smiling person taking a pig for a walk next to a big green pasture

Marshall’s Piggy Paradise

Volunteering at Marshall’s Piggy Paradise

Smiling person holding a parrot on their arm while it spreads its wings

Parrot Garden

Your help at the Parrot Garden benefits the parakeets, cockatiels, conures, macaws, and cockatoos living there.

Volunteering at Parrot Garden

Person looking at a rat resting on their arm

Wild Friends

Volunteering in Wild Friends is educational, satisfying, and fun as we help restore the health of animals so they can released back into the wild.

Volunteering at Wild Friends

Help out around the Sanctuary

From helping at Angels Rest to assisting with various landscaping projects (and everything in between), we have lots of other volunteer opportunities to match any skill or preference.

Volunteering around the Sanctuary

Take a pet on an outing or sleepover

You can get some extra quality time with Sanctuary animals when you host a sleepover with an adoptable dog or cat at your pet-friendly accommodation, or take an approved resident pup on an outing.

More about outings

Take an animal on an outing

Animal Outings

More about sleepovers

Host an animal sleepover

Animal Sleepovers

Here's what Sanctuary volunteers have to say

Many who visit our animal sanctuary describe it as a magical and lifechanging experience. And these volunteers feel the same:

I used to have a quote stenciled above my bed that read: “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” For me, interacting with loving, trusting shelter and sanctuary animals enriches the soul in a way that words really can’t describe.

Hailey Shah

I love knowing I did something small to make an animal happy, or contributed in a way to get them socialized to make them more adoptable.

Elisha Edge

The Sanctuary is brimming with positive energy. It’s infectious. The staff and volunteers make each visit so rewarding. Volunteering with Best Friends should be on everyone’s bucket list.

Howard Haber

Group of volunteers cleaning pet carriers

Group volunteer opportunities

Your group can have a rewarding experience in a beautiful setting while also learning about Best Friends, the no-kill movement and how to help animals in your community.

Volunteering as a group

Know before you go

If you’re not sure where to get lunch or what to wear in southern Utah in the middle of summer, we’ve got you covered.

What to expect

The Sanctuary is an incredibly special place, and we’ll help you figure out everything you need to know to ensure that your visit is the trip of your dreams.

Find out what to expect

Entrance sign to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

Getting to our animal sanctuary

Start planning your trip

Looking for more ways to help the animals?

With thousands of animals in shelters around the country hoping for their own families, one of the most valuable gifts you can give them is your time.

Find out how you can help

If you live within driving distance of Kanab, you can also help out by fostering an animal from our sanctuary. When you welcome an animal into your home for a short time, you free up space for another.