This is Part I of my journey through Best Friends Animal Society‘s Running A Lifesaving Sanctuary Certification program.
I have a confession: I want to help dogs, but I’ve never even owned one. Sometimes I can barely tell a Great Dane from a Greyhound, or distinguish between a Jindo and a Shepherd. When I talk to people deeply involved in animal welfare, their vast knowledge and experience leave me in awe — and feeling like an imposter. I have no experience working in nonprofits, and frankly, I didn’t even know where to begin.
Yet here I am, drawn inexorably toward this path by the sweet smiles of the dogs I’ve come to love.
My life changed when I started volunteering at Yongin Animal Protection Association (YAPA), a dog shelter in Korea. Those years transformed me. Simple weekend walks — each filled with eager tail wags and hopeful nuzzles — drew me deeper into their world. I also became a flight volunteer, accompanying dogs across continents to their forever homes, watching their transformation from anxious shelter residents to beloved family members. The more time I spent with these souls, the more I yearned to do something bigger for them. Seeking direction, I embarked on a three-month journey to Sri Lanka to study street dogs. But my thoughts kept returning to the dogs back in Korea — many now four, five, or six years old, having spent most of their lives in the shelter with dimming adoption prospects.
That’s when the idea first took root: what if I could open a sanctuary? A place these dogs could truly call home while I worked toward making an even bigger impact in their lives.
Like anyone starting from scratch, I turned to Google. “How to start a dog sanctuary” led me to an article written by Best Friends Animal Society, operators of one of America’s largest animal sanctuaries in Utah. Their sprawling facility houses not just dogs, but cats, rabbits, parrots, and more across thousands of acres. They’ve built a sustainable operation generating over $360 million in income and have become a leading voice in the no-kill movement.
Their introductory article outlined the basics: shelter, medical care, food, legal issues, fundraising, community engagement, adoptions, and education. But finishing it left me just as lost about where to begin. Fortunately, Best Friends offers something more substantial: formal education in animal welfare.
They’re pioneers in creating consistent revenue through academic courses, offering everything from Introduction to Animal Saving to Dog Lifesaving Fundamentals. Many courses run in partnership with Southern Utah University, providing both certificates and university credits. But one program particularly caught my eye: the Running A Lifesaving Sanctuary Certification (RLSC).
The RLSC began as a simple workshop in 1998, including lectures in the morning and hands-on volunteering in the afternoon. By 2020, it had evolved into an intensive seven-day on-site workshop offered several times yearly. When the pandemic hit, Best Friends adapted, transforming it into a hybrid online-offline course launching in January 2022. To date, about 1,000 people have graduated from the program.
The curriculum dives deep into Best Friends’ history and current operations, extracting crucial lessons along the way. It’s comprehensive, covering everything from housing to marketing, fundraising to disaster planning. It explores strategy, digital presence, visitor experience, and even the nuances of managing an online wishlist. Best of all, it’s taught by the sanctuary’s founders themselves.
Not everyone who completes the certification goes on to start a sanctuary—and that’s by design. The course serves as a reality check; founding a sanctuary isn’t for everyone. Some graduates channel their passion differently, like the group that began raising funds for their local shelter through opera performances.
And so begins my journey: armed with a pipe dream, propelled by passion, but admittedly short on experience in both animal welfare and sanctuary operations. Over the next three months, I’ll immerse myself in thought experiments about running a shelter, complete assignments to create a hypothetical facility, visit an actual sanctuary to observe its operations, and embark on a path of deep reflection to determine if I’m truly suited for this calling.
Perhaps I lack the experience of seasoned animal welfare professionals, but I hope that through education and learning from those who’ve gone before me, I can find my own path to making a difference in these dogs’ lives.
This is Part I of my journey through Best Friends Animal Society‘s Running A Lifesaving Sanctuary Certification program.