We're Off to Dog Town! Our Best Friends Radio Tour Continues!
Do you want to have a sleepover with new dog friends, train bunches of puppies, learn dog massage, and hike with a dog in one of the most beautiful canyons in the world... All in one day! We're off to Dog Town! Remember Dog Town the hit TV series on Nat. Geo? Our Radio Tour of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary continues with Holly Curtis the first human face you'll meet there. She's the Dogtown Receptioninst and Official Dog Jogger, who has all the scoop on the Pawsome dogs, what really goes on there and how we can meet them in person... and maybe take one home. :) Now this is a Real Super Smiley Adventure! Woof!
BIO:
Holly Curtis left a career in public broadcasting to join Best Friends Animal Society’s staff in 2005. For 15 years prior to joining Best Friends, Holly was a producer/director specializing in public affairs at the PBS affiliate KUED-TV Channel 7 in Salt City. She earned a bachelor of arts in journalism from San Jose State University in California and started her career as an environmental reporter at the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Holly’s introduction to Best Friends was with a tour of Best Friends Animal Society’s sanctuary where she was overwhelmed with the extraordinary animals, the canyon, and level of commitment of the staff.
Holly’s first job at the sanctuary was giving tours to share the Best Friends experience with others. While working at the Welcome Center, she started to run on her lunch hour with the rescued dogs who reside in “Dogtown,” the area of the sanctuary dedicated to canines. The Dogtown staff would introduce Holly to dogs that needed a little extra attention and exercise.
Then filming for the National Geographic Channel series “DogTown,” which chronicled Best Friend work with dogs started. Holly was recruited to work as a production assistant in the Best Friends video department during that time. She continued her volunteer work by running sanctuary dogs on her lunch hour.
By the time the show ended, and work for the video crew slowed down a bit, it was obvious to everyone at Best Friends that Holly had gone to the dogs.
“Once you been in Dogtown, it just gets under your skin. Every day is different and there are always a lot going on, and you are with dogs,” Holly said. So when there was an opening available, Holly was invited to join the Dogtown staff as a receptionist.
In addition to her receptionist duties, Holly continued to run dogs and enjoys her unofficial title of “designated dog jogger.” Many of the dogs Holly started running with years ago have been adopted. The ones that are still here love the opportunity to have a change in routine and scenery. The dogs allow Holly to go at her slower two-legged ‘human’ pace and only pull on the leash when they see a lizard, or a herd of deer nearby.
When Holly is not at work she gets a lot of smiles, and a few stares, when she runs her own three dogs by attaching their leashes to her belt with carabineers. She maintains the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary dogs behave better on runs than her own dogs and enjoys the special bond she develops with them whenever they hit the road.