For Stray Rescue and/or NatGeo's "Dogtown" fans.Archived Message
Posted by Wyld_Roze on June 7, 2011, 1:16 am
John Garcia today become a St. Louisan! He is here! by Stray Rescue of St. Louis on Monday, June 6, 2011 at 8:25pm
My dear friend for many years finally got out of the desert of Utah, he will be Director of Operations. He is excited to be part of the Stray Rescue Family. His wife Mackenzie is a blessing bonus! He was also the star of Nat Geo's "DOGTOWN" so his face is probably familiar. He save Vick's dogs! Love him much and his wife. Here is his old bio. Randy
John Garcia, Dogtown Co-Manager
John Garcia is a dog trainer and co-manager of Dogtown at Best Friends. He believes that every dog deserves a second chance, and there the shy, the fearful, and even the recalcitrant ones who have been through rough times. He instills trust in his students and shows them that humans can be their friends.
A native Utah, John grew up near Best Friends and he has been working with the sanctuary dogs since 1999. One of the first staff to volunteer at Tylertown, where Best Friends staged its rescue area near New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, John worked relentlessly to save and care for the stray and abandoned dogs who were victims of the 2005 disaster.
In early 2008, 22 pit bulls who had suffered at the hands of Michael Vick in his Bad Newz Kennels dog fighting operation came to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. As part of his dog training job, John began teaching them living techniques that were sorely missing from their daily routines. John worked with all the dogs, but became very involved with Georgia (pictured with John), whose teeth had been removed so she couldn't harm male dogs during forced breeding.
Georgia and John appeared on the front page of the New York Times in early February 2008, spotlighting Best Friends DogTown, which brought John and Georgia Since that time, the pair has gone on to appear as guests on shows such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Larry King Live.
Although John and Georgia have brought the Best Friends message to national TV, John is totally committed to training all the dogs at Best Friends. And he continues to co-manage the real Dogtown at Best Friends.
John and his dog trainer wife, Mckenzie (who also works at Best Friends), live in Kanab with two dogs and a cat. They also take in a foster dog whenever necessary.
By the way, I'm extremely excited over this!!! John Garcia had my dream job at Best Friends, and he and his wife are extremely good at what they do. In fact, it was watching "Dogtown" that made me realize what direction I wanted for my Dog Training Certificate. Having them in STL is fantastic and will be a great opportunity for anyone who gets to work with them, not to mention the benefit for the dogs! Stray Rescue keeps getting better and better!!!
on June 7, 2011, 1:16 am