Dogs at an animal sanctuary in southern Utah had a paw-sitively delightful Christmas morning as they picked out presents from Santa’s sleigh.

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, just north of the Arizona border, hosted a “Santa Sleigh” Christmas morning for dogs at the shelter. The shelter says the pups “joyfully picked out toys” from a sleigh “decked out in holiday trimmings and loaded with more than 500 toys” donated by the non-profit’s corporate partner, Pet Supplies Plus and Blue Buffalo.

Video footage shared by Best Friends shows dozens of dogs sniffing around for the best presents, which included ropes, balls and squeaky toys. The shelter dogs also got cuddles and treats from Best Friends volunteers and staff members.

Advertisement

Dozens of shelter dogs receive toys from ‘Santa Sleigh’

Dozens of dogs at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah picked out gifts from “Santa Sleigh.”

‘Meaningful tradition’

Best Friends Animal Society CEO Julie Castle said in a statement that the event “is a truly meaningful tradition at Best Friends.”

“It gives the Sanctuary dogs a taste of home until they find loving families of their own,” Castle said. “It also makes our caregivers happy to provide this special experience for the dogs they care for every day.”

The sleigh made the rounds to more than a dozen locations at the Sanctuary’s Dogtown, delighting more than 400 dogs awaiting adoption. Best Friends said the dogs at the sanctuary came from shelters in Utah and across the country.

Dogtown is described as a “place of healing, learning and fun for dogs and puppies.”

Founded in 1984, Best Friends, is a leading animal welfare organization with shelters across the country. The organization aims to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters and make the country no-kill in 2025. The sanctuary, meanwhile, is the largest of its kind in the U.S., according to Best Friends website and is “tucked into the majestic canyons of southern Utah.”

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.

ST. GEORGE, Utah — When most Utahns hear about a big prize above a billion dollars, they’re out of luck. That is unless they live in southern Utah with a 30-minute drive from Arizona.

“I’m from St. George, Utah and I have the winning tickets,” Cindy Gaines yelled waving her Mega Millions tickets.

Gaines runs Discount Plumbing with her husband Josh in St. George, though she admits that doesn’t make them rich.

“It keeps us going and we pride ourselves on not being a big corporation,” she said. “But when we win, we’re going to reinvest the money in our company, keep our prices down and keep our customers happy. “

What Gaines wants to win is the Mega Millions national lottery prize being drawn on Friday night which will be somewhere above $1.2 billion.

While national lotteries aren’t legal in Utah, people in southern Utah are willing to drive 30 minutes across the state line to Arizona – where Mega Millions can be played.

St. George resident Brian Cram was one of them and said his reason for chasing a billion-dollar dream is to not worry about finances.

“I mean obviously there’s house and cars and being able to get those things when you want,” said Cram. “But ultimately, yeah, it’s just you, your friends, your family saying, ‘Hey, you’re done worrying about those kind of things.’”

The Eagles Landing truck stop is the first place people driving down the freeway from Southern Utah can get to where the Arizona Lottery can be played.

But it wasn’t just people from Utah who were from out of state.

“I’m coming from Las Vegas!” exclaimed Elinor Gacae. “You know, there’s no lottery over there so I just needed to make sure I get some lottery tickets.”

If nobody wins on Friday night, then at least another $100 million will be added to the prize, making it at least $1.3 to $1.4 billion for the next draw on Tuesday.

After a Utah man accidentally triggered an avalanche while riding a snowmobile on Christmas Eve, he was able to rescue his brother and return to safety. 

The unidentified pair of brothers and their father were snowmobiling in the Steep Hollow area of the Logan Canyon, a series of hiking trails in Cache County, Utah. The younger brother was riding across a slope when he triggered the avalanche, the Utah Avalanche Center said in a news release. 

The younger brother saw the snow ripple below and around his sled and was able to ride off the avalanche, but watched as it “swept up and carried his older brother,” who had not been on his snowmobile at the time of the incident, the UAC said. The avalanche carried the older brother and his snowmobile about 100 yards and through a group of trees, partially burying the machine and completely burying the older brother. 

The brothers’ father was stuck below the avalanche, but climbed up to try to search for his sons. He was hampered by snow that “was deep and completely unsupportable,” and became trapped up to his waist. 

The younger brother was able to get close enough to where his older brother was trapped to see “a couple of fingers” sticking out of the snow. The younger brother was able to dig him out of the drifts. 

The two brothers doubled up on one snowmobile and rode out of the area. Their father was able to get out of the snow and ride out as well. 

The older brother broke a leg in the incident, according to the UAC. The center said that on Dec. 26, its staff went to the scene of the accident and recovered the older brother’s “bent-up and broken snowmobile” and the airbag had deployed when he was caught in the avalanche. 

“The damage to the sled, the airbag, and the rider was caused by all being dragged violently through a group of trees by the avalanche,” the UAC said. 

The UAC warned that similar avalanche conditions “are widespread in the area and that the danger will be rising across the mountains of Northern Utah and Southeast Idaho as we head into the weekend.” 

Avalanches can occur on any steep slope, given the right conditions, according to the National Weather Service. Warning signs include cracks forming in the snow around a person’s feet or skis, a feeling of hollow ground, a “whumping” sound while walking, or surface patterns made by strong winds. Heavy snowfall or rain, or significant warming in recent days, could also be a warning sign for an avalanche, according to the NWS. 

To stay safe in case of an avalanche, the NWS recommends following advisories from regional avalanche centers, who will have up-to-date local information. Those going out in the snow should bring a transceiver so they can be found if they are buried in the snow, a shovel so they can help dig if someone is trapped, and a probe that can help locate someone covered by snow.