Emmylou Harris keeps upping the ante of her support for Best Friends. Having already performed at the 2008 Lint Roller, a gala event in Hollywood benefiting Best Friends’ Los Angeles programs, the music legend is now participating in our Give the Gift program, which encourages members and non-members alike to purchase a Best Friends membership for their friends, family, coworkers … whomever.

As part of the Best Friends 25th anniversary celebration, the goal of Give the Gift is to double our membership by the end of this year.

A 12-time Grammy Award winner and a crossover legend in the world of country and rock music, Harris is quickly gaining luminary status in the world of animal welfare as well. She runs her own small sanctuary, called Bonaparte’s Retreat, in the backyard of her Nashville home. As a testimony to all the hard work she does on behalf of animals, the Massachusetts SPCA recently bestowed Harris with its highest honor, the annual George T. Angell Humanitarian Award.

Read more about her illustrious history of saving animals and supporting animal welfare.
Harris is giving the gift of Best Friends membership to Dr. Terry Brockman, veterinarian at the Richland Animal Clinic in Nashville. Dr. Brockman provides medical care for the dogs at Bonaparte’s Retreat, and was with Harris’ beloved dog Bonaparte in his final hours. “I’ve always had a soft spot for Dr. Brockman, because she took care of my baby,” Harris says.

As part of her membership, Dr. Brockman will receive the bimonthly Best Friends magazine, of which Emmylou is a fan.

“I love Best Friends magazine because it’s full of good news,” she says. This sentiment is in line with how Harris feels about Best Friends in general. “When you get down and depressed about the plight of animals in your community and in the world, it’s a comfort to know Best Friends is there.”

Last summer, Harris reached out to Best Friends for help in modifying the behavior of Gunnar, a painfully shy dog she had rescued from euthanasia at a Nashville shelter. With National Geographic Channel’s film crew in tow, Best Friends behaviorist Sherry Woodard flew to Nashville and spent a few days working with Gunnar. The story of that visit will appear in the final episode of the upcoming season of “DogTown.” Harris makes a cameo appearance in the episode.

Photos by Molly Wald