KANAB — Dan Fishbein is the first to say he doesn’t always pay attention when he goes for a walk.

It was a good thing, then, that Moogan, the former, nearly 100% blind pit bull mix who lives at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, was paying attention, especially when out for a walk with Fishbein one spring morning.

“I was just walking — some people might say I can be a little flighty — when Moogan started pulling me in a different direction. He’s not a tow truck, so I knew something was up,” Fishbein said. “When we got a little further away, just where I was about to walk… right where my foot was going to go, I saw a rattlesnake. I tell you, when I sat down, I gave it a lot of treats.”

Boasting 3,000 acres of land, the sanctuary offers many walking and hiking trails for its four-legged guests and two-legged walkers. Fishbein had been volunteering at Best Friends since he and his wife, Susan, moved to Utah in 2018, so he was familiar with the trails. Originally from Chicago, he doesn’t exactly know about rattlesnakes, but after living in the Denver area and hiking in the Rocky Mountains, he understands everything he needs to know.

So basically it is better to stay away from them. Period.

So, not quite expecting to see a rattlesnake on his and Moogan’s walk, he walked as he always did, just looking and thinking about whatever was there. It’s a good thing he chose to spend four mornings a week with the dogs, especially Moogan. The 11-year-old boy, who was completely blind in one eye and thought to be blind in the other, saved him some pain.

“See, I love dogs. People… the jury’s still out on them,” Fishbein said. “It works because this old dog loves people. The jury is still out on other dogs for him. We get along fine, even better. He’s blind, so you have to let him know you’re there, so I was too.” He was stunned to realize the rattlesnake was there.

“I was absolutely shocked when I saw it. Not to the point of trauma, but enough to make you think, ‘Wow.'”

Since Moogan is a blind dog, his sense of smell and hearing are developed. I’m not surprised he knew the rattlesnake was there.

–Deb Parker, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

Deb Parker, volunteer coordinator for DogsTown, where Moogan lives in Best Friends, wasn’t surprised. There was once a volunteer who was bitten by a baby rattlesnake, but she had never heard of any of the 400 dogs at Best Friends being bitten or taking their walkers away from the rattlesnake while out for a walk. But he knew that if a dog was going to save Fishbein from the rattlesnake’s path, it would make sense for it to be Moogan.

“Moogan loves Dan. Dan loves Moogan. Moogan knows Dan,” Parker said. “Moogan is a blind dog, so he has a developed sense of smell and hearing. I’m not surprised he knew the rattlesnake was there. He likes people – I can’t stress this enough – and he likes to be walked. I know what’s around.”

The rattlesnake excitement isn’t over, so Fishbein spends his time away from the shelter talking about Moogan and other dogs at Best Friends. He’s not against cats, but he loves dogs and wants them all to have a good home. He’d love to take Moogan with him, but firstly, “I’m 70, so I’m old” and secondly, he already has a dog – Mary Jane – that he and Susan keep.

To say Fishbein and his wife loved Mary Jane would be an understatement. He’s a beagle and is pretty close to taking over the house. There are dog beds everywhere and of course a crate; and as a digger, he dug a hole in the backyard so large that Fishbein called it his apartment. They even leave the Hallmark Channel on for him when they leave the house.

No one believes Moogan would put up with a dog like that, so he stays at Best Friends and waits for his favorite walker to arrive. Maybe interest will lead to Moogan and some other older dogs being adopted. If that were the case, encountering that rattlesnake would have been worth it all.

“Despite all the attention, I had a dream of going to New York to appear on ‘The Today Show,'” Fishbein said. “But I’m happy for Moogan. He’s available for adoption, too. Look, almost everyone loves dogs. Dogs love everyone. I hope he finds a home soon.”