The Ups and Downs

One of our favorite chores at the end of each year is to total up the numbers of adoptions we had for that year. It’s always satisfying to see the names of so many dogs that are now living their best life thanks to The Ranch. For me personally, I’ve been part of The Ranch team for nearly 10 years and every year our adoption numbers have crept up. In 2021, we homed over 500 dogs. But change is inevitable. In 2022 our adoption total was down to 278.

To be honest, we weren’t surprised by this outcome. Throughout the year, our rescue partners in the US and Canada have told us adoptions were slow. In many states, animal shelters were filled up and sadly euthanasias were up in areas without successful spay/neuter programs. It seems that dogs who were adopted during Covid, were sometimes being returned when their owners returned to work. Also, the difficult economy resulted in many having to return much loved pets because of financial constraints.

This slow down in adoptions has affected all of us at The Ranch. It’s sad for us to see our favorite dogs, who we know would make excellent companions, languish at the shelter. We have had to pretty much cease adding dogs to our wait list as it was just getting too long. But as always, our Ranch volunteers have responded to this challenge. We’ve had an increase in volunteers walking and socializing the dogs. When The Ranch is overcrowded, the dogs start experiencing stress. So every walk they take with a volunteer, every minute they spend away from their runs, helps these dogs relax and recharge.

One of the many things I’ve learned about rescue, is that everything is cyclical. All of us at The Ranch know how to care for our dogs and we are continuing to do what we do best……loving, socializing and giving these dogs the best life they can have in a rescue until it’s time for them to be placed in their forever home.