Straying down my Mexican memory lane to the moment in 2016 when I visited The Ranch and asked Syd which dogs had been there the longest. She pointed to a white blur, saying he's been here 5 years.

Keeping over a 100 dogs happy and healthy requires a big commitment. Not just from the amazing volunteers who come out and walk and socialize our dogs, but also from our entire staff.

“Let’s get a dog,” he said. “It’ll be fun,” he said. That is what my husband, Michael, said to me three months after we married 27 years ago. Prior to that, I had only had cats. I was terrified! I knew nothing about dogs and was quite afraid of them. Prior to that, I only really remember being bitten by one as a kid. So what does everyone in this position do? I hit the internet and learned all I could possibly learn about dogs.

We have a wonderful staff. They work hard every single day to keep our dogs safe, healthy and happy. Martin has been with us over 20 years. Jen has been with us over 3 years and takes the lead. Juan has been with us over a year. He is our assistant and loves the dogs. We also have a temporary guy named Victor who does so much construction work for us.

March Was a Great Month

In the month of March, we sent 25 dogs north of the border for a forever home and we had 10 local adoptions.

Scarlet, what a great, sweet Husky Mix. This playful girl is about a year old and full of fun loving energy. She likes to hang with people and walk on her leash. She is smart and likes the ball. She would make a terrific companion for a family or an active person

Tim and I fell in love with our foster dog, Rabano, almost right away.

Cari LeClair, the founder of Bone Voyage, received an incredible gift. A donor from the U.S. gave her the use of a great big red bus to transport rescue dogs from Mexico into the States.

There are many moving parts to getting dogs flown north of the border. The details are staggering and each trip is different. We are fortunate to have many people who are experienced, brave and committed to helping us. None more so than Arturo Hermosillo.

Baker was one of eight black female pups found on the streets of Jocotepec with their mother. Even bursting at the seams with dogs, The Ranch agreed to take these 4-month old pups last August.

Help support The Ranch by purchasing our great t-shirts and dog collars.

A multitude of dogs pass through our Ranch gate every year and we really do love them all. But for me, the most memorable ones are those that came in with only fear and distrust of humans, yet transformed into loving happy dogs. And all it took is the love, patience and tenderness of our Ranch hands.

I first arrived in Ajijic in May of 2013. I had been able to achieve my goals to retire at 55 years of age and my husband, Matt, and I fancied ourselves as being nomads for the past year.

Lake Chapala is full of amazing and talented people. Lucky for us some volunteer at The Ranch. As a result, we are so much the better for it.

It really does take a village to run The Ranch well. So many people give a lot of their time and energy to help us adopt out as many dogs as we do. Today, we want to recognize Alyse Brown. She comes out often on Wednesdays and spends time with each and every dog and works very hard to write compelling and loving bios.

Our Ranch dog of the Month is Espinaca. This lovely girl showed up in our play yard one day last November with five young puppies. Even though this had to be a scary experience for them, mom and all the puppies were happy and playful from day one. Espinaca was the best mom to her babies and they all grew up healthy and beautiful.

I jokingly call what I do at The Ranch as writing Tinder Profiles (an American networking and online dating app) but for dogs! I go to The Ranch once a week or so and spend time with the dogs. You have no idea the range of personalities they can have.

I came down to Ajijic in October, 2019 for 3 weeks to do my final "walk around" before my big move the following spring. I went out to The Ranch to volunteer and I fell in love.

We have been busy loving life with our new family member Rylee and working a lot too. We LOVE her.

Recently The Ranch has been inundated with litters of puppies, some have blue eyes. It made me ask myself what breeds have blue eyes?