Manchas arrived at The Ranch six years ago as a five-month old pup. He and his five litter mates had been rescued when they were only a few weeks old after being thrown into a ditch. Their hero, who rescued them, cared for them for several months and showed them nothing but love.

Imagine our surprise when we arrived at The Ranch four months ago only to find a beautiful, young, apparently purebred golden retriever in the play yard. Why would anyone abandon such an easily adoptable dog? We went into the run thinking maybe there was something off with his behavior or a physical issue but none could be found.

We are happy to announce that we have a new employee. Our volunteer, Sasha, has agreed to officially work for us on weekends when we’re short staffed. Sasha has been volunteering with us the past eight months and has already become an incredible member of our team.

On the afternoon of June 4th, I started receiving calls that there was a fire near The Ranch. I messaged The Ranch board, a few volunteers and the staff and headed that way. It was an extremely hot and windy day which made me nervous. I soon realized the Libramiento was closed due to the fire, so I headed through Chapala.

We are so fortunate to have Nate recently join our volunteer corps! Nate arrived in our area about five months ago and immediately expressed an interest in volunteering. Nate is Sasha’s husband and he often comes with her when she’s working. He has both a huge heart and a strong back!

Yoshi is a beautiful adult Shepherd mix who just loves to have fun! He is both elegant and silly. How is that possible? Well, he's got many distinguished traits of the Shepherd breed. Yoshi has a quick, adept mind, an agile physique that's on the large side; a sweet, intelligent face; and gorgeous looks.

Tortillo, a senior pug, was found in a shop in San Nicolas by Jim and Kathy McLeod. He was malnourished, incontinent, and in terrible shape from being neglected. Jim and Kathy had a good understanding of pugs’ needs from having had other pugs in the past.

Of course we love all of our adoptions! There is no better feeling in rescue work than to see one of your much loved dogs leave the Ranch for a happy, forever home. But few adoptions have been as special to me as when our Brody found his home three years ago.

“Leo the Love Sponge,” as one of our volunteers fondly refers to him, is a social, sweet, smart, athletic boy. Leo loves to go for walks, and he makes it a pleasure to walk him: he bounces around with sheer joy, but never pulls. What a happy dog! Leo is a nice medium size, so his athleticism is not overwhelming.

Sisters Rosemary and Sandy moved to Lakeside about a year ago. Very soon after their arrival, they asked me about volunteering at The Ranch. They came over for several months, but soon realized that the day-to-day Ranch chores weren’t their thing but they still wanted to help. They asked about going on our soup rotation. Of course we said yes!

Fundraisers are a necessity for nearly all non-profits. Not only are the extra funds always needed but also they raise awareness of the organization and our mission. But coming up for unique ideas for fundraisers is a challenge and we’re constantly looking for something unique and fun.

In May we initiated our Matching Funds campaign, which has become a bit of a tradition for us at The Ranch. We had a donor who offered to donate $10,000 USD if we could raise the same amount of money.

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.

At The Ranch this past October, we were all sorry to lose Carolyn Cothran. She decided to resign from her position as co-manager of The Ranch. Carolyn has been with us six years and The Ranch has only benefitted from her enthusiasm, passion for animals and creativity. But change is inevitable.

True to her name, Grace is an elegant beauty, inside and out! She has beautiful amber colored eyes, a perpetually wagging tail, and white speckled mittens that add to her lovely personality. Her pretty chocolatey-golden coat changes hue in different lighting, and she always has a happy smile on her face!

Most of our Ranch Hands live in the Lakeside area and come to The Ranch year round. Others, however, come to help us while they’re on vacationing in the area. One of those is Karen Parish.

I am originally from New York. I attended Fairfield University in Connecticut and never left! I have been long divorced and raised my family in Madison CT. My daughter and 2 grandchildren are in Madison and my son and his new wife in St.Croix in the US Virgin Islands. I am retired from a career in IT Project Management.

I moved to Ajijic from the San Francisco Bay Area in October 2021. I worked for 23 years as a paralegal in immigration law. I’ve always been a bleeding heart, especially when it comes to animals. One of my foremost goals in retiring and moving to Mexico was to volunteer at a rescue.

When The Ranch first began our program of sending dogs to homes in the US and Canada, one of the first rescue partners we worked with was Street Dog Hero which is based in Bend, OR. The organization was founded by Marianne Cox who loves dogs and travel. One of her favorite locations to vacation with her family is Mexico. The condition of street dogs in our country broke her heart so she made the decision to help as many as possible.

I met my best friend recently, Mickey, my lab mix sweetheart. I always wanted to adopt a dog; a rescue dog for sure. I also knew it was a big responsibility, so I waited years to do it and recently felt it was time. I have been browsing Petfinder over the last year, serious looking to adopt.