Yreka Rescue Ranch, began as a haven for abandoned, abused and neglected dogs that was started on a hillside ranch in Siskiyou County outside the Montague/Yreka area in 1993. It was the dream of those concerned to “speak for those who cannot speak for themselves”. The original founders invested their savings and energy in establishing a special place where dogs would be cared for and, if possible, re-homed to a forever loving home. No dog would ever be euthanized, but if not adopted, would remain at the ranch for the term of natural life.
From these humble and inspired beginnings, Rescue Ranch grew and has been supported through the generous donations of compassionate people in the surrounding community and beyond. This support and the determined, willing, support of thousands of volunteer hours, has seen hundreds of dogs saved and a steady increase in the lives of dogs and humans touched in a positive way simply by passing through the Rescue Ranch community of caring people.
Part of the original dream for the Ranch was to establish an up-to- date facility closer to Yreka. In 2002, the LeBaron family generously donated several acres of land on Oberlin Road within a mile of Yreka. A facility construction grant from the Thornton S. and Katrina D. Glide Foundation and many fundraising events and community donations provided the funding foundation necessary for the dream to become reality. Due the dedication of the volunteer board members and dozens of caring Siskiyou County and Rogue Valley residents and groups the dream took physical form and in 2009 we were able to open the doors to the public.
Our philosophy at Rescue Ranch for accomplishing our goals of building a community that supports our mission of saving lives is to grow our programs and facility sustainably. From our humble beginnings, when we opened our doors in 2009 we started with XX kennels. In 2011 we added additional kennels in order to start a dog boarding program. The total income generated from the boarding program is used to help offset shelter operation costs such as heating and cooling, electricity, and staff payroll. In 2014 we expanded our shelter kennel space again to accommodate four additional large dog kennels and space for 8-10 small dogs.
Since 2009, we have found forever homes for over 650 dogs, through steadily increasing our adoption and placement rates. We have expanded our collaboration with other no-kill shelters in California and Oregon and developed relationships with individuals and organizations that train shelter dogs for service work. We have also successfully launched a foster program for dogs and puppies that saves dogs lives and allows more families in our community to participate that may not be able to volunteer at the shelter. In 2013 we accomplished 105 successful adoptions, 168 in 2014 and in 2015 we placed 193 dogs.
We participate in many community events in Siskiyou County and have many fundraising events to publicize the needs of the dogs. We have a very dedicated and expanding group of volunteers, averaging 1,100 hours per month. Volunteer hours are provided by individual community members, high school seniors for senior projects school groups and scout troops. We provide shelter and homes for dogs primarily from city and county facilities in Siskiyou County, none of which are no-kill facilities. We have also received transfer dogs from the Manteca and Fresno animal shelters in California, and from facilities and individual rescue organizations in southern Oregon.
Siskiyou County is similar to many other rural counties, in that there are limited county resources to assist people with their pets or provide humane education and outreach through county programs. In addition there is very limited access to veterinary services and low-cost spay/neuter facilities and financial assistance for limited income community members for spay/neuter programs for their pets are limited. In addition, a high proportion of our residents’ income is at or below poverty level (21%) and our most recent (February 2015) employment statistics indicate a 12.4% unemployment rate in the county. Studies conducted by humane organizations have shown a link between lower income and lower rates of spay and neuter of companion animals, and in many cases those dogs in need of medical care are surrendered due to the inability of the family to cover veterinary expenses.
The board, staff and volunteers at Rescue Ranch believe we have met our initial goals of providing a healthy and safe environment for lost and abandoned dogs until the time we can find caring and loving adopting families. As we have grown, we have learned what is working and what still needs to be done. As was our intent, our facility was designed primarily with the health and welfare of the dogs in our care as our first priority. As we have grown and our community is seeking for us to provide more services we have found we need space for people too. We also have understood since our beginnings that low cost veterinary services, including spay/neuter is one the primary avenues to help people and their pets and lower the number of unwanted dogs and the euthanasia of healthy adoptable dogs.
With our initial goals for Rescue Ranch met we have now set new goals for ourselves. Keeping in mind that our goals our built on a foundation of building a community that supports our mission of saving lives, while growing our programs and facility sustainably. We have set ourselves a goal in the next three years of having a place where we can provide a space for the people as well as the dogs in our community. Our vision is a facility that will house a space for humane education and community programs, and low cost veterinary services, providing spay/neuter and vaccinations.
In order to reach our vision and meet our goals we have designed a program that will be implemented in a sustainable step wise fashion. The first phase is the construction of a building that will ultimately provide a space for both the education center and eventually the veterinary clinic. The second phase of the project will be completion of the interior space for our community to gather for programs and companionship. We envision programs that support humane education for youth, indoor space for training dogs and their people, and a space for community members to gather and experience the healing power of time well spent with a dog. The third and final stage of this project will be the installation of the low cost basic veterinary clinic, with an emphasis and outreach of providing spay/neuter services.
At Rescue Ranch we believe that all of us working together can support quality lives for our companion animals and by those efforts improve the quality of life for all in our communities.
