Tired Dog Ranch
Trip Start
Jun 15, 2009
1
Trip End
Jul 01, 2009
Westfir Oregon, Oregon, United States
Monday, May 11, 2009
I had spent about a week camping at the Tired Dog Ranch on the edge of the Willamette National Forest in the foothills of the Cascades, in Westfir OR, about 35 miles SE of Eugene
New filly
. I had suspected that TDR was a special place before setting foot there, from perusal of the website and the welcoming emails about my reservation, but I was pretty amazed at what I learned about the place while there. TDR is the home for its owners, Amy Jo, Sally, Sam, and Milo, as well as being a kind of resort within a petting zoo, offering lodging in the form of rustic yet modern cabins and yurt, and a meadow that doubles as campground. But it turns out TDR is also one big rescue haven, for all kinds of animals; the current "family" (as Amy Jo puts it) including: 10 horses, 2 mini-donkeys, 6 goats, “umpteen” chickens, 13 ducks, 5 dogs, 30 cats, 2 lovebirds, 2 tortoises, and 9 fish – “all rescued and now home.”Amy Jo described her philosophy: “Every soul deserves food, water, shelter, comfort, companionship, and love; while the four two-leggeds (the owners and kids) are all very different, we share one thing in common: respect, honor, love, and caring for all creatures great and small.” Amy Jo home-schools the children, which she says “offers the young ones more opportunity to spend time with and learn about the animals, which in turn teaches the children so much more about humans.”
The more I found out about TDR, the more curious I became as to how this ranch had evolved
Woods adjoining TDR
. Amy Jo told me that she and Sally had purchased the 18 acres and structures in 2005. The previous owners had run the property as a mountain biking lodging and camping facility. Amy Jo and Sally originally had no intention of moving from nearby Eugene “out here” to the ranch, but one day Sally drove to Oakridge to help her mom in her real estate business and heard about this unusual and beautiful property for sale. Sally’s mom later told Amy Jo to NOT look at the flyer for the property, saying, "Don't look at it unless you are ready to move, Amy Jo…this property is YOU." Of course Amy Jo then had to see it, and “the rest is history.” The same day that they had adopted Xander, the deaf Great Dane (Deaf Dane Rescue, Inc., now located in Oakridge to be closer to TDR), they looked at the property for the first time. “Six months later,” says Amy Jo, “we were sipping coffee from a deck staring straight into Willamette National Forest.”From the beginning, they had no plans for the property except for overnight lodgers.Then Amy Jo's history in veterinary medicine (her father was a world-renowned veterinary ophthalmologist) started rising to the surface, as the animals started arriving. The need for an animal sanctuary, more for the extremely unwanted and undesirable animals--deaf, blind, injured, lame, extremely old, etc.--became apparent
Xander, the rescued daf great dane
. As Amy Jo put it, “Out in Timbuktu, it is not so easy to rush an animal to the veterinarian every time you hear a cough or see a scratch.”TDR is not a nonprofit (501[c]3), but they accept donations of cash and/or items for the animals. Income from rental dwellings and campground supports the lives of the animals for whom TDR provides a home. TDR has annual retreats that also support animals, such as the Rescues Only Camp-Out, where people from all over the West Coast join with their rescue horses and their families. TDR is affiliated and involved with other rescues and helps them whenever possible--rehabilitating, fostering, adopting, etc. These include Strawberry Mountain Mustangs, Emerald Valley Equine Assistance, Feline Assistance Network, and Deaf Dane Rescue Inc. The Humane Society has at times played a role in TDR’s care and provision for its rescue animals; Amy Jo recalled that earlier this summer, she worked side-by-side with Scott, a Humane Society employee who was organizing the donation of hay from local farmers. “I got about four tons of the most beautiful timothy hay, and Scott helped load it on the trailer. He was a sweetheart!”
Guests can (of course) bring their animals when they stay. There are stables for horses, and guests’ dogs are welcome to hang out with the friendly resident pooches
One of the TDR cabins
. I can attest that the resident rescue cats tolerate strange dogs well. Amy Jo noted that if a guest is an animal-lover, but does not have an animal companion, “We are here to guide you through our sanctuary so you can spend time with the animals.” She finds that even some people who are afraid of animals -- dogs and horses especially -- come to TDR for a stay and ultimately, through no formal efforts on the part of anyone, work through their fears, leaving with a new-found connection with their previous fear.Resources:TDR Web page: http://www.tireddogranch.com/
Blog = www.tireddogranch.com/site
