Painted Paws for Veterans

Painted Paws for Veterans needs to relocate. This past year we’ve really struggled with the decision. It comes after a long battle with the county and improvements needed to keep our dogs safe.

The county will not make any improvements to the road or hill that leads to the ranch to prevent a repeat event on continued waterflow onto the ranch. This is because it is a private road.

Sadly, the last weather event that they are calling a 20-year event, showed us all of what could really happen here. The ranch was like a pinball machine with all our cottages. While the house was not battered in any way, the buildings and yards were. The Ranch filled with animal waste, trash and other debris from the properties above, leaving toxic weeds and plants to grow in the dog areas.

Those of you that have supported us over many years know how much of a fight this has been in the past. Legal just gave us the news this week about the county and the fight we’ll have moving forward. The cost of legal will be more than relocating Painted Paws and our dogs to a safer, more sustainable property.

We’ve had several of our dogs get sick over this summer from the plants that washed in back in June. Dogs naturally eat weeds and plants, not because they are sick, but because they like to. This is why we try and keep our yards cleared of weeds. That 20-year event caused our ranch to be covered in sticker weeds and nightshade plants. Livestock ranches are normally not affected by this because livestock kills just about anything from growing. But that is different for canines or other domesticated animals.

Numerous plant species have "sticker weed" designations. These plants, known as sandburs or buffelgrass, are members of the Cenchrus genus, a poisonous plant species. Most sandburs are native to the Americas and, left unchecked, can cause intestinal bleeding, convulsions and eventually death.

What about nightshade?

Although the berries might be the most tempting part of deadly nightshade, all parts of this plant are poisonous if ingested. It causes a range of symptoms including blurred vision, rash, headaches, slurred speech, hallucinations, convulsions and eventually death for both animals and humans.

We also have mushrooms from hell growing all over now. We shared photos of the mushrooms in earlier posts this summer. I am posting photos of the nightshade plants. They are growing back into the yards again. Moisture means more plants and the seeds are everywhere.

The costs to improve the roads on our own and clean up all that’s washed onto the ranch, is three times more than relocating to a safer property. We will never be able to prevent the nightshade plants from regrowing now. And more of them will wash into the property each year.

Moving all our cottages and dogs, that is the challenge. Sadly, this is a situation that must be done now rather than later. When spring brings new rains and the moisture starts building again, the weeds will all come back even bigger than before.

This is a huge undertaking that we did not expect to happen. It is why we continued with our projects here. Legal felt they would win in this fight, but they didn’t. We have the choice to continue the fight at $400/hr or relocate for the safety of our dogs. Legal stated it could be 100k or more moving forward.

After weighing all the expenses and challenges, we must relocate the Painted Paws Ranch and our animals. If it were just the house and us, this would not be a discussion. But it’s about the dogs and two cats. Yes, Onyx and Sox are going with us. They’ve chosen to be here with all these dogs, so they are part of Painted Paws too and just as important. No one gets left behind.

Our state license for the Ranch is good through February 2024. The license doesn’t transfer to a new address, so we would have to pay double to have a dual license if we don’t relocate by then. We did this moving to this ranch 8 years ago, but the license fees have doubled since then.

This is a huge fundraiser to relocate the Painted Paws Ranch. It is only for moving dogs and our two TNR cats to a safer place. Now we know people are asking, why take the cottages, just build new ones. The difference is $300k vs $30k, 27 buildings and two large kennels. We’ve invested over $300k in our cottage setup for our dogs to include the two big kennels and three new cottages we added this year. Moving the cottages that we already have for the dogs is the best financial decision for relocating. The current cottages are already finished inside and wired for electricity.

When we heard the news, we contacted moving companies to compare pricing. Making friends with the guy that delivered our cottages when purchased was one of the best things I’ve ever done. Fuel, permits, and to reset the cottages is all included for the $30k.

Once moved, this ranch will go up for sale as a normal family home again. We hope to recover all the expenses on the personal side of a second mortgage and relocation for us humans too. This move is going to break the bank for Sara and I. We’ll be spending our retirement to ensure our dogs are safe and always have a home and prevent any future harm to them. We know they are not adoptable and will never have an opportunity for a normal life for various reasons. No fault of their own. We are their family and safety net. A yes, is a lifetime yes here with us. We will never choose ourselves over them.

The cost is $1,000 to move each cottage, Each cottage houses 2-3 dogs. If you sponsor a cottage, your name will be added to that cottage for life. All donor names will be added to the new ranch to show the world how our village came together to save over 70 unadoptable dogs and 2 cats.

Our realtor is now looking for the right property for us to start moving to. We hope to be moved by the end of Jan 2024 before the next rains fall.

Ty and Sara Warrick