← Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset
Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset
Big Dog Ranch Rescue: Inside America’s Largest Cage-Free Dog Rescue
00:45:54
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- [00:01]
A
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B
Why I love Florida. Governor DeSantis was here about what, maybe a month ago, signing two bills.
- [00:33]
C
Two bills, two very important anti cruelty bills. So the big thing with these two important laws, prosecutors, the individual sheriff's departments, to enforce these laws and protect these animals. The amount of abuse that we see, ribs broken with fists, they've been starved to death, they've been kicked, they've been, they've been burned. What still amazes me most is these dogs willingness to forgive and to learn to love again.
- [01:05]
B
This guy's a disruptor. Look at him.
- [01:07]
C
I think he's going home with you.
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B
You going to come home with me?
- [01:09]
C
I think he's in love with you. He's already picked you.
- [01:12]
B
I know, I feel that.
- [01:13]
C
And he wants to go home with you.
- [01:15]
B
Call my wife. We're here at the Big Dog Ranch Rescue and Luxahatchee, Florida, the largest no kill shelter here in the United States of America. What an amazing, amazing thing you've built here.
- [01:34]
C
Well, we can't do enough. They're just so, the need is so great. There are so many incredibly wonderful dogs out there that need home that are either abandoned and starved to death or they end up in overcrowded high kill shelter and being senselessly euthanized. All these puppies that are being born that people don't want because they failed to spay and neuter their pets that are ending up being dumped or in kill shelters. So every day here at Big Dog Ranch Rescue, we fight to save lives. And it is so incredibly overwhelming how many animals need homes. And we just do as much as we can. We're growing every day. We're fighting for each one of these souls and trying to open up in multiple states to make a bigger difference.
- [02:42]
B
It's amazing to me because if you look at the issues out there due to, you know, lack of being spayed and neutered, it creates an overpopulization and these poor animals, they end up getting into no kill shelters. Right. What are some of the reasons, do you think it's a lack of education for dog owners and people in general that's making these decisions to create such an issue.
- [03:05]
C
I think there's a lot of factors. Pretty much the Hispanic culture has grown up believing that if you spay and neuter a dog that it takes away their drive, it takes away their protectiveness, all these falsehoods. So a lot of culture from in the worst areas of overpopulation throughout the United States, Miami Dade areas of Texas, along the border, all of that. It's kind of a cultural thing that people have grown up believing that it ruins the dog, which in case it has no effect on any of that. The other major factor that's happened in the past few years is many people have experienced financial difficulties trying to make ends meet. During the last four years of the Biden administration, dog food was 35% more. Groceries were 40% more. Fuels was 100% more. Rent skyrocketed. People were struggling to put food on the table for their families.
- [04:29]
B
Right.
- [04:30]
C
So being able to spend $600 to spay your dog or $400 to neuter your dog was not an option. So a lot put it off. Therefore accidental letters happen. The third reason for all the homeless dogs overpopulation is corporate has gone into the veterinary world. They figured people love dogs, it's lucrative. And really about five to six major corporations, private equity groups have bought out 60% of all the veterinary clinics throughout our country and about 70% of all the specialty hospitals. Meaning when your dog has a broken leg or something more serious than a normal vet can do, you have to go to a specialty hospital or an emergency clinic for something. 70% are order owned by these corporations, Mars being one of them. Amer event.
- [05:44]
B
Interesting.
- [05:45]
C
So these private equity or corporations that went in and bought out all of these veterinary clinics and specialty hospitals paid a lot of money for them. A lot of people don't want to work for corporate, so they're paying the employees more to stay. That has affected pricing for veterinary care. Spay and neuter pet emergencies. Fixing broken bones to more than double over the past seven years. So what used to be $300 max to go spay a dog or 150 to neuter a dog is now anywhere from six to $800 to spay a dog and over 500 to neuter a dog.
- [06:33]
B
So wow.
- [06:34]
C
It's just extra funds people don't have.
- [06:36]
B
They don't have. Yeah. You know, it's interesting because it's something that, that I guess that perspective isn't something that you would think about on the outside. Right. But you being involved in it every day, see it as, you know, when we were talking off camera and we talked about inflation the last four years and how it's impacted these, these puppies and these dogs, that to me is, that is a tremendous amount of impact. Right. So how have you seen things shifting? Are things starting to shift a little.
- [07:03]
C
Bit and people have more confidence now? I feel like they feel the economy is starting to turn around and they have more confidence. We're starting to see a minute change in owner surrenders because pretty much most people that are owner surrendering their dog because they can't afford it, they're moving, they're moving into a smaller apartment, they're selling their house. Cause they can't afford it. And they're renting. And pet deposits are high, anywhere from 1500 to $3000. And a lot of renters policies don't allow a dog over 30 pounds. So that's our number one, we can't afford the pet deposit. We can't afford to feed our dog. And number two is we can't afford the veterinary care that our dog requires. Based on the prices of veterinary care.
- [08:11]
B
Yeah. Today. Well, they're sweet. I mean I got this beautiful little puppy on me. We got some big ones. We got what blue. We have Atticus. Do you know who else do we have here?
- [08:21]
C
They're by way of Hunter.
- [08:23]
B
Hunter.
- [08:24]
C
So we, these four dogs right here that are sitting here so perfectly well, amazing are because of our trainers. So we train dogs. Not only do we save dogs here at Big Dog Ranch Rescue to the tune of thousands and thousands a year, but our other passion here is giving back to the people that keep our country safe. Our deserving veterans.
- [08:52]
B
Come on.
- [08:53]
C
And so many of these veterans that have suffered traumatic brain injury, ptsd, some of our veterans have no legs. They need help. And what I have found through almost 20 years of rescuing dogs, dogs are healers and they make a tremendous difference in these veterans lives. So many of our veterans that have severe PTSD have told me after we've placed them with a dog that they've completed their training with. These dogs saved my life. Every day. I felt like I wanted off myself every day. I couldn't stop my anxiety and I just didn't want to go on living, living. And these dogs are such healers and they've made such a difference for these veterans, their families, given them that stability to be able to go back out in public, giving them a reason to live. And you know, dogs are incredible healers. People do not realize the gift of a dog and what it could do for you.
- [10:14]
B
You know, I have a buddy that I see in the gym every morning. His name is Denny, and he's an older gentleman. And, you know, he's been in combat and obviously a veteran and has that ptsd. And he's got a little chihuahua named Tony.
- [10:26]
C
Yeah.
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B
And anytime you see Denny, other than the gym, Tony's with him. And you do not go up to Denny when Tony's there. You.
- [10:34]
C
You.
- [10:35]
B
He better know you. And he's. Denny's got to say, hey, Tony, he's cool. And. But, you know, I see it in real life, and I see. I see how our dogs are in our house. You know, my wife is very in tune with dogs. Like, she. She loves. She loves dogs more than people, I think, sometimes. And, you know, those are her. Those are. Those are her moments. Like, she can go to our puppy, our animals and our dogs, and she can have moments and it. And it heals her through anything that she's got that she has going on. And, like, even right now, I'm sitting right here and, you know, this is. I'm. I'm not stressed or anything, but this little guy's making everything, you know, makes you happy. It makes me happy. He's, like, chewing on me. It's cool, you know, I love it. And. And I can feel he's. He's at peace, too.
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C
They just want love.
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B
Yeah.
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C
They will give their whole heart and soul to a human, and they treasure every minute they're with you. And all they want to do is please. They just got to be given that chance. And, you know, it's just amazing to see the difference in some of these veterans that come in here, and their anxiety is so high and they're so afraid for people to even walk up to them. And like you said, your friend Tony, that dog keeps people at their distance because many of these veterans suffer from severe anxiety when people are coming at them. And every single dog is trained specially for that veteran and what their needs. And if they need a dog, we call it cover. And the dog puts space between the people walking up to them and the veteran to give him a sense, you know, they don't know. They still feel this stress when people are coming at him or whether the dog needs to pick up packages or keys off the floor, open and close doors, or turn on and off light switches, or just stop a. An anxiety attack, or wake them up in the middle of the night during traumatic nightmares. And each dog takes about A year to train. And we train them for the first six months for these veterans, just for obedience. And then they're paired up with a veteran. And every veteran reacts different to each dog. So you want to make sure it's the right mental match for that veteran and then finding out that veteran's needs and they're all different. And it's six to nine months of more training for those specific tasks and for the veteran also. So they know how to get the most out of their dog and bond with that dog before it goes home.
- [13:30]
B
I think it's amazing because it's not just a cookie cutter quick thing, right? Okay. You're a veteran, you need some assistance with it, with a beautiful dog. Here you go. Make sure that the dog's personality and the individual's personality match up based on needs and wants and everything like that. I think that's pretty amazing.
- [13:49]
C
And that's why our program here at Big Dog Ranch, our veteran service dog program, is so successful, because we just don't go, here's your dog. It's a trained service dog. We actually work with that veteran on every single one of their needs. And then they go through the end of the training with us to make sure that dog is doing every task they need, waking them up from nightmares, stopping an anxiety attack, whatever they need. So our success rate is like 99.5% success.
- [14:24]
B
That's amazing.
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C
We only had one that, you know, it didn't work out, but this veteran had such severe PTSD that we were concerned for, for the dog.
- [14:36]
B
Oh, wow.
- [14:38]
C
But we've had great success. I think We've trained over 180 successful dogs for our veterans, and we're getting ready to expand that program. When we first started this, and we built this 3,000 square foot building specifically to train these dogs and house these dogs and for our trainers, we had no idea just how great the need was. And there's so many deserving veterans that would benefit from a dog. So we are now building a new, bigger building about five times that size. And thanks to Ken and Elaine Langone, they're sponsoring that building and it's almost complete and we will be able to triple that program.
- [15:27]
B
It's amazing.
- [15:29]
C
And another need we found out, we really didn't know this until a few years ago, is how many soldiers have to give up their dogs to kill shelters when they don't have a family member or wife or parents or friend to keep their dogs when they're deployed. And, you know, with how bad things have gotten, dogs got and so many animals being surrendered, surrendered and shelters throughout the country being so overcrowded. When a soldier surrenders that dog, if he has no other choice to a shelter, it's got a 50% chance of making it out alive. So that is no way to send off our soldiers to serve our country, knowing that their dog had to make the ultimate sacrifice of for them to keep our country safe.
- [16:24]
B
You know, the other thing, too.
- [16:25]
C
So we keep those dogs now for soldiers for no fee. We take care of their medical, we feed them, we care for them just like they were one of our own, and return their dog to them when they come back from their service.
- [16:43]
B
That's beautiful. Because the other side of it too, right? Absolutely. The soldier going to overseas and thinking about what's happening with the dog. The dog's also missing the. Their owner.
- [16:54]
C
Absolutely.
- [16:54]
B
But then that soldier, he or she could be sitting there and that could impact their ability to survive.
- [17:00]
C
Absolutely. And we do. Our soldiers that are serving right now overseas, we send them pictures of their dogs, like every couple weeks, a short little bit quick video. And, you know, that keeps their morale up and their reason to come home. And also we've even got two dogs here for the second time for the Israeli Defense Force that was called back. A soldier that is from Israel, but was called back for service. We've got his dogs right now for the second time. And he just said, every single day, all I can think about is getting back to my dogs and having a reason to come home.
- [17:43]
B
It's amazing. It's amazing. Is there something about, you know, dogs, they're, they're special and, you know, they are part of the family. Right? They are, you know, and it just. That's why, you know, it's funny. And I want the audience to really just follow me on this one, but I'm going somewhere with it. That's why I love Florida, because we live in a state where our governor and even down to local sheriffs, like in Lee county with Carmine Marceno. Yeah, that. That are so against animal cruelty and abuse. They, you know, Governor DeSantis was here about what, maybe a month ago, signing two bills.
- [18:14]
C
Two bills. Two very important. About that, anti cruelty bills. So Governor DeSantis and his wife Casey, love dogs. They know the importance of dogs. Dogs are part of their family. They actually just adopted a dog little over a year ago from us. And it was a puppy. Um, it was unfortunately from a breeder, but the mom had attacked the puppy because she was living in a tiny, tiny pen with eight puppies in Such a crowded environment when the puppies got seven weeks and they're, you know, still trying to nurse off the mom, and they've got full sets of teeth and. And his puppy had some pretty big scars on its back. We had to do some work, and he'll always have a scar. But they chose that puppy to adopt. But they understand rescue and how important each dogs and animals lives are to family. But signing that legislation for troopers law and Dexter's Law were so important because people, you know, judges right now would say, well, animals are property. You really can't make it a felony. Even though, Governor, even though President Trump signed five years ago a law in making it a felony to deliberately abuse an animal, but each state had to adopt that, and each county has to enforce it. So the big thing with these two important laws that Governor DeSantis just signed into law is enforcement. So it's the individual prosecutors, the individual sheriff's departments to enforce these laws and protect these animals. Because seeing it every day is horrific. The abuse, the amount of abuse that we see and we bring these dogs in and they've been, you know, abused. They've been ribs broken with fists, they've been starved to death, they've been kicked, they've been burned. All of the different horrific things we experience here every day. What still amazes me most is these dogs willingness to forgive and to learn to love again. And many of them come in and their head's in a corner. They just don't want to be abused again. And they're just trying to be statues and be still. But with the love and care they get here, eventually that goes away, and they forgive and they learn to love again. And I don't know how many humans can do that. Very few of us have an amazing ability to do that. I mean, we take these dogs out of these horrific puppy mills when the breeders discard them, when they're not useful to them anymore, or unsold puppies that are 14 weeks that they don't didn't sell. So they don't want to continue to feed them until they're old enough to produce for them, so they discard them. And some of these dogs have never lived life outside a stacked cage in a dark, dark barn with urine smells so bad your eyes cry when you walk in there. And the way they're treated and abused at the bad puppy mills. And I'm not saying all breeders are bad, right?
- [22:01]
B
Of course.
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C
Many, many good breeders.
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B
Backyard breeding, there's a bunch of different things out there.
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C
The backyard breeders Only breeding to put money in their pocket. The massive puppy mills that are only breeding just to produce dollars for, for themselves at the expense of these dogs. But you know, these dogs have never been handled. Some of them have never walked on solid ground. They've only walked in a wire cage stacked three high and, and, and the abuse they've suffered and they take a little longer, but they all come around. They all will love and trust. Yeah, and care, proper care. They all come around.
- [22:43]
B
You know, it's interesting because you see those videos right on social media of the capture. I saw one the other day, says all of this, all he needed was love. And this dog, excuse me, didn't even look like a puppy anymore. Like it was so abused, I think it might have been homeless. And over the course of however long it was, right, it didn't give a timestamp, but there was bathing, there was feeding, there was love, and back to a normal, fun, loving, happy dog.
- [23:18]
C
And you know, dogs live for their humans. I mean, they wait. I look at the cameras at my own home and my 12 year old Weimaraner and my 15 and a half year old golden retriever lab boxer mix. And when we're gone and I have a camera that looks down at the front door, they sit there.
- [23:39]
B
It's amazing.
- [23:40]
C
Hours. I don't care if I'm gone six hours.
- [23:42]
B
That's loyalty.
- [23:43]
C
They just sit there and they wait. They live for us. All they want is to give us joy and love. And you know, my dog, especially my cowboy, and I didn't get him until he was 10 years old. I picked him up on, I just lost my Winston, my weimaraner, that was 14 years old about a month before and I picked up cowboy on Christmas Eve in the middle of the road up near Ocala, freezing rain and you know, reported him to the shelter owner never claimed him. Had obviously lived outside most of his life. And he's the most grateful dog in the whole world. He loves every person, every dog, every child, every baby. He's actually the best dog I've ever had.
- [24:35]
B
That's amazing.
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C
You know, my whole life I grew up, I had purebreds, we had English pointers, my dad was a bird hunter and you know, growing up and my mom always had a Chihuahua and then we had, you know, Weimaraners and he's the best dog I have ever owned. And he is so grateful and so perfect and he's just thankful, you know, he lived out in the elements and his whole life and you know, not being well cared for and Just the love and joy he brings to me every day. Whenever I'm upset, I've witnessed a cruelty case, I'm gone into a hoarding case or you know, all the things that just tear me up inside watching what these dogs go through. And I put cowboy my beside me and he makes it all okay.
- [25:33]
B
That's the thing because I'm thinking about as we're going through all these things that you're talking about different situations. Like, this place is amazing. I'm walking around here with my team and, and looking around like, wow, this is really cool. But there's a side of it that I don't see that the public doesn't see. And you guys have the opportunity and also, I don't want to say the stress, but of seeing some of these cases daily. How do you deal with that?
- [26:00]
C
It's tough. You know, when I first got into rescue, I was, you know, I two very busy companies, Custom home builder, built very high end homes and interior designer. And I had six superintendents working for me and nine interior designers.
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B
You do everything, don't you?
- [26:21]
C
Big houses going up on the ocean everywhere and doing ranches in Wyoming and houses in Aspen. And it was craziness. And I had no idea how many innocent dogs were dying in shelters just because of overcrowding and lack of space. I had no idea how much abuse and abandonment, neglect to dogs was happening because, you know, I was busy with my companies, raising my three sons. And I was at a dog show. We had gotten a Weimaraner from a specific breeder and she. Our contract said that had to be shown till I got his championship. And I'm like, well, this can't be that hard, but. And pain in the neck, but went to all these dog shows while the handler trotted him around the ring to get his points till he got his championship. And I got asked to help out with Weimar under rescue. They said their person in south Florida had moved to North Carolina. And I'm like, why would these animals need rescue? And I was like, 85% of Americans that have no clue how many animals are abandoned, how many are dying in overcrowded county shelters, how much suffering is out there? And I just feel like America doesn't know. And I was one of those people.
- [27:52]
B
Same, I'm the same, I don't know.
- [27:54]
C
19 years ago that had no clue. And I'm like, why would they need rescue? They said every breed can end up in a shelter and we need you just to pick them up for us, get them out. Long story. Short. Right after I got into that, I ended up taking over the Warm Runner rescue. Cause they weren't doing it right. And I'm a perfectionist and wanted the best and best chances for these animals. So I took that over. And then the 2008 recession came along.
- [28:29]
B
I remember that.
- [28:30]
C
Yep. So I couldn't just go pick up the Weimaraners anymore and watch the other dogs kennel cards being pulled as they were getting ready to go to the youth room. And I said, I can't. There's no way I can do that. So I put 14 dogs in my car one day.
- [28:48]
B
Oh my God.
- [28:49]
C
And said, we're going to all breeds. And basically have just given it the whole. With everything I can. I can't save them all. But I certainly want to try and I certainly want to bring in people that are animal lovers throughout the country to educate, to get involved, to stop this senseless euphanasia, to stop this cruelty and abandonment. And you know, we got a. Had a dog a couple months ago. And you know, in the very beginning, I went to bed crying every single night. And I said, crying isn't going to fix this problem. Yeah, I need to do something. I need to do more. And that led to Big Dog Ranch, where we are today. You know, we have to fight for these animals. They don't have a voice. We are their voice. And the more people that adopt and don't support the backyard breeders that I've got every kind of purebred you want here right now, I have many more mixed braids than I do purebreds.
- [30:03]
B
Right.
- [30:04]
C
But mixed breeds live longer. There's advantages to mixed breeds. Anything you want is out there in a shelter somewhere, whether it's been rescued by rescue and needs to get out of the rescue. Because rescues are not forever. Homes were meant to be a temporary home.
- [30:24]
B
Right.
- [30:25]
C
And for every single person that adopts a dog that gives us a space to go rescue another one on a kill list or out starving field. But going back to what I started to say before I got sidetracked there, we had this dog, we got a phone call that was abandoned in front of an apartment complex down in Broward. And when we went to go get her, literally, she could not stand up, she could not lift her head. She was skinnin bones. Come to find out she was in such bad, bad shape, we couldn't tell what she was. But she ended up being a purebred giant schnauzer. We brought her in. I mean, she was at death's door. So skinny. She was 35 pounds underweight. Wow. Matted previous breaks to both sides of her ribs, which were consistent with a fist breaking her ribs that were all healed and weird spots. Definitely wasn't a hit by car. It was definitely intentional. She had a bullet in her right near her lung.
- [31:40]
B
A bullet.
- [31:42]
C
And I'm thinking this dog is never, ever going to survive this trauma. And we just worked on her and fought for her, and we had to feed her little tablespoon of food every hour she was on fluids. She had infection in her body so bad from all the sores all over. And, you know, for somebody to do this and torture this dog to that point. And we put out a reward for $10,000, you know, with pictures of her everywhere, nobody came forward. I don't feel the Broward shelter or the police department did enough. We gave them all the information, you know, but, you know, I think about her every day now. She's at full weight. She's living life. She's in a wonderful home. She's beautiful, she's happy, she's loving. She loves everybody. She forgave all that abuse. But what bothers me is that abuser is still out there, and he's going to do it to another dog. And Bibi is just one of many. I can tell you stories every single day of what we see. And, you know, I'm proud of Governor DeSantis for signing this into law and the legislators and the people that brought these bills forward that will make a difference. And our next most important, very important law that we need to get passed in Florida, because Florida is the number three kill state in the country.
- [33:27]
B
Is it really?
- [33:27]
C
And it's just strictly for overcrowding and shelters.
- [33:33]
B
It's wild.
- [33:34]
C
You know, when a shelter has 50 kennels and they've got a 2, 200 dogs coming in a week, and they've got 50 going out to rescues and adopters. What do they do with those hunter dogs when they've got 200 more coming in the next week? So it's. They don't want to kill the animals. They don't have a choice.
- [33:58]
B
Yeah, they don't have a choice.
- [33:59]
C
And like, so how we stop that is by cutting out the bad breeders, the backyard breeders that are just doing it to line their pockets. Not the good breeders. We want the good breeders and show their dogs that do agility competitions, that breed one litter a year and make sure they get to good homes and take their dogs back if there's a problem. What we want to get rid of is the Bad breeders that are abusing these dogs along the way while they're just pumping out puppies to put dollars in their pockets. So by regulating breeders, by making them be licensed, all we want in this bill, and I've done it two years in a row, and it hasn't gone through because they said it's too much regulation. They're in the deregulatory mode.
- [34:55]
B
Got it.
- [34:56]
C
And it's too much fiscal. It's going to cost too much to have all these extra inspectors go out. But breeders need to be licensed just like any other business in this country. You open a restaurant, you got to get inspected. You open a beauty salon, you have to get inspected, licensed. Everything has to be inspected and licensed. Even a real estate office sure does is inspected and licensed. There isn't any of that going on for people selling puppies, people breeding, there's nothing. And what we see, and we see all these yard signs all the way up and down the road, Frenchies for sale. Golden doodles for sale. This breed for sale. So we send little spies in to go say they're going to buy a puppy. Puppy.
- [35:49]
B
Oh, wow.
- [35:50]
C
And the conditions these dogs are living in in 70% of the cases are horrific. Horrific. And the conditions of the breeding females. And, you know, we get the phone calls when the breeders don't want to take them to a vet because of puppies dying of worm infestation, or the puppies have parvo, or they dump them at the shelters when they don't sell them or when they get sick. Because the backyard breeders and the puppy mills, they don't want to spend the money on the veterinarian. They only want only if they're healthy and they can sell them. So it's. That needs to stop. And we need to regulate that. And that will reduce 50% of the puppies that enter shelters and help reduce euphanasia and help get Florida off the top five kill states in the country.
- [36:48]
B
You know, I want the audience to go look at the Internet, you know, Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Luxahatchee, Florida, because you mentioned something about the building we're in. It's 3,000 square foot. But I want everybody to understand something, y'. All. That ain't the only building. All right? This place is a massive, massive facility with, you know, puppy towns. Beautiful little. Looks like they're little condos out there, almost like they're all different colors. They have playgrounds. You know, the other. The other facilities over there that they have their own private playgrounds with pools and everything. This Place is absolutely beautiful.
- [37:23]
C
And our dogs live cage free. And they do buy 12 bedrooms. And everybody told me, you can't do that. They need to be in individual kennels.
- [37:31]
B
You're doing it.
- [37:32]
C
So I wanted them to have a home like environment.
- [37:35]
B
Well, you see them like they're like hanging out on their little couches together, like cuddled up, like just chilling at our senior sanctuary. Did I go through there? No, I think that was.
- [37:43]
C
They were all on couches. It was probably like little cots, like.
- [37:47]
B
The little cars like this. And they're sitting there and that's in their bunk rooms.
- [37:51]
C
12 by 12 bedrooms, three to four dogs, a bedroom.
- [37:54]
B
Kicking it.
- [37:55]
C
Each room has a door opening onto a half acre play yard.
- [37:59]
B
Yep.
- [37:59]
C
I mean, not only do we want to heal these dogs, medically treat their heartworm disease or skin infections or ear infections, and spay and neuter them, but we've got to get them mentally ready for home. And sticking them in a small 3 by 6 foot kennel where they're going kennel crazy. That makes a good dog into a bad dog. Our cage free environment that everybody said couldn't be done. Well, it's very successful here. And a lot of other shelters and rescues are taking heed to what we've created here on our 33 acre campus and trying, you know, it's much more mentally better for the dogs.
- [38:48]
B
Well, you know, in order to do something great, you have to disrupt a little bit. Right. And that's kind of what your disruptor. And those are the ones that do amazing, amazing work. This guy's a disruptor. Look at him.
- [38:58]
C
I think he's going home with you.
- [39:00]
B
You're gonna come home with me.
- [39:01]
C
I think he's in love with you. He's already picked you.
- [39:04]
B
I know, I feel that.
- [39:05]
C
And he wants to go home with you.
- [39:07]
B
Oh my gosh.
- [39:09]
C
So when you take him home, call her. That gives me room to save another puppy in need.
- [39:14]
B
I know, look at this one here. You are so sweet. You know, it just, you know, like this is the thing though, like. And you guys accept volunteers? People can volunteer here. How can someone that's listening, they might live in California or here in Florida. How can they get involved in this?
- [39:31]
C
So Big Dog Ranch, we rescue dogs nationwide and we have three facilities. We have our 33 acre, 80,000 square foot campus here in Florida in Palm Beach County, Florida. We have another facility in Alabama just outside of Auburn and Montgomery. Um, we're building one in Texas right now and we're actually been asked to go to California. So California number one kill state number two is Texas, meaning the most amount of animals euphonized for overcrowding. Florida's number three, North Carolina is four will be our next spot. But we do rescue all over the Southeast in Texas. So if you can adopt, donate. We run on donations and are overhead with four buses and 285 staff and six veterinarians. And medical supplies alone are over 50,000 a week for us. Just medical supplies.
- [40:36]
B
I went through the facility. There's a lot going on back there.
- [40:38]
C
A lot going on.
- [40:39]
B
Yeah, it's pretty.
- [40:40]
C
So it cost a lot to run it. A volunteer, you can sign up on our website. No matter where you are, we always need an emergency pull from a shelter where you can pick that dog up until we can get to it. We always need transporters. Let's say one of you, let's say you lived in New York and this puppy you fell in love with needed to get to New York. So somebody's driving to New York. Somebody's going to. So volunteer transporters. You know, we're dogs on the move, so our puppies and dogs can be adopted anywhere.
- [41:17]
B
Love that.
- [41:18]
C
We will get them to you. So there's a million ways you can volunteer. There's a million ways that you can get involved with Big Dog Ranch Rescue and help us grow. Because our mission here is to end dog homelessness, stop animal cruelty, and in this overpopulation problem, dogs should be loved. They shouldn't be abandoned, they shouldn't be put into a kill shelter. They. We have a lot of work to do. And the more people that get involved and join our mission, America's PAC crisis is what we call it. Or sign up to support our legislation Make America dogs safe again so we can get this Florida legislation done and regulate these breeders and stop all these unwanted puppies being born.
- [42:18]
B
I love it. It's amazing. You built something amazing. Everybody here is incredible. All the dogs are so well behaved. They're better. They're better. They're better behaved than I am. Um, and that's. I mean, that's not saying a lot. But, you know, in building this, you know, there's a lot of people that have one last question. A lot of people said it couldn't be done. The 12 by 12, you know, and then you decided to be disruptive and do it anyway. Building something this incredible impact and impactful takes a lot of determination. And so as the show is called the Determined Society, I'd like to ask you one final question. What does determination mean to you?
- [42:54]
C
Determination Means never giving up. Where there is a will, there's a way. And throughout my businesses, I always had the same philosophy. But here, my free job, I pay to go to work every day. There's lives on the line. So being determined to save as many as you can to stop this problem. When you get 1200 youth list a day with 10 to 30 dogs per shelter on it, wow. Makes you keep fighting. You keep fighting harder. You fight hard for every single one of these lives. And I feel like the 85% of America that doesn't know this is happening, if they truly are good people, they truly are animal lovers, join us in solving this problem because we can't do it alone. We need other determined people that care to end dog homelessness and end dog abuse.
- [44:00]
B
I love it. Well, you guys got to be able to let me know when events come up because me and the wife will be here. We'll get involved in some way, shape or form because you're, you're pretty cute.
- [44:08]
C
So what are you naming your puppy?
- [44:10]
B
I don't, I don't know. I don't know. He's. He's chill. I'm just trying to figure it out. Look at him.
- [44:17]
C
He's ready to go home with you.
- [44:18]
B
Is. This is going to be a very hard thing for me. I'm. Look, man, like, should we end it into the interview? What do you want to do? He's just chilling. He loves it. So you guys listen. For those of you listening, please do yourselves a favor. Go check out Big Dog Ranch Rescue here in Loxatu, Florida. Be. Be involved any way you can. Whether it's a donation or if you live in the area, come volunteer or even just reach out to them. If you live in another state and you know, you need to, you know, rehome a dog and get it here to Florida, just play your part because there is an epidemic going on in the world right now with dog homelessness. Too many dogs are dying and it look, I mean, look at this guy. It doesn't need to happen. So I love you guys. Share this episode with someone you know love and trust. Until next time, stay determined.