‘Social Living for Dogs’: Couple settles in Lewis County to open new nonprofit dog rescue
Opening a dog rescue had always been a dream for Rich and Michelle Vedas.
After their youngest son joined the U.S. Navy and moved out, they set out from California to pursue their dream.
When the couple was deciding where to build their new dog rescue last year, they had their eyes on Washington state, but didn’t know exactly where they would settle.
“We came up at the end of last year and started looking around the state, and when we got to Lewis County, there were a couple properties that we thought would be a good fit,” Rich Vedas said.
The real estate agent they were talking to informed them of the county’s pressing need for a dog shelter. That need, combined with the promising property they considered purchasing, was all it took for them to make the move.
“It had the out buildings already so we didn’t have to build too much to get it ready,” Michelle Vedas said.
The agent they were talking to, Katie Harris, of Northfork Realty, is now a board member of Ragamuffin Ranch.
Located at 289 Middle Fork Road south of Chehalis, Ragamuffin Ranch is a nonprofit dog rescue that sits on a 15-acre plot. Aside from the Vedas’ new home, it also houses an open-ended barn and two-car garage. Both the barn and garage have been converted into dog kennels, with the barn housing 10 single-dog kennels and the garage holding five multi-dog kennels.
“We really want to do social living for the dogs, get them used to each other and help socialize them,” Michelle Vedas said.
Rich Vedas added this was important to them as one thing they don’t like about other shelters is the tendency to keep dogs alone in small kennels. This can lead to anxiety and other issues for the animals, they said. Both the barn and garage also have couches in them.
“We’re trying to have a sort of living room set up in here and let them out so they’re not cooped up all the time,” Rich Vedas said.
Nestled down a long, dirt road driveway, Ragamuffin Ranch offers privacy and peace with nature trails on the property. Volunteers at the ranch take the dogs for walks during their shifts.
“The volunteer response has been really great already too. We have everyone from a couple teenagers who are really great, we have some older people, and we have everybody in the middle,” Rich Vedas said.
In total, 35 volunteers are already helping out.
Ragamuffin Ranch opened its doors officially last Thursday and as of Friday had already taken in six dogs, including a transfer from another rescue, a dog picked up by a Centralia Police Department officer on patrol and several dogs surrendered by owners.
While adoption is the main goal, Rich Vedas said they won’t turn away a dog owner who wants to give up their pet, adding sometimes people have needs or issues come up and people need a resource if they can’t take care of their dogs anymore.
The couple monitors social media for lost and found dog posts as well, although they’ve observed, in Lewis County at least, residents seem to be good at getting lost dogs back to their owners.
When it comes to the adoption process, the couple aims to be as accommodating as possible and doesn’t have the standard conditions many rescues require adopters to meet in order to take a dog home with them.
“There’s a lot of different types of dog owners, and just because somebody might feed their dog a type of food we don’t use, or they live in an apartment, some rescues have the reputation of, ‘Well, you have to meet this 20-point criteria list to get a dog from us.’ And really, it’s not like we say, ‘Just come in and we’ll give you a dog,’ but we’d rather just have conversations with people and try to match them with dogs that might fit them,” Rich Vedas said.
People considering adopting dogs from Ragamuffin can check the dog out to take them for car rides or to public places to see how the dog behaves before deciding to adopt. This gives those looking to adopt more time to get to know the dog first.
“We’re trying to say ‘yes’ more than ‘no,’” Michelle Vedas said.