Ramblings From The Ranch – January 2025

You Know It’s Love When….

Little did Elizabeth Dalziel know that when she visited her mother in Chapala, she would end up flying a dog back to her home in England. Yet, that is exactly what happened when Elizabeth and her two sons, Ben and Joe Hodge, visited our area in August. Elizabeth’s mother lives not too far from The Ranch and told her about the shelter when Elizabeth heard some distant barking. A few days later, her mom’s neighbors (and longtime Ranch supporters) Liza Spangler and Luanne Bauer had the family for dinner. When 14-year-old Ben heard that volunteers were needed to walk dogs, he was all in.

Mom and kids entered The Ranch play yard which was then housing a litter of pups and their parents. Clever puppy Romulus immediately jumped into Ben’s lap. It was love at first sight and the family started to think about bringing the dog home with them. A complication arose when Dad Rob Hodge arrived a week later. Adamantly opposed to the dog, he grudgingly said that it would be fine to “look into the paperwork.” The Ranch management is intimately familiar with the rules governing dogs entering Canada or the United States, but Elizabeth was on her own to figure out the rules for England. Luckily, a friend-of-a-friend is Guadalajara dog breeder Aldebaran Contreras who has sent dogs all over the world. He was invaluable to figure out all the rules and papers.

In mid-September, Romulus left The Ranch for his trip across the pond with Aldebaran. His first step was spending the night in Mexico City where he unfortunately felt a bit stressed and sick. It looked like he might not make his flight, but some medicine did the trick and away he went. Elizabeth and Ben drove (and took the tunnel train) from England to Paris to pick up Romulus at Charles de Gaulle Airport. As soon as Romulus saw Ben, he wagged his tail and knew he was almost home. After a vet check in Paris (and a trip to see the Eiffel Tower and a meal in a café), Romulus got his paperwork and headed to Berkhamsted, a town about 30 miles north of London.

Dad Rob still needed a bit of convincing that a dog was a good choice for their family. However, Romulus performed his magic, and rumor has it that Rob was heard saying to Ben recently, “He’s not your dog, he’s OUR dog!” (Don’t tell anyone but he was also heard saying he’d never want a purebred dog, but instead a dog like Rom)! Romulus now lives with his family in an idyllic location with lots of woods and fields in which to roam and he is taking obedience classes.

Just like Ben, you can fall in love at The Ranch! (P.S., as of this writing, Romulus’s sister is still available). If you can’t adopt, maybe you can foster a dog? Or walk some dogs at The Ranch? Or donate? We need your help to support the 100+ dogs in our care. You can find out more on our Facebook page or at www.theranchchapala.com. You can also email us at adoptaranchdog@outlook.com.