Rolling Dog Ranch, Montana

he Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary is in the Blackfoot River Valley of western Montana, a few miles east of the town of Ovando (pop. 70). The ranch sits at 4100 feet in a local valley called Kleinschmidt Flat. The North Fork of the Blackfoot River flows along the northwest edge of "the Flat," with the headwaters high in the nearby Scapegoat Wilderness, part of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. Ancient glaciers carved out this broad, flat plain at the base of the mountains, hence the name. The Kleinschmidts were the first homesteaders on the Flat.

We founded the Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary in December 2000, shortly after moving to the ranch permanently. When we first bought the property in the summer of 1998, our dream was to turn these 160 acres of open grassland and cottonwoods into a sanctuary for animals who are disabled. These are the animals who are the least likely to be adopted and the most likely to be euthanized in traditional shelters. The ranch is now home to nearly 80 animals, more than half of them blind.

The Rolling Dog Ranch is a nonprofit private operating foundation, and is supported entirely by individual contributions. Contributions to the Rolling Dog Ranch are tax-deductible. To learn more about supporting the ranch, or to meet the residents, visit www.rollingdogranch.org.

From the outset, we named the ranch the "Rolling Dog" because our dogs love to roll around on their backs in the sagebrush- and grass-covered meadows on the property. We'll have as many as four dogs at a time rolling around upside down, feet straight up in the air, scratching their backs in the fields.

Steve and Alayne with Tyler, a deaf English Pointer.

The sanctuary’s disabled residents are remarkable animals. They are happy, energetic and loving. Many of our visitors can’t believe the animals they see romping with each other and running around are blind or cope with some other kind of handicap. There isn’t a single animal here who feels sorry for itself. Each and every one of them loves being alive.

That’s really the ultimate inspiration for us. Despite their disabilities, they want nothing more than a chance to enjoy life. And that's what they get to do here.

The sanctuary's 160 acres of rangeland is covered with a variety of grasses and stands of sagebrush. A large irrigation ditch, fed by the North Fork, meanders across the property on its miles-long journey through the valley.The weather is typical for this altitude in the northern Rockies. Summers are dry, hot and short, and winters are snowy, cold and long. Because of the wide, flat terrain, it can get windy here. In winter, enormous snow drifts pile up, sometimes closing roads. After a good snowfall it can take us hours on the tractor to plow the drives on the ranch, clear out the corrals with the tractor-mounted snowblower, and open up the barnyard.

As a result of the frigid winters, we have to shelter the animals accordingly. When night-time temperatures routinely drop below zero -- and 20 below zero is not unusual -- providing heated water sources for the animals is a necessity. During winter we bring all the large animals into the barn at night (and in storms as well); in the summer, depending on the animal, most stay outdoors in fenced pastures.

Our facilities include three barns, five animal cottages, four large animal sheds and an employee cottage.