West Star Ranch was started in 1995 by Elsie Dougherty. Her love of animals led to the start of this ever-growing Animal Rescue. With her inability to turn away anyone who showed up with an animal and a sad story, Elsie took in anything from kittens, puppies, old dogs/cats, pigs and even emu’s! Elsie became a character everyone knew and loved, with her notorious floppy cowboy hats, love of bingo and contagious smile. In 2002 West Star became a 501 C3 non-profit, and to help feed the growing animal intake a Thrift Store was established on the property.
Sadly in 2008 Elsie passed away. More recently, Kim Simon, Amy Woodman (Treasurer), & Heidi Wells (Director), and a number of volunteers the Ranch has survived and has grown to what it is today.
We now house 32 dogs and 60 plus cats, but this fluctuates on a weekly basis, as people drop off, turn in, or just abandon their animals here. We are a no-kill facility, so these animals live their lives out with us unless we find them homes.
Though our dogs are in pens, our cats roam the ranch freely, so when you visit us, you will probably be greeted by a few of them. If you’re lucky you may see one or two of over 25 free roaming peacocks and peahens that live on the property; truly an experience!
West Star accepts animals for surrender at its discretion. Please contact Ranch for more information.