community
Changes Happening at
Indigo Ranch
Grace Family Fellowship
continued from front page
cleaned up and back to
work like God has intend-
ed,” said Lindsley. “We’re
just thrilled to be part of it.”
In addition to the
expansion of the campus,
Grace Family Fellowship is
also completing a small ad-
dition onto the gymnasium
portion of their original
building. The addition will
serve as a storage facility.
The final change at
Grace Family Fellowship
is the recent purchase of
a baby grand piano which
will be used to enhance the
music portion of the servic-
es at the church.
Grace Family Fellowship
has a new baby grand piano,
just in time for Christmas.
Things to Ponder:
continued from page 20
promised us that faith in Him
would bring us a new life that no
one could steal. When the world
looks at us do they see humble,
gentle, peaceful, forgiving
people or do they see people
that think they’re better than
everyone else?
This Christmas my hope
for the Church is that the world
will see Jesus in us and be drawn
to Him. My prayer is that we
will think more of others than
we do ourselves. Is it possible
for the Church to change the
way the world looks at us? Is
it possible that we can recover
some of the lost ground we
have surrendered because of our
arrogance? Many call on Christ
and honor Him with a sincere
life, live only for His glory, and
want to do His will, but others
see Christianity as a means to
an end. We can change how the
world understands Jesus if we
put Him first, others second and
ourselves last!
God bless and Merry
Christmas.
december18
2014
21
continued from page 4
guests. “We play with them, we throw the ball Indigo Ranch sometimes are required to spend
with them, with lay on the floor and sit on the some time in crates, depending on the number
couch with them,” says Wright. “They get tons of dogs being boarded. Wright says dogs are
of attention.”
rotated in and out of doors for play time and in
“We just love them,” adds Bettencourt. and out of crates throughout the day, to make
Both Wright and Bettercourts’s enthu- sure all dogs are kept safe. Making sure dogs
siasm for their work and the joy they receive get introduced to each other and will get along
from being around their dog guests,
shows on their faces and in their conver-
sation about Indigo Ranch. “Sometimes
I just can’t believe I get to do this for a
job,” says Bettencourt.
Caring for a group of dogs, es-
pecially dogs that don’t know each other,
can be challenging. “We have two man-
tras here--‘Safety first,’ and ‘Know your
dogs,’” says Wright. “We have to get
to know them so we match them up and
know which dogs can safely stay and
play together, because we want them to
have a really great time while they are
Angela and Sam with Laura Wright and Otie.
here.”
One of the dormitory rooms is desig- is a top priority for the staff, says Bettencourt.
nated as a “small dog dorm,” says Wright, and
In addition to dogs, Indigo Ranch is
generally houses the littler visitors, although also home to several barn animals who have
during very busy times, when living space gets been rescued when they needed a place to live,
a bit more crowded, some gentle larger dogs including several alpacas, goats, chickens and
may bunk with the small dogs.
bunnies. These animals live in the large red
Wright says Indigo Ranch can board up barn on the property which has separate fenced
to thirty-two dogs at a time and will be full to runs to keep them contained.
capacity during the holidays.
Wright says one of her favorite things
Dogs at Indigo Ranch get to eat their about living and working at Indigo Ranch is
own food, including a raw meat diet. “Whatev- seeing dogs excited to come back for a return
er they eat at home, that’s what they get here,” visit and overnight stay. “When they get used
says Wright. In fact, Bettencourt says the staff to us and then come back—seeing them come
has even had to prepare special meals for sev- running through the gate wagging their tail—
eral guests that were not feeling well, includ- it’s just the best feeling. It’s important to us that
ing scrambling eggs and preparing pumpkin for our clients feel comfortable leaving their dogs
their upset stomachs.
with us,” says Wright.
One misconception about Indigo Ranch
is that it is a cage free facility. Wright says For more information about Indigo Ranch visit
because of the nature of dogs in general, and indigoranch.org. For more information about
caring for them in confined spaces, the dogs at Indigo Rescue go to indigorescue.org.
