Josie's Misfit Ranch

Josie's Misfit Ranch We save animals wounded in body & spirit - the forgotten and discarded misfits who deserve a second chance.

Josie’s Misfit Ranch cares and advocates for misfit animals so they can find forever homes and live their best lives. “Misfit” animals are wounded in body or spirit who have been discarded, mistreated or ignored because they are considered less than “perfect.” We show these animals the love and compassion they deserve, build their confidence, and focus on all they can do instead of what they can’t

so they can become important members of their forever families. Josie is a beautiful redheaded diva from North Carolina, who was saved by another dog rescue just hours before she was scheduled to be euthanized. She was adopted by Marla Pugh, who had previously been a crazy cat lady, but wanted to expand her lunacy to dogs as well. Josie became Marla’s best friend, serving as her family when she lived away from her human one. Josie and Marla settled into their 10-acre ranch located in Ellensburg, Washington in 2019. Inspired by her love for Josie, Marla vowed to help other animals and connected with Mikey’s Chance Rescue in the Tri-Cities. It was through this partnership where she fell in love with special needs animals. Marla added to her pack with Xander, a one-eyed German Shepherd; Loki, a miniature German Shepherd whose legs were deformed from birth; and Sophie, a German Shepard who has a troubled past and lost half her sight to pannus, a degenerative eye condition. Over the years, Marla fostered several animals – all with special needs.

Update on baby Feather, who has Neurological Feline Infectious Peritonitis (neuro Fip), a mutated feline coronavirus tha...
08/31/2026

Update on baby Feather, who has Neurological Feline Infectious Peritonitis (neuro Fip), a mutated feline coronavirus that attacks a cat’s brain and spinal cord. He’s mobile and moving around and eating on his own now, and using the litter box! He’s still a little uncoordinated and his head is still drooped a bit. But those are neurological symptoms that likely will take some time to go away. His amazing foster, who also heads our TNR team, is cautiously optimistic he will continue to recover. This little man is definitely a fighter! To contribute to his care please donate at www.josiesmisfitranch.org

Papasito got a bath today and is looking even more handsome. While he was a good boy though, he made it clear that bath ...
08/30/2026

Papasito got a bath today and is looking even more handsome. While he was a good boy though, he made it clear that bath time is not his favorite and he needs treats to make it all better.

Fritz and Amos are two kittens from our TNR team who came from a colony off of Wilson creek. They had urinary tract infe...
08/30/2026

Fritz and Amos are two kittens from our TNR team who came from a colony off of Wilson creek. They had urinary tract infections and were extremely underweight for their age.

We didn’t have room at the time so the property owner took them in herself and took them to the vet and got them treated. She cared for them inside until we had room to officially take them in.

Now these handsome young boys are in foster care doing well and will be available for adoption soon! Thank you to the property owner who did the right thing for these babies!

08/30/2026

Training is not finite. You have to continue training throughout a dog’s life and reinforce structure as well as your leadership.

Even at the ranch, we are reminded of this. Resident dogs Frankie (white shepherd) and Reine (pitbull) are best friends, but lately they’ve gotten into altercations over toys and other resources. And like all brothers and sisters, they were getting on each other’s last nerve.

JMR case manager Lesley came over and we did some drills to help them coexist better. While one sits, the other walks around the other. The goal is for no fixation, no stink eyes, just relaxed looks and calm coexistence. If one of them starts to give the other a look like they are going to start something, we calmly correct them so they understand the boundaries.

We will be continuing these drills and working on more boundaries so they can be trusted to coexist again without any scuffles. If only humans were so easy to train 😂

DNA testing has been proven to help rescue dogs get adopted faster, while also helping adopters better understand breed ...
08/30/2026

DNA testing has been proven to help rescue dogs get adopted faster, while also helping adopters better understand breed traits before they adopt. A study by Berkeley Animal Care Services showed genetic transparency significantly increased adoptability for 23% of the dogs.

But many shelters and rescues, including ours, can’t justify the cost of these tests when other expenses like food and medical bills continue to increase.

This Supply Sunday we are asking our supporters to donate an Embark DNA test so we can help improve the chances of some of our long term dogs getting a home.

If you purchase an Embark test using the QR code or link below, you will get a special discount and Embark will also give us a small portion of the proceeds. Plus, if you donate to us at checkout, Embark will match your donation up to $5,000.

The link to purchase is: https://shop.embarkvet.com/products/embark-dog-dna-test-kit

Our address for shipping is 1501 Ellensburg Ranches Road, Ellensburg, WA 98926.

To donate please click on the “add discount” button on the check out page which will allow you to donate and Embark to match.

Together we can help dogs find their happily ever after!

Thank you to everyone who gave us name suggestions for this beauty who came to us from the Yakima shelter yesterday. Aft...
08/29/2026

Thank you to everyone who gave us name suggestions for this beauty who came to us from the Yakima shelter yesterday. After meeting her and seeing her sweet personality, we decided on “Dolly” to honor another sweet lady who passed recently and also loved animals. Thank you to Cindy Staloch who will receive a JMR shirt for her suggestion.

Dolly was labeled a potentially dangerous dog in Yakima County for being present during an attack on another dog. No one saw the attack so we aren’t sure of her involvement. All we know is that the people at the shelter called us to advocate that we take her so she could start a new life outside of Yakima where she would get a fair chance.

She has proven to be the best dog so far and we are so happy to have her in our care! She loves being able to run at the ranch and loves to snuggle on the couch. To donate to Dolly, please go to www.josiesmisfitranch.org

This little guy named Feather came from a feral colony our TNR team has been helping. He was not doing well, so he was t...
08/28/2026

This little guy named Feather came from a feral colony our TNR team has been helping. He was not doing well, so he was taken to our friends at Mt Stuart Animal Hospital who confirmed he had Neurological Feline Infectious Peritonitis (neuro Fip), a mutated feline coronavirus that attacks a cat’s brain and spinal cord. While very tricky to treat, he is getting antiviral medication, antibiotics and fluids and he’s being monitored by the head of our TNR group who is an expert kitten lady. Please send your love and positivity that this sweet little boy makes it! To donate to our kitten rescue fund please go to www.josiesmisfitranch.org

Petunia wishes everyone a happy Friday and reminds you that anything is possible with patience and love! 💗
08/28/2026

Petunia wishes everyone a happy Friday and reminds you that anything is possible with patience and love! 💗

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Ellensburg, WA
98926

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