Ranch History

A few years ago we bought a piece of property, known locally as the “Ranch.”  The property is about a mile inland from where our beach house is.  Over time we developed the property as the Rancho Exilio Animal Sanctuary, a 501©3 charitable organization.  A couple of years ago we moved to the Ranch after building a pet-friendly house on the property.

Our Ranch was originally part of a much larger ranching and farming operation.  The Mexican government acquired the rest of the land, much of which is an estuary, declaring it to be a protected wetlands.  The front of our Ranch sets on the banks of this federal estuary through which runs a small river.   Behind our compound are some steep hills which is also designated open-space.  We keep a herd of approximately 15-20 goats grazing on the hill’s brush for fire control purposes.  Adjacent to the front of the property is a protected estuary, through which a small river runs.

Many years ago a Cartel guy owned the property, using it as a staging site where watermelons were stuffed with drugs and then moved across the border near San Diego and into the States.  Years ago the Cartel guy was imprisoned by the federal police.  We acquired this property from the Mexican government which had seized it from the Cartel guy whom later died in prison.  The abandoned property was overgrown with vegetation and all of the buildings destroyed by time and vandals.  The only thing standing when we acquired the Ranch was a 12 foot rock/concrete security wall which surrounds the compound.