A Gainesville man’s journey to change the lives of large dogs
The Florida Rottweiler Rescue Ranch in Gainesville, Florida takes multiple aggressive large dog breeds like Remington, a 200-pound Cane Corso.
March 31, 2024 | Photo essay by Ella Thompson
Joe Pimentel could be the most protected man in the world. At the Florida Rottweiler Rescue Ranch, Pimentel spends his days caring for more than 100 large dogs in the beating sun and the suffocating Gainesville humidity. Working through piles of floating dog hair, pools of slobber and a smell only a dog rescue could produce, Pimentel wouldn’t have it any other way.
He’s always been a big dog guy.
In 2015, Pimentel set out with a goal to save “aggressive” dog breeds from euthanization. Since then, thousands of dogs have been rescued, rehomed and given a chance at a better life. Between 25 and 27 dogs on the compound are “for-lifers.”
Pimentel, in a worn Harley-Davidson hat lights a cigarette and sits under a tarp that reads “No trespassing,” as he shares all the dogs he loved before, and why he chose to provide a safe home for at-risk dogs.
Growing up with German shepherds, Pimentel’s owned large, protective dogs his entire life.
“I don’t take any littles because they bite me,” he says. “I’m serious.”
The only period of time he’s been without a large dog was the six months between the death of his last German shepherd and the adoption of his very first rottweiler Sasha.
Sasha lived 11 long years and was friendly to everyone, which allowed Pimentel to rehabilitate other dogs in his personal home.
When he retired due to a disability, he created the rescue as a way to kill two birds with one stone: stay active and save big dogs.
At some shelters, aggressive dogs are put down without a second thought. But at the Florida Rottweiler Rescue Ranch, these big boys and girls can live out their days in peace without fear of hunger, abuse or euthanization. In fact, food is a defining difference between the ranch and other rescues.
The dogs consume about 250 pounds of food a day, but Pimentel says it’s non-negotiable.
The rescue spends $300 a day on specialty diets for dogs who may not be able to eat regular dog food. But the ranch receives so much in food donations daily, it often passes along food to other animal rescues in Alachua County, Pimentel says.
The ranch is currently at capacity, but Pimentel takes in as many dogs as he can. A mix of large dog breeds call the ranch home, and every corner turned reveals a new dog. Laura Sands, 53, is the only other full-time employee of the ranch, and the only other person the dogs trust.
Even with every kennel filled, he still finds room for dogs in need, like Daisy Mae, whose puppies are not far from her hallway kennel.
Some of the dogs at the ranch have lived two lives: pre-ranch and post-ranch. The dogs at the ranch are in the hands of people who truly care about their wellbeing. And Pimentel is expanding their quality of life with each new day.
Pimentel’s ranch is only getting bigger and better. Half the property is open land — cleared of snakes and trees — and awaiting the beginning of Pimentel’s next projects.
With an agility course, larger kennels for life-long residents and a low-cost vet clinic in the works, it’s safe to say life on the ranch comes with little complaints from its four-legged residents.
Many of the dogs who were once residents of the ranch return when they pass on — they always come back, Pimentel says. Tucked into a gray storage box, inside the baby blue Faithful Friends Pet Cremation are the ghosts of dog’s past. Every dog who’s passed away at the ranch has been cremated, awaiting their place in a ranch urn. When Pimentel passes, he, too, wants to be cremated and put into an urn. His dying wish is to combine his ashes with those of the dogs who lived at the ranch. He wants the cremains dropped into the salty sea of Key West, Florida.
