County, Rockn EZ reach out of court settlement

Published 4:02 pm Thursday, July 3, 2025

The former operators of the public kennel and adoption service in Madras and Jefferson County recently reached a settlement to avoid litigation regarding kennels.

On June 25, Rockn EZ Rescue Ranch and the county reached on agreement that aims to end the dispute between the entities, which were largely tied to a number of kennels that Rockn EZ removed from the shelter of McTaggart Road when the organization stopped running the local shelter in Madras.

With the settlement, Jefferson County agreed to pay Rockn EZ Rescue Ranch $10,000 and agreed to donate $40,000 to spay and neuter programs of its choice within the next six months.

Rockn EZ Rescue Ranch agreed to return 18 of the new kennels and 10 purple kennels that they removed from the county’s shelter after their contract ended in 2024.

Rockn EZ indicated it had purchased those kennels from the bankrupt Three Rivers shelter when it ceased operations in Madras, about the time Rockn EZ signed a service contract with the county to operate the shelter in June 2023.
Rockn EZ and the county were unable to reach a new service agreement in 2024, so they removed the kennels when they vacated the property. The county contended that the kennels Three Rivers had purchased should have been part of the shelter operation and should not have been the property of Rockn EZ to buy or take, and conveyed that opinion to Rockn EZ before the nonprofit vacated the shelter. The kennels in question attached to the concrete floor of the shelter.

The dispute has been ongoing for over a year, and the county has been contracting with BrightSide Animal Center in Redmond for shelter services since the dispute.

Rockn EZ Rescue Ranch has continued to help animals in need in our area, primarily through spay/neuter services. After their contract with the county was terminated, they continued their mission and organized approximately 300 spay/neuter surgeries using local licensed veterinarians. They are a foster-based rescue, so the animals have a home-like situation.
Cindy Fisher, Rockn EZ Rescue Ranch founder and director, stated, “The rescue has rented a building in Culver and is working on remodeling it to use as a spay/neuter clinic for dogs and cats. They hope it will be open by fall, depending on donations.”

Initially, they will be working on trap and release spay and neuter programs with feral cats and expect to open for monthly public spay/neuter clinics as soon as they are ready.
Possibly for rabbits, if the rabbit population in Culver continues to grow.
When asked about the settlement agreement with the county regarding spay/neuter clinic funding, Fisher said there is no guarantee their organization will be receiving any of the county funds. They continue fundraising for their programs. Donations can be made at their website at: https://rocknezrescueranch.com/.
Fisher said they can always use volunteers for spay/neuter clinics as well as their foster programs.
They also accept can and bottle deposit recycling but are working to identify a secure location to prevent theft.
Fisher wished to thank the City of Culver for their assistance getting their business license established. They are really pleased and excited to be opening there. Even
their landlord expressed his excitement to be a part of a program that will benefit the
community.