The Palm Beach Post
| Palm Beach Post
Big Dog Ranch Rescue Opens $4 Million Patriot Pet Lodge
Discover the $4 million Patriot Pet Lodge by Big Dog Ranch Rescue, offering free dog boarding to veterans and deployed soldiers.
The Trump family has long-standing ties to the Florida-based Big Dog Ranch Rescue, a large no-kill shelter.The rescue has received support from prominent figures like Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.Donald Trump was the first president in over a century not to have a pet dog in the White House.
Kai Trump, a granddaughter of President Donald Trump, apparently fostered a dog, and that dog was adopted.
Chances are pretty high her grandfather wasn’t the one who got the pup.
The daughter of Donald Trump Jr. and his ex-wife Vanessa Trump, Kai posted an Instagram reel showing that she fostered a dog from Big Dog Ranch Rescue named Peanut, who has since been adopted.
The president’s oldest grandchild is active on social media, with a YouTube vlog and 2.6 million Instagram followers. Judging by the majority of the 4,616 likes she received just an hour after posting on Tuesday, Jan. 27, everyone was supportive.
“Big win that Kai and her family loves animals,” one person posted.
It’s probably not surprising that Kai loves dogs as she said in the reel, while looking at one puppy “it reminds me of my dog.”
What is Big Dog Ranch Rescue?
Big Dog Ranch Rescue, located in Loxahatchee Groves, Florida, is the largest no-kill, cage-free dog rescue in Palm Beach County with ties to the Trump family.
In addition to its 33-acre campus, Big Dog Ranch has a 100-acre location in Alabama. It is also building a facility outside Fort Worth, Texas, and planting its flag in Connecticut and Tennessee.
Lara Trump, who is married to Donald Trump’s son, Eric, has been active with Big Dog for eight years. Big Dog Ranch Rescue’s two-day “Wine, Women & Shoes” fundraiser has also been held at Mar-a-Lago for years.
In March 2025, Donald Trump and Elon Musk, then head of Trump’s DOGE team, helped Big Dog Ranch Rescue raise $4.3 million at the Mar-a-Lago fundraiser – a record amount.
“We were really honored to have President Trump and Elon Musk come to our event and show support for the good work we are doing and the 75,000 dogs we’ve saved so far,” said the rescue’s founder, Lauree Simmons. “It was great to have their support.”
Other attendees included Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former fiancée of Donald Trump, Jr., who Trump nominated to serve as ambassador to Greece, and Peter Lamelas, the U.S. ambassador to Argentina.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited Big Dog Ranch
In May of 2025, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited Big Dog Ranch Rescue to sign two bills aimed at cracking down on animal negligence and abuse.
“We are a law-and-order state, and that includes the need to prosecute those who are derelict in their duty to take care of their own pets,” DeSantis said at the rescue, where he signed Dexter’s Law and Trooper’s Law, which went into effect on July 1, 2025.
Dexter’s Law increases the number of points tallied on a perpetrator’s criminal punishment scoresheet for the charge of aggravated animal cruelty, increasing the possibility of jail time and large fines.
To read the full story, go here.
Big Dog Ranch offers free dog boarding for vets and deployed soldiers
Big Dog Ranch recently opened a pet lodge, where it will offer free dog boarding to veterans and deployed soldiers.
The $4 million, 18,000-square-foot Patriot Pet Lodge, which opened on Jan. 19, 2026, has 80 private rooms that can accommodate up to 160 dogs. It will also help grow the nonprofit’s veteran dog training programs, which train service dogs for veterans in need.
“The Patriot Pet Lodge reflects our unwavering commitment to the men and women who have served our country,” wrote Simmons, the rescue’s founder, in a prepared statement. “By removing the burden of pet care during deployment or times of need, we’re able to support veterans while ensuring their dogs are safe, loved, and cared for.”
To read the full story, go here.
How President Donald Trump was almost gifted a rescue dog
In 2017, Donald Trump became the first president in more than a century not to have a pet dog in the Oval Office.
He came close, though. Palm Beach philanthropist Lois Pope was willing to give Trump a first dog at the time, offering a goldendoodle, then a rescue named Patton.
She said she hoped Patton could act as security and help Trump’s son Barron, who was young at the time, adjust to his new life as the first son.
Pope said she first suggested Trump take Patton when she saw Trump at Thanksgiving dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Trump told her to show him to Barron, and the boy was smitten, but the plans fell through.
Pope said she grew attached to Patton. “I have fallen in love with the dog,” she said. “The fact is, it turns out well for (Trump) and me. Who would take care of the dog? Where would the dog be in all this?” citing Trump’s busy schedule.
Patton, named after World War II Gen. George Patton, ended up at Pope’s home in Manalapan, 8 miles south of Mar-a-Lago.
“I thought every president needs a dog,” Pope said at the time. “If he needs a dog, I will be happy to give him one.”
Donald Trump never had a pet dog in the White House
Donald Trump became the first commander-in-chief without a dog since William McKinley.
McKinley, despite not owning a dog while in office, did own an assortment of odd animals, including roosters and a Mexican double-yellow-headed parrot named “Washington Post,” according to the Presidential Pet Museum.
Although Andrew Johnson didn’t have any formal pets, he did have a habit of feeding the mice that scurried around the White House, according to the Huffington Post.
Martin Van Buren also technically didn’t bring any pets into the White House, but did own two tiger cubs that Congress made him send to the zoo, according to the Presidential Pet Museum.
In contrast to Trump, John F. Kennedy had 21 pets during his time in the White House, including a horse named Sardar and hamsters named Debbie and Billie, according to the museum. Theodore Roosevelt also had a large collection of animals, including Josiah the badger and Peter the rabbit.
Other presidents have had odd pets, from Calvin Coolidge’s wallaby to the herd of sheep that Woodrow Wilson kept on White House grounds. Among other odd presidential animals: Theodore Roosevelt’s hyena, James Buchanan’s herd of elephants and William Henry Harrison’s billy goat, according to PetMD.
