We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeff Dobbs. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeff below.

Jeff, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers

Owning an animal sanctuary with hundreds of animals if a crazy concept all in itself! There are hundreds of funny crazy stories…But how did we get here? We certainly did not wake up one day and say, “gee, let’s quit a lucrative career and start a non-profit animal sanctuary!. So how did this all start of then you may ask. Well, I spent 40 years in construction, and one time I dug up an old dried up box turtle, in Edna Valley, on a job site, and brought him home. His name is now “Jacque”. Well, after some water and food and TLC…he was doing quite well, and he was getting very friendly with a stone stature of a box turtle. I decided to get him a friend, I looked up the turtle and tortoise rescue and came over to pick out a friend for him. During that visit, I made the mistake of telling the previous owner and founder, “Bob, you are living my dream”, (by the way I was referring to the land…it just happened to have a zoo on it- More later), and Bob responded with, “well, I have fallen, I can’t get up, and need to sell”, he was in his mid 80’s.
Seven years later…here we are, running a non-profit animal sanctuary, with hundreds of animals, and lot’s of therapy going on behind the scene. My wife is Dr. Tammy Dobbs, a local pediatric Psychologist, private practice, (Coastal Behavior Consulting, in the village of Arroyo Grande. We also have CASA workers and BCBA’s and O.T.’S with their clients, We have 1-5 field trips every week, we are open for tours, by appointment, usually booked on most Saturdays via email through the website: turtleandtortoiserescueofarroyogrande.org We also have a lot of volunteers, especially high schoolers looking to fulfill their community hours requirements. Jeff with the TTR

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

The turtle and tortoise rescue of Arroyo Grande, rescues much more than turtles and tortoises, we rescue all kinds of animals from sheep and goats and Emu’s and Alpaca’s and all kinds of birds from parrots to Australian Diamond doves, We conduct tours, by appointment, usually on most Saturdays, booked via the email on the website. We also have all kinds of therapy going on. My wife is Dr. Dobbs a child Psychologist. We also have a host of volunteers – mostly high school, some junior high and some college. We actually have a small event area and have hosted weddings and various gatherings and work parties and such. We would love to have Cal Poly more involved with projects and hands on. If someone is looking for a place to do an Eagle scout or Gold award project…we are here, just contact me! We also adopt out various turtles and tortoises, so if someone is looking for a pet tortoise…set up a tour via the website. We also take in various mulch products like horse manure, (I have a 16′ dup trailer…if you have a way to load it), also apple pulp and grape pulp and things like that. We also plan to build a Western town for educational purposes…so if you come across any old Western stuff, keep us in mind! Thanks- Jeff with the TTR

How’d you meet your business partner?

I met my cofounder, Tammy who later became my wife in 2013. Our goals and life visions aligned when the opportunity was presented to purchase a non-profit animal sanctuary, we both looked at each-other and said…yes. That day in 2018 we bought a zoo! Well a non-profit turtle and tortoise rescue and life has not been the same since.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Although I’ve had many years in the field of construction, one of my biggest pivots was moving to Alaska and starting my own construction company. As a young man this brought many trials that I have used throughout my life to built perseverance and character. Although I have many grizzly bear and moose stories living in the last frontier is one of my greatest accomplishments and favorite stories to share.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.turtleandtortoiserescueofarroyogrande.org
• Instagram: ttr.ag.ca
• Facebook: Turtle and Tortoise Rescue of Arroyo Grande
• Yelp: The Turtle and Tortoise Rescue of Arroyo Grande
• Other: Google: turtle & tortoise rescue of arroyo grande photos, arroyo grande turtle and tortoise sanctuary