02x01 - Wolves at the Door

[bunniefuu]

♪♪

[ Howls ]

Look out through there.

As far as
the eye can see -- desert.

[ Animal howls in distance ]
[ rattling ]

Matt: this is
the perfect cover for wolves.

There's mexican gray wolves
right here.

[ Snarls ]

They're not as big as
the ones we have in alaska,

But they're just as smart.

And just as dangerous.

In alaska, I had five
running straight at me.

Five wolves.

Five wolves.

Listen.
[ Imitates wolf howl ]

[ Wolf barks ]

Trust me -- they could have done
anything they wanted to do.

-Snake!
-Aah! Aah!

I'm just testing
your reflexes.

Don't do that.

Really?
"Don't do that"?

"Poor me, poor me"?

You scream
like a little girl.

♪♪

Narrator:
marty raney's been building
homesteads for 40 years.

He's spent his life passing on
his homesteading skills.

Marty:
I was raised off-grid.

I've built a life
and a family

In the toughest place
on earth -- alaska.

And I've taught my kids
everything I know.

Narrator: daughter misty
has raised animals

And grown her own food
since she was a child.

Misty: a homestead needs to be
nurtured every day.

You get out what you put in.

Narrator:
son matt spent 12 years

As a guide and hunter in alaska.

Matt: I have the utmost respect
for wildlife.

Hunting is a privilege
and a necessity.

[ g*nsh*t ]

Narrator: in the last decade,


Have moved off-grid.

Woman:
we're in the middle of nowhere.

Narrator: but the wilderness
is a tough place to survive.

I am so afraid
we might end up dead.

Narrator: this year,

Tens of thousands
of homesteads will fail.

Man: this threat
is absolutely real.

[ Bear grunting ]
[ g*nshots ]

We could lose this place
at any moment.

Raney family,
we need your help.

Marty: for those brave enough
to embark on this lifestyle,

We're here to help them
overcome the challenges

And fulfill that dream.

My résumé?

I'll show it to you
right now.

--Captions by vitac --
www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

♪♪

Matt:
this is a dry riverbed.

Misty: it's so arid,

Everything here
looks like it's gonna die.

[ Flies buzzing ]

Look, look, look,
on that hill.

Mm.

-Oh, my god.
-This has to be it.

It's the only thing
for miles.

Narrator: marty, misty and matt
have left their base in alaska

And traveled 3,500 miles
to arizona

In the foothills
of the white mountains.

This arid state gets just


Close to a million cattle
survive here,

But only 1% of arizona citizens
succeed off-grid.

This place is so desolate,
it's insane.

Ready?

The raneys are answering
a call from a desperate couple

With no drinkable water
or food source,

Who are surrounded
by deadly predators.

Marty: when matt, misty and I
leave alaska,

We bring a skill set of
building, farming, and hunting.

It works in a lot of states
that are like alaska,

But arizona is a desert.

It has scorpions,
it has black widows,

And it has rattlesnakes.
[ Rattles ]

I don't do deserts.

[ Wind rushing ]

No sign of any kind
of life...at all.

It's eerie.

Marty: anybody home?!

-Oh.
-Oh.

-Nice to meet you.
-I'm t.l.

It's good to see you.
I'm glad you're here.

-There's donna. She's my wife.
-Hi, donna.

-Are you packing a g*n, too?
-I am.

When I go for walks,
I always bring a r*fle.

You never know when
you have wolves on the loose.

Marty: interesting.
Do you have a wolf problem here?

Yeah, we had three dogs,
and we're pretty sure

They're the culprits
that ate them.

All we found was
the head of one dog,

With about 3 inches
of spine sticking out.

They ate your dogs?

-Yeah.
-God.

It's a sore spot
for my wife.

-No, no, look.
-Lookit.

[ Laughter ]

Narrator: two years ago,

Airborne veteran t.l. Johnson
and his wife donna

Decided to sell their home
and gym business

And pursue a life off-grid,

Along with their dogs chloe,
bandit, and callie.

Our goal was to
leave the rat race.

This was our opportunity
to live a simple life.

Narrator: they bought


Leaving them $60,000
to rebuild the house.

We bought it as pretty much
a complete, abandoned ruin.

They well hadn't been used
in years.

You could see through
the holes in the ceiling.

We did all the work ourselves,

And we blew through
all of our savings

In about four months.

Narrator: in january last year,
life for the johnsons

Took a terrifying turn
for the worse.

We came back one day,
and one dog is gone.

We literally found her head
in the backyard.

♪♪

[ Voice breaking ]
it was really frightening.

Narrator:
the head was all that remained

Of their australian cattle dog,
callie.

Four weeks later,

Their mastiff chloe
and pit bull bandit

Disappear without a trace.

Donna:
there are so many things

That could have happened
to our dogs.

We don't know exactly what it
is, but think it's wolves.

T.l.: She's had
a really hard time with this.

Seeing the head
of the one dog --

I think it pretty much
freaked her out.

It's been almost a year,

And she's still terrified
to go outside at all.

Misty: I'm sorry.
That is the worst story ever.

I used to have
this little siberian husky,

And she went missing.

You're just like --
it's the worst.

Oh, yeah.
Definitely.

And it's, like,
totally heartbreaking.

[ Animals barking ]

Matt, matt, matt!

-That's...
-Coyote.

-...a coyote, yeah.
-Coyote right there.

You mean,
you have them that close,

Just running around?

Oh, yeah. They'll come
right through the yard.

Usually, the dogs
used to chase them out.

Bam! My mastiff would be
gnawing on a coyote head.

Yeah.

And the pit bull would like
to gnaw on the legs.

That mastiff and that pit bull
actually k*lled the coyotes?

They'd k*ll them and bring them
onto our porch.

So, that's why we figure
the coyotes didn't k*ll them.

Marty: I've been here
for a half an hour.

Dogs being k*lled by wolves,

Two coyotes this close
to their house.

[ Sighs ]

We've got our work
cut out for us.

♪♪

Can I get a tour
of the place?

Sure.

Narrator: the raneys have
just seven days in arizona

Before they must move on
to their next family in crisis.

They'll need to
make improvements,

Using materials found
on the land,

Because the johnsons
don't have a cent left.

Marty:
that's your drinking water?

Whoa!

Are you kidding me?

The water's fairly clear,

But there's some sort
of mysterious stuff in it.

[ Chuckling ] we're
not really sure what it is.

Do you drink it?

We don't know
if it's toxic, poisonous...

[ Gargles ]

...so we're trying
to not drink it.

There's something
in there.

I can tell you
what it tastes like,

But I don't like to swear.

[ Laughs ]

-How long have you lived here?
-A couple of years now.

Two years?

It never entered your mind
to get this water tested?

Um, you know,
it entered our minds,

But we had
different priorities.

When we moved here,
it was a --

What's --
what's more of a priority

Out here in the middle
of the desert than water?

Yeah.

I drank the water.

And...[ Breathes sharply ]
[ rumbling ]

Hear that?
Did you hear that?

That's not thunder.

I'll be taking a sample
to the lab.

I'll wait on the results.

Check it out -- snow globe
in the middle of the desert,

Right there.

Narrator:
to be self-sufficient,

The johnsons need
at least an acre of crops,

But all that donna's
managed to grow

Is a few rhubarb plants.

Misty:
show me your crop situation.

Donna: this is it.

This is
your whole garden?

Yes.

-These plants are dying.
-Yes.

We think that
the water's harming our crops.

They all die.

Wait.
Like, poisoning them?

Yes.

Are you eating
these plants?

Yes.

Okay.

This is a little alarming
to me.

If I had water that was
actually k*lling crops of mine,

I definitely wouldn't be
eating out of these gardens.

Well, I have no idea
what I'm doing

With planting
or anything.

T.l. Wanted to live
off the grid,

And I said, "let's do it."

Yeah.

If you could be
anywhere on the earth,

Would it be right here,
right now?

No. Not at this point.

[ Sighs ]

Yeah. Donna doesn't seem to be
all-in on this homestead.

Her heart isn't in it,
and I get it.

She's making a sacrifice
for t.l.

This is his dream.

And part of the year,
I live in hawaii for my husband.

I would live
in alaska full time,

So I get that
there's sacrifices.

But, at some point,
donna needs to realize

That this homestead
needs her.

It takes two, at least,
to make this work,

And without her,
it's not gonna survive.

I can't believe
it's lasted this long.

Narrator: with packs of wolves
and coyotes on the loose,

T.l. Shows matt how he's set up
to defend the homestead.

T.l.: So this is where
we keep our g*ns.

Matt: wow.

And then, we got some shotguns
and lever-action r*fles.

And that's
a lot of g*ns, man.

You got more than I do.

I'm just a boy scout that
then went into the military,

And I believe that, you know,
being prepared is good.

My biggest fear out here
has nothing to do with me.

It has more to do
with my wife.

Our family had been ripped apart
by wild wolves,

And she's thinking,
"hey, I could be next."

It sounds like
t.l. And donna's relationship

Is really close,

And it kind of makes me think

About my own relationship
with my wife.

Katie had zero
homesteading experience

When we first got together,

And we actually ended up
taking her on a hunt,

And I worried about her
the whole time.

But we ended up
getting a caribou,

And there's katie with her
hands dirty, really enjoying it.

So, I learned a really
valuable lesson that day.

You know, you can't baby
your loved ones.

Narrator:
the raneys need a battle plan

To save a homestead
that's reached breaking point.

Matt must identify
the predator

That is terrorizing
the johnsons.

To introduce
a food source,

Misty must build
a livestock coop

That can withstand attacks
from the mystery predator.

But if marty can't build
a filtration system

To make the johnsons'
lethal water safe,

Then all will be in vain.

Misty:
their plants are dying,

And she suspects
the water poisoning them,

And they eat the plants --

Whoa, whoa. Hold on.
I drank that water.

It's k*lling the plants?

[ Chuckling ]
we've only been here a day.

We've seen a pack of coyotes,
you might be poisoned,

And we have no water.

I've come close to death
many times --

Crashing planes in the bush,

Near drownings
in the middle of nowhere.

The one way
I don't want to go out

Is drinking bad water

And dying on the way
to the outhouse.

Narrator:
still to come...

Rocks, charcoal
and the sand...

...marty unearths a
centuries-old off-grid solution.

Every water filtration system
in the world

Copies what we're looking at
in this riverbank.

And will misty build a coop
strong enough

To keep
a lethal new predator out?

Misty:
the fence isn't tall enough,

And I had tunnel vision,

Thinking my only predator
here was wolves.

♪♪

Narrator: in the white mountains
of arizona,

The raney family
have just seven days

To help a homestead

With contaminated
drinking water,

No food or livestock,

And that's stalked
by predators.

[ Snarls ]

Donna: we're just to this point
where we don't know what to do.

We're pretty much doomed.

I've got my own fears --

Uh, snakes, scorpions,
tarantulas.

God knows what else is crawling
around out there in the desert.

They tell me, check your
cowboy boots in the morning,

Before you put them on.

Trust me -- I do.

Twice.

In alaska, you don't have
to check your cowboy boot

To see if there's
a brown bear in there --

You know.

Matt's mission
is to uncover the mystery

Of donna's two missing dogs

And identify the predator
that beheaded the third.

Matt: wow.
There's tracks right here.

Those are big.

Matt's found
a 4-inch-long paw print

Just 600 feet
from the johnsons' front door.

It's canine.

You can definitely tell
'cause of the claw marks here.

Donna: mm-hmm.

I feel like, until we get this
predator situation resolved,

We can't any dogs,
we can't get any livestock --

We can't get anything living

Until we find out
what's actually out there.

Narrator: donna's convinced

Her dogs were k*lled
by mexican gray wolves.

This protected species
was reintroduced to arizona

To save it from extinction.

Officially, there are only


But locals believe
the number is much higher.

With wolves,
you never turn your back.

Mm-hmm.
You know?

You want
to stand your ground,

But you don't want to make
this aggressive eye contact.

You don't even want
to show your teeth.

What you can do is try
to make yourself look bigger,

And you also want to make
your human presence known.

Mm-hmm.

If you're just all timid and shy
and you start running away,

You turned into prey.

Some of my earliest memories

Are actually encountering
a wolf with my dad.

I didn't realize that

Those animals were something
to be feared at the time,

But I developed
a healthy fear.

My fear helps me live
with these predators,

And donna has to face
this predator problem head on.

Narrator:
matt sets trail cams.

He's hoping to capture the
culprit stalking this homestead.

All right.
Now we wait.

Narrator: and marty's back

With news of what's lurking
in the johnsons' water.

Okay, this calcium
number here -- 2,500...

Donna: mm-hmm.

...that number
should read 500.

This is five times higher
than safe drinking-water levels.

Wouldn't be good.

Maybe that's why
he got a kidney stone.

Are you kidding me?

No, I had a kidney stone
a few months back.

Yeah.

And you take in the five times
the calcium that you need,

You get kidney stones.

But this total coliform --

You never want to see that
in your water.

This is like
a breeding ground.

Narrator: as well as
harmful levels of calcium,

The johnsons' water
contains coliform,

A family of bacteria
which includes e. Coli.

Once it's present
in that tank,

It's just waiting for
any other types of coliform,

Like fecal,
to get near it,

And then it breeds
and goes crazy.

And this is
a serious business.

I'm not kidding around here
at all.

If you drink your well water,
it's gonna k*ll you.

Leaves me feeling
a little bit ashamed

That I let it go
for two years,

That I created a health hazard
for donna and myself.

♪♪

Ohh, man,
am I not feeling good.

Ohh!
I had to get these.

[ Laughs ]

Anti-diarrheal tablets?

The bad news is,
I have to take this with...

Their water?
Yeah.

So you should take two.

[ Both laugh ]

It's not funny.

[ Laughs ]

Turns out
we can't drink the water.

There's a turd
in the punch bowl,

And we've
got to fish it out.

Narrator:
with just six days left,

Marty plans to fix the water

With the help
of mother nature.

Marty: ohh! Ohh!

-Whoa! Son of a --
-[ laughs ]

Whoa! It had fangs.

T.l.: Somebody's scared
of snakes.

It was about that big, and it
was about that big around.

Uh, vicious...

Creature.

That thing was trying
to attack me.

[ Laughs ]
you didn't see that?

You didn't see that?

[ Laughs ]

All right, where was i?

Every water-filtration system
in the world

Copies what we're looking at
in this riverbank.

-Yeah.
-Fact.

The idea would be to mimic
what works on planet earth.

It really is going to be layers,
just like this riverbank.

The over-sized rocks,
activated charcoal,

And...the sand

Will capture particulates,
organisms, parasites, viruses.

It'll capture most of it.

I'm actually 100% convinced

That 99%
of what's in this water

Will be filtered out
organically.

Products found
on your own homestead.

Narrator:
biofilters are two centuries old

And still used today
to filter contaminated water

Through natural layers of rock,
activated charcoal, and sand.

First, marty and t.l.
Gather the materials

To construct
their off-grid filter.

Everything that we need
is right here.

My hope is that

The simple system
that I just explained

is the cure-all,

But I wouldn't bet
my life on it.

I got a question for you.
Yeah?

Why does it look like,
when you're standing up,

You got a tweaked back
or something?

Well, I was airborne
in the army,

I had a bad night jump,
and I shattered seven vertebrae,

And I'm missing 35%
of my lower-lumbar vertebrae.

I got to spend about
three months in the hospital

Learning
how to walk again, so...

That's brutal, buddy.

So, I'm just supposed to
never lift

More than like 10 pounds or
something ridiculous like that,

'Cause it could end up
worse than I am now.

You just moved
that pile of rock,

And there's about


Well, I like it.
I like doing this stuff.

I wish
I could do it all day,

But sometimes,
I'm laid up two days,

'Cause it will hurt
too much.

Narrator:
t.l.'S injuries are so severe,

It's taken the two years
since moving off-grid

To restore this stone house
all by himself.

I, too, have a broken back.

I fell out of a tree 45 feet,

I crashed on the ground,

And they called the helicopter
in to pick up a dead guy.

I've felt the pain
of that back injury

Every day of my life,

So I can relate to a guy

That's got
a few aches and pains.

Of all the homesteading
couples that we've visited,

No husband needed his wife's
support more than you do.

But you'll never say it.

I do want to say this --

These
are sensitive topics...

Oh.

...i don't normally
talk about with men,

But I think that,
sometimes, we help people

In more ways
than just shoveling.

How much rock do I need
to put in there, please?

I think all of it.

Narrator: the final layer
of sand is added.

Now water must pass
through the tank for three days

Before marty risks
another mouthful.

But other dangers
still threaten this homestead.

As night falls,

The raneys take the johnsons
on a predator stakeout.

There's a big, big mystery
going on on this homestead.

Maybe tonight, all of us

Can start to unravel
the mystery here.

Tonight,
if we come face-to-face

With a predator that
may have k*lled my dogs,

I don't even know
how I would react.

I could be easy prey,
and it's just not safe.

Matt:
there's safety in numbers,

And we'll be
in the perfect --

[ Animal howls in distance ]
hey! Shh!

-Yeah.
-Listen.

That's a wolf.

I'm telling you right now --
that sounds like wolves.

[ Howling continues ]

Narrator:
in the arizona desert,

The raneys are staking out
the mystery predator

That wiped out
the johnsons' dogs

And left them in fear
for their lives.

-...perfect
-hey! Shh!

-Yeah.
-Listen.

[ Animal howling in distance ]

That's a wolf.

Narrator: desperate to get eyes
on the suspected wolves,

Matt and the group
follow the howls north,

Armed
with a night-vision scope.

I'm nervous.
I'm nervous.

Every time
I hear wolves howling,

It gives me the chills.

I just want to make sure
that you're gonna be armed, too.

Yeah, I got my shotgun with me,
and it'll be ready.

[ Animal howls in distance ]

Yes.

There's the howling.
There's the howling sound.

Shh! Shh!

-Over there.
-No.

Yeah.

This way.

Okay. Can you hear it?
[ Animal howling ]

I don't see anything
over there.

Matt: it seemed like
it was going away.

Narrator: just as the evidence
points to wolves or coyotes,

Another suspect lets out
a game-changing sound.

[ Animal barks in distance ]

I know.

That sounded
like your dog?

Yeah.

Marty: quite frankly,
I'm asking myself,

"Are their dogs still alive?"

It sound preposterous,

But stranger things
have happened, man.

This is the wilderness,
it's off-grid,

And you can't predict
what takes place out here.

♪♪

Narrator: the next morning,

With the mystery deeper
than ever,

Matt gathers the raneys.

I'm not totally convinced
of what this predator is

That's threatening
this homestead.

T.l. And I heard
some dogs barking,

And in an instant...
[ Snaps fingers ]

...my mind went crazy

With other possibilities
than wolves out here.

I think that I really need
to get a more local opinion.

-Yeah.
-Especially after last night.

I agree.
That's a good idea, matt.

Narrator:
with only three days left,

Matt and marty leave the
homestead in search of answers.

I saw a guy on horseback
coming out here,

Herding some cattle
out there.

Look for him, please.

I'm thinking that it's that kind
of a guy we need to talk to.

Local knowledge, man.

I cannot figure out

What's actually threatening
this homestead.

I have a really great fear

That t.l. And donna could be
these predators' next victim.

And that rancher --
he knows.

Yeah, yeah.

Narrator:
back on the homestead,

Misty's goal is to introduce
a source of protein.

She's found
some leftover adobe bricks

From which she plans to build
a livestock shelter.

A lot of the time,
people don't know

What's sitting
on their homestead.

It's better than gold.

You know, the adobe bricks
is literally this, add water.

They're super solid.

Narrator: misty will use
these tough bricks

To construct
a predator-proof turkey coop.

She'll surround the coop
with an 8-foot-high fence

To stop wolves from jumping over

And bury it 2 feet below ground
to stop them digging under.

[ Grunts ] I'm pretty excited
about this structure.

Narrator:
to build a coop of this scale,

Misty needs donna to pitch in
with the manual labor --

Something
she's not used to doing.

-My observation is this.
-Mm-hmm.

Ever since you've lost
your dogs,

It's just kind of, like,

The light kind of
went out of your eyes here.

That was, you know,
my life -- my dogs.

I got to tell you --

You seem not that present
in this homestead...

-Mm-hmm.
-...right now, right here.

I feel like
I sacrificed a lot

To, you know,
come to a homestead out here.

Why do you seem, like,

Kind of like
you're getting choked up?

I get emotional
at times, too,

Because I feel like
everything's just compiling

On top of everything.
[ Sniffles ]

Look at me really quick.

This way of life
is really hard.

-[ Laughs ] yeah.
-Really, really hard.

And if this is the bottom,
then, from here...

It will
just get better?

Yeah.

My goal here is to breathe life
back into donna

And bring life
back to this homestead.

And I have to reach her
in order to help her.

Narrator:
deep in the desert,

Matt and marty are hoping

A local rancher can help them
unlock the mystery

Of the predator
terrorizing the johnsons' land.

Marty:
oh, there he is!

Right there.
Watch out!

That's a cliff
right there.

More road, less cliff.
[ Sighs ]

[ Thuds ]

[ Whistles ]

-How you doing, bud?
-I'm doing good.

My name's marty raney.

Macky trickey.

We traveled from alaska to help
some homesteads over there.

They had three dogs,
and they found the head of one,

And then a 200-pound mastiff
and a pit bull are gone.

They never found them.
They've just been gone.

If they didn't find
hide nor hair of those two dogs,

I would certainly
have my suspicion

That they may have joined in
one of those packs of wild dogs.

They're kind of like
feral dogs.

[ Breathes sharply ]
wow.

What makes your dog
go wild, feral?

They get that taste for blood,
and they enjoy k*lling.

T.l. Told me

That his mastiff
and his pit bull

Went out here
and k*lled coyotes

And drug them home
to the doorstep.

Sometimes
they'll band together,

Anywhere from a dozen,


Here?

What are they k*lling?
Livestock.

Uh, they can k*ll
other dogs.

The johnsons' dogs
could still be alive today,

Running in wild,
feral dog packs?

I believe that is
a very good possibility.

I do.

This is amazing information,
so thank you.

But...
What do you think --

What do you think k*lled
that sheepdog over there?

They found the head...

But there was some spine
still connected.

-Still connected.
-Yeah.

Well, you know,
that sounds like mountain lions.

I got to tell you,
I did not see that coming.

The head
will still be there,

And then, just everything
backward is stripped clean.

♪♪

[ Thud echoes ]

Narrator:
the raneys now have


In the arizona desert.

Misty's turkey coop is built

And surrounded by
an 8-foot-high wolf-proof fence.

Nothing's getting in.

Nothing's getting out.
Yep.

But the list of predators
threatening this homestead

Keeps growing.

♪♪

We're introducing turkeys
out here in the middle of...

Wolf country, coyote country,
cougar country,

Feral-dog country.

We don't want to turn
this homestead

Into year-round thanksgiving.

I saw a cowboy riding off
in the distance, herding cattle.

We gave him
all the gruesome details,

And because of the way

You guys found
the remains of that dog,

He said
it was a tell-tale sign

Of a mountain lion k*ll.

♪♪

I'm just
kind of in shock.

We were set in stone
on the wolf thing,

And, definitely,
those mountain lions

Are way stronger, faster,
and even, you know, scarier.

We've planned for this predator
problem being the wolf,

And now they tell me
about mountain lions.

And mountain lions
can jump 10 feet.

The fence isn't tall enough.
It's not good.

Narrator: with
the turkeys arriving tomorrow,

Misty must ensure

These animals aren't fodder
for mountain lions.

You guys lost
your bigger dogs --

The pit bull
and the mastiff.

You went out
and tried to find it.

The crazy thing was,

I probably covered in a grid
of about 10 square miles.

I figured, you know,

If they were dead,
I'd see something,

But I didn't see
anything.

Wolves, in general, there's
always a sign of a struggle,

And you'll definitely find
a blood trail.

Well, then, what is it?
What did macky say?

Feral dogs.

What?!

If you don't control
those dogs,

Those dogs will literally
go out there,

Get a taste for blood,
and they will turn.

Our neighbor said that
he saw our mastiff

Running and walking
with wolves or coyotes.

When was this?

-When they first went missing.
-When they first went missing.

How come
I'm just hearing that now?

Are you kidding me?

Well, we didn't put it
as a very credible thing.

I mean,
you're talking about

A guy that lives
out in the hills

And doesn't see that well --
he's an old guy.

Those dogs gained
that taste for blood,

And you guys
were watching it happen.

I'm gonna hit you
with a truth b*mb.

I mean, everything that happens
on your guys' homestead,

You guys
are responsible for.

You come out here.

You bring your animals.
You bring livestock.

Every single one
of those things

Can be taken away
by dangerous predators.

You know, that blood
was on your hands, you know?

Donna: we knew our dogs had
a taste for blood,

But we didn't know
the extent of it.

We didn't know that there was
a feral dog pack out here,

And just them being a part of it
just baffles me.

♪♪

Narrator: with three different
predators to deal with,

Misty has to dig deep
to come up with a solution

To a deadly
mountain lion problem.

We don't have
mountain lions in alaska,

And I had tunnel vision,

Thinking my only predator here
was wolves.

Mountain lions
can jump 10 feet.

So, 8 feet won't work.

Narrator: to protect
against this new threat,

Misty must raise the posts

From 8 to 10 feet high,

Leaving the trench exposed.

Without a solution,

Wolves will easily dig under
and slaughter the turkeys.

I don't know,
really, what to do,

But it's gonna have to be
mountain lion, predator-proof.

Narrator: while misty fights
to fix the coop,

Marty must know
if his water filter

Has won the battle

Against toxic calcium
and coliform bacteria.

I'm gonna let you look in there
for anything white.

It's looking pretty clear.

That's a good sign.

What's it taste like?

Better.

The water is clear
of floating calcium,

But the bad taste means
an unseen danger still exists.

We built a bio-sand filter,
and that part worked

When it comes to
the visible solids,

But what remains
is bacteria --

The kind that can hurt you,

The kind that could k*ll you.

This is the answer
to all your problems.

Ultra-violet.

The bulb will create
a purifying gas.

It's gonna k*ll bacteria
and break down solids.

Narrator: this uv light
will attach to an air pump

To circulate a purifying gas
through the johnsons' water

To k*ll
any lurking bacteria.

This water-filtration unit,
if it works,

Is gonna be excellent.

We don't
have to be thinking,

"Oh, I hope
we have enough water."

Now it'll just come
right out of the tap,

Like a normal person's house.

Okay, we're ready.

If we throw some solar-panel
power to this thing,

You're gonna be making
clean water.

Good.

Marty:
I've used every trick I know...

Okay.
...to make this water drinkable.

Okay.

But I'm not patting myself
on the back.

This water is headed
back to the lab.

♪♪

Narrator: it's the raneys'
last day on the homestead,

And misty has a new idea

To shore up
the coop's defenses.

Misty:
we only have 10 feet of fencing,

So we're not gonna be able
to use the fence

For this trench.

So, we have
some barbed wire.

We're gonna take it...
Okay. Yeah.

...and put it
in the trench

And use it so predators
can't dig under our fence.

Yeah, I think the barbed
wire's a great idea to bury it

And then, you know,
once predators start digging,

It's like they're gone.

Narrator: with barbed wire

To stop the wolves
undermining the fence,

It's all hands on deck
to finish the coop

Before the turkeys arrive.

Okay, we're gonna be
getting airborne,

And we're going
into the building.

Donna, walk down the wall
towards the tree!

I feel like
it could be pulled more --

-You know what I mean?
-Okay!

Me and misty totally built
this b*mb-proof turkey coop.

I mean,
what could actually get in?

Narrator: donna's livestock
will be protected,

But the mystery of her
missing dogs still remains.

These are fresh tracks.

Narrator: matt checks his
trail cams for fresh evidence.

This is not good news.

♪♪

Hello?! Anybody home?!
[ Whistles ]

Narrator:
seven days ago, the raneys found

Inexperienced homesteaders
t.l. And donna johnson

In fear for their lives.

All we found was
the head of one dog

With about 3 inches
of spine sticking out.

They ate your dogs?

They had no food source

And were in danger
of being poisoned

By their
contaminated water.

If you drink your well water,
it's gonna k*ll you.

It's the last day
on the homestead,

And matt has
some shocking evidence

For donna and t.l.

Matt: this whole time
that I've been out here,

I've been trying
to get positive proof

Of what happened
to their dogs.

I think I have some stuff
that you need to see.

I mean, I don't even know
how to even show you this.

The suspense
is getting me here.

-I see some shadows.
-I see a shadow.

What the...

[ Chuckling ]
that was our feral dogs.

Donna: play it again.

-No. Those aren't our dogs.
-Any of those your dogs?

I don't think
I've ever lived anywhere

Where there were
feral dogs.

I mean, I don't know
where your dogs went,

And we don't have them
on this camera,

But...you guys have
those feral dogs here.

I mean, and
your dogs could've gone

And ran with these two same dogs
that we're seeing here.

Yeah,
that's really hard evidence

That they're actually,
you know, on our land.

This is the proof
that we needed.

It's a large chance that

Our dog could have gone
with the feral pack.

And it actually gives me
that closure,

And we'll definitely do things
differently here

To have a happy life
on our homestead.

I feel like
I was not facing my fear

Of whatever that was
out there,

And now something
just switched in me,

And that fear
just went away.

Narrator:
the johnsons now know

What predators
are stalking their land.

And with the turkeys
on their way,

Misty's wolf-, dog-
and mountain lion-proof coop

Is ready for action.

It was a lot of work.

We dug a trench,
we put in barbed wire,

And what's getting in here?
Nothing.

I've actually never built
a coop that nice.

Our coop in alaska
is not that nice.

So, tour?

-Let's show you around, t.l.
-Cool.

We have our perch
where they can roost,

But it's also holding up
that livestock netting.

Narrator:
this four-day build

Cost just $200
in netting and fence wire.

The rest of the coop
was built

From leftover materials
found on the johnsons' land

And will now provide them with
a reliable source of protein.

Okay, come in.
Check this out.

I drilled all these
little quarter holes,

And so, she puts her hose in,
fills up her bucket --

Gravity-fed feeder.

So you get five gallons
of water at a time.

-That's awesome.
-That's homestead genius there.

Marty:
oh, this is turkey heaven.

When I pulled up here,
there was no light in your eye,

And I look at you today,

And I am so pumped
at where you're at,

What we've accomplished,
and this is the beginning.

You have life
on your homestead.

I'm so excited
for the turkeys to live here.

-We did it.
-Yay!

We did it!
We did it!

Narrator: while the turkeys
are secure in their new home,

The johnsons
still don't know

If their water
is safe to drink.

The reason I wanted you guys
to come over here

Was to visually see

The change that's happened
in the well water

In the last few days
we've been here.

So, we went
from snow globe...

To this.

This is the future.

We have a sand filter
and an ozone generator,

Cleaning everything
it comes in contact with.

There you go.

Narrator:
for the first time ever,

T.l. And donna

Are about to drink water
drawn from their own well.

[ Water swishing ]

Hey, it tastes like water.
That's pretty cool.

-Bravo!
-Whoo-hoo!

-[ Whistles ]
-good job!

This water still needs
to go back to the lab,

But this is nothing short of
a miracle for your homestead.

Without this water,
I really don't think

You guys would last here,
quite frankly.

I'm not a guy who likes
to ask for help,

But without the raneys
coming out here,

I'm not really sure
where we would be right now,

Or where
we would have ended up.

I think, right now,

We're definitely
in a much better place.

I think our work's done.

Let's get out of here.
We're getting rained on.

We got to get rolling.

On the first day that
I visited this homestead,

I looked around,
and I gave it 30 days

Before it would just return
to the arizona desert

And be unoccupied.

Now, after seeing donna overcome
her fear of predators

And watching t.l. And her
work together on projects,

I got to say,

If you're out here driving
around in the arizona desert,



Stop in here
and say hi to the johnsons.

♪♪

Since the raneys have left,

The coyotes, the wolves,
the feral dogs are still here,

And I've learned
to live with them

And not be afraid of them
anymore.

T.l.: The turkey coop

Definitely has worked out to be
extremely predator-proof.

If some sort of animal
were trying to dig in,

And once they hit
the barbed wire,

It seems like they realized
it's a bad idea and move on.

It's nice actually
having life out here again.

I feel a lot more relaxed now.

I think we're almost to
the point

Where we're ready to invest
our emotion into another dog.

We're probably gonna go look for
two separate mastiff puppies.

Our water has been quite
phenomenal, as you can see.

Almost nothing floating
in there.

Narrator: the final test results
are back from the lab,

And the calcium level
has the all-clear

At just


Going from like five times
what the safe drinking level was

To almost nothing
in the water --

I think that's a victory.

The raneys have been
super helpful.

We've accomplished so much,
and they taught me that

Sometimes
I need to ask for help,

Because I don't have
the solution to every problem.

There you go.

[ Air rushing, thud echoes ]

Narrator: this season
on "homestead rescue"...

Get out of here!
The fire is coming!

Man: get in the car!
[ Thunder crashes ]

Narrator: as america's off-grid
families face disaster...

They just issued
a flash-flood watch.

Without help, it's gonna be
the breaking point.

...the raneys fight
to save them.

We came because you asked us
to help you.

Please, trust us.

We have grizzlies
on our property.

I live in fear that that bear's
gonna get ahold of one of us.

[ Weapon c*ck ]

Matt: I'm gonna hit you
with a truth b*mb.

What you're doing is wrong.

It's a really dangerous
homestead.

[ Crying ]
I feel really inadequate.

Narrator: for some homesteads,
there is salvation...

-Yeah!
-What?

Not a good time to chat.

We could not do this
without the raneys.

Narrator: ...but for others...
Aah!

...there is no...

-Whoa, whoa, whoa!
-Stop!

...going back.

♪♪