On Sunday, November 15, SBACC lost a bright ray of sunshine, and heaven gained another sweet rescued angel.
Johnny Dog (JD) could steal your heart the first few minutes you spent with him, or perhaps even steal it in a few moments by simply witnessing him barking and wagging his tail as he romped around (yes, he romped!) and reminded all the new pups that he was indeed The Boss Man around here. He was also a lady’s man. Perhaps he was playing us all, perhaps it was just The Shyster’s Shenanigans to locate the doggie cookies in our pockets! That little man could smell a peanut a mile away!!! With the loss of sight and sound, a traumatic past and terminal illness, JD stayed spunky and stuck around as long as he could, and that would never been long enough. Oh, and he was also missing most of his teeth after some dental care, and as you can guess per cookie story, he’d eat about anything anyway…or attempt to…like bottle caps and rocks!
In his last days he was not amenable to most food and we did our best to provide a buffet of anything he might like! The KA’s put on his diet board “whatever he wants!” and that made my heart melt, a like minded rescue friend. I’ll never forget his amazing curly floppy ears…they were the colors of Rose Gold. We made a song (Rose Gold Ears) I’d sing at bedtime and I assured him he was a trend setter for blondes in Hollywood.
He will stay in our minds and hearts as we remember his joy in making rounds around the shelter to monitor the residents and put them in their place with his commanding bark, him rolling his head on the greenbelt grass, how he’d stop a walk and practice mindfulness by just lifting his head into the wind to feel the breeze and smell new smells. His snuzzles in my lap when I showed up…and, could never have shown up enough.
On a personal note, I truly was in love with JD/Mr Muffin Man/Monkey Face/Bunny Rabbit/WagglePuss. He provided a ray of sunshine during these times of darkness. He inspired me to sew creatively again to make him stylish and personal bandanas. Each day I looked forward to our field trips, or our security rounds, and Always? The Cookie scavenger hunts post-play time! I hope he had the same joy as I did when finding the last cookie and proceeding to face rubs and snuggles.