- Adoption status
- Sponsored Dog
- DOB
- February 2020
- Sex
- Male
- Spayed/Neutered?
- Yes
- Breed
- Lab/Lab mix
Meet John Boy.
He didn’t come to us broken by chance.
He came to us broken by cruelty.
John Boy is Elrod’s son.
He’s also the half-brother to Oda Mae and Myrtle Belle, the bloodhound sisters.
An entire family shaped by the same yard. The same neglect. The same fear.
When we were called in November 2021, what we walked into was devastation. Dogs surviving where love never existed, where food was scarce, and safety was nonexistent. That kind of trauma doesn’t disappear when the gate opens. It follows you. It lives in your nervous system. It rewires how you see the world.
John Boy carries that.
Like his father Elrod, he is deeply skittish. New environments still feel unsafe. And even now, years later, his body remembers what his heart is still trying to forget.
But this is what matters most:
John Boy deserves to be seen.
He deserves to be loved.
Even if he is not ready for a forever home outside our gates, that does not mean he is forgotten or unworthy. Healing does not have a deadline. Safety comes before adoption. And trust is built in inches, not miles.
John Boy may never be the dog that runs to greet strangers. He may always be cautious. He may always move through the world softly. But he has value exactly as he is.
And while his forever may look different, we know one thing for certain—he has an incredible support system here. A village willing to show him consistency, patience, and love. A community that understands that some dogs don’t need to be fixed… they just need to be protected.
We would love for John Boy to receive his own special group of sponsors, of people willing to stand beside him on his healing journey, to help provide for his care, and to remind him that even from afar, he matters deeply.