Catching Johnna

By Randilyn McCullion

My husband, Travis, and I have rescued several dogs throughout the years, and are often tagged in Facebook posts by friends seeking help or advice. I received a tag from my friend Melissa that there was a German Shepherdtype dog running up and down one of our busier streets in Jacksonville. She was seen several times, mostly at night, dodging traffic. The next evening, a fellow rescuer and friend, Angie, caught glimpse of her—she was on the run again. I drove around to see if I could find her and help catch her, but she was too fast, and we were afraid she would get hurt if we scared her. Melissawas able to contact Animal Care and Protective Services (ACPS) and have them place a trap filled with yummy treats where she’d been seen. Over the course of the next several days, Melissa checked the trap every few hours, but there was no sign of her. The only thing we could do was hope and wait. She’d just disappeared.

Then, few days later, the call came.

We’d caught her.

It was bright and early on a cold Saturday morning in October, and there she was. She was in bad shape; but alive and relieved. We loaded her in the back of our SUV and drove directly to our vets office for a checkup and to scan her for a microchip. In our experience rescuing dogs, we’d never seen anything like her. She was micro-chipped, that told us her age based off of her adoption records. She was 10! Did she had a wonderful family missing her? Had she been lost for a long time? Was she neglected and then dumped? We wanted a reunion with a family that loved her. Unfortunately, after several attempts, the owner never returned our calls.

We’ll never know her story, but that day we decided we needed to take her home and give her a place to rest and some good food. We’d consult with the veterinarian about her care in the upcoming days, as we knew that she was a high heartworm positive, had an enlarged heart, and was very malnourished. The heartworms had done their damage. We didn’t know what our plan was, but we would give her a chance, time, and if anything, become her hospice home. We were certain she did not have much time left.

How could she bounce back from this?

Well ... she’s absolutely amazing and the rest is history!

This past October 2018 marked Johnna’s two-year anniversary as part of our family. We absolutely love her, and she loves our family—including all her fourlegged brothers and sisters. Thanks to community donations, she was able to receive treatment for her heartworms and has been negative now for a year. We always knew Johnna was a beautiful girl, but watching her blossom over the past two years, making friends, gaining confidence, and finding her voice, has taught us so much. You never know what you’re going to find, what they’ll need to overcome, or what you’ll need to teach—and what you’ll need to learn!

All she needed was a chance. •

/ Submitted via Facebook.com/unleashjax