johnny (va) update!

Johnny is being fostered in VA.

Only read about Johnny if you are looking for a sweet, gentle, small dog to add to your family!
There are so many good things to share about Johnny but, first, it is important to know his history. Johnny lost his Kerrville, Texas home on July 4th when his community experienced catastrophic flooding. Johnny landed in the area shelter and the shelter staff, once they determined Johnny’s Texas family was unable to care for him, realized Johnny was blind, and reached out to the Blind Dog Rescue to request foster placement. Plans were made and Johnny soon traveled to his Virginia Blind Dog Rescue foster home. His transport to Virginia was long –
two days of traveling one weekend, a week in a temporary foster home in Alabama, and then one more travel day to get to Virginia. Without exception, every driver plus his temporary foster family said Johnny is a great traveler and such a sweet boy.
Now that you know his history, here are some good things to share about Johnny:
-has a coat the color of a penny! So beautiful!
-housetrained 99% of the time!
-crate trained
-good with other dogs
-aware of cats but ignores
-great eater
-good traveler in the car
-does well at the vet
-loves head rubs
-sleeps quietly all night
-and is a very quiet dog during the day! He has barked just a few times since arriving in his foster home (that happens about once every other week, when he is excited about meal prep).
If you are still interested in this special little guy (we hope you are!), here are more details about Johnny, including his health history.
Johnny quickly learned the daily routine in his foster home. He is waiting at our feet when breakfast and dinner are being prepared. He is also standing in the kitchen for mid-day snack.
He knows every evening it is “sofatime” – a time when he is on the sofa with the other three dogs in the house and his foster mom too. He curls up and takes a nap, although does enjoy a head rub. And, at the end of the day, he goes right to sleep in his bed in his crate, and never makes a sound, sleeping all night and keeping his crate dry. He needs to be carried up and down steps.
Johnny likes to sniff around outside but generally does his business and is ready to go back in.
He is from Texas so is a little uncertain about wet and cool weather but he is getting acclimated!

The best thing about Johnny is his personality. While he enjoys playing and gets excited at mealtime, he is generally very low-key, very gentle, and very sweet. He has started giving kisses too.
Like many rescue dogs, Johnny had a few medical issues that needed to be addressed when he first arrived. He was missing hair on his back and hair missing on top of his tail too, likely due to a former flea infestation. His hair is growing back. Johnny also has had dry skin and has some small lumps and bumps like many older dogs have with no concerns with them at this time. His
skin has improved over the past couple of months. He is on no medication at this time.
Johnny needed a dental and had two large lumps plus a small one that needed removal.
Johnny had those procedures completed and he did very well, with a good recovery. The lumps were benign but of course he (like all dogs) need their lumps – and areas where lumps were removed - to be monitored.
When Johnny first came to his foster home, he had a quiet, brief cough once or twice a day. The vet said this could be a mild trachea collapse, could be allergies, or could be mild bronchitis. At that point, she said it was happening so rarely that no treatment was needed. She also said his lungs are clear and his heart sounds good. If the cough increases in frequency, the next step
will be a chest x-ray. However, since early September, the cough now happens maybe just a couple times a week! Much better! Johnny also does some reverse sneezing.
In early September, Johnny had a sudden onset of vestibular syndrome. For those interested in adopting Johnny and/or if you have questions about vestibular syndrome, speak with your vet.
It is a relatively common condition. Johnny developed a head tilt to the left and began doing some circling to the left. He also had nystagmus (rapid eye movements). His appetite was not affected; he still loves to eat. The vet said Johnny has a mild case of vestibular syndrome and his symptoms have improved (the nystagmus has almost disappeared). He still has a left head
tilt (slowly improving) and he still tends to walk in circles to the left, and this can make it challenging for him to walk on a leash. But recently he has just begun to turn his head to the right and walk to the right! The vet said in September he may have a lingering head tilt but he should not be circling as much as time passes. It is important to know that mild vestibular syndrome is not life-threatening.
Before Johnny had vestibular syndrome, he was great with housetraining. Once the vestibular symptoms started, he began to have occasional accidents in the house. In the last couple of weeks (as of early November 2025), Johnny has been doing much better and now rarely has an accident!
Johnny hopes that someone out there can see beyond the turn of his head (because of the vestibular syndrome) and realize he is such a special, sweet boy, so deserving of a forever home where he will be loved and spoiled!! A couple pictures on Johnny’s profile on the BDRA website show his current head tilt/turn (as of early November 2025).

Johnny can hear but cannot see at all. His eyes have some very minimal clear drainage at times but are healthy. His eye pressure is normal (no glaucoma) and he does not have dry eye. He had eye ulcers when leaving the shelter but those have resolved.
Good things about Johnny’s health:
-teeth are in good shape now
-heartworm negative
-healthy eyes and ears (his ears had a deep cleaning when he had his dental)
-no concerns with his bloodwork
-healthy heart (normal ECG)
-vestibular syndrome symptoms improving and is not life-threatening.
We don’t know Johnny’s history before he arrived at the Texas shelter and so – as it is with any rescue dog – we can’t predict what the future holds for his health.
Johnny has not spent time with children and, although he is such a nice dog, he should be adopted in a home with older children or adults only. And he should always be supervised when he is with young children, as all dogs should be.
If you think you can provide this sweet, gentle dog the wonderful forever home he deserves, please fill out an application today!
BDRA has voted against the use of electrical fencing effective immediately.





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