My name is Johnny (VA) new update!!

Johnny is being fostered in VA.

Only read about Johnny if you are looking for a gentle, small dog to add to your family!

There are so many good things to share about Johnny but, first, his history. Johnny lost his Kerrville, Texas home on July 4th 2025 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 and realized Johnny was blind, 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!
-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, 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 four 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 and sleeps all night.

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! He needs to be carried up and down steps.

The best thing about Johnny is his personality. While he sometimes enjoys playing and gets excited at mealtime, he is generally very low-key, very gentle, and sweet. He has started giving occasional kisses too. While not diagnosed with dementia, he is starting to show some signs that this may be an issue. For example, he will be taken outside and then stand there a while, like he is unsure why he is out there!

Like many rescue dogs, especially seniors, Johnny has some medical issues that have needed to be addressed.

When he arrived at his foster home, he was missing hair on his back and on top of his tail too, likely due to a former flea infestation. His hair is very slowly growing back. Johnny also has had dry skin and some small lumps and bumps like many older dogs have. His skin has improved and he is on daily fish oil to help.

When he first arrived, Johnny needed a dental and also had two large lumps plus a small one removed. Johnny had those procedures completed and he did very well, with a good recovery. Then, in January 2026, a lump was removed on his left front paw. All these 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, because it was so infrequent, she said no further follow-up or treatment was needed. She also said his lungs were clear and his heart sounded good. Over time, the coughing has periodically increased in frequency and so, in January, Johnny had an x-ray which revealed that his heart is now enlarged. Also, an arrhythmia was detected that had not been heard before. He was diagnosed with early heart disease and this likely explains the increased coughing. He now takes Vetmedin and Benazepril daily.

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 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). However, he still has a left head tilt (very 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 sometimes 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. It is also important to know that there is a chance Johnny will continue to improve - and also a chance he will not. A couple pictures on Johnny’s profile on the BDRA website show his current head tilt/turn.

Before Johnny had vestibular syndrome, he was great with housetraining. Once the vestibular symptoms started, he began to have occasional daily accidents in the house and this has continued. Johnny is taken out every 2 to 3 hours during the day and wears a belly band around the clock because his accidents are unpredictable.
Johnny has also lost most of his hearing since arriving at his foster home. In addition, he cannot see at all. His eyes have some very minimal clear drainage at times but are currently healthy. His eye pressure is normal (no glaucoma) at this time and he does not have dry eye. He had eye ulcers when leaving the shelter but those have resolved.

He does have fairly frequent instances of reverse sneezing.

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. Anyone interested in adopting Johnny should speak with their vet about not only vestibular syndrome but also about heart disease.

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, complete an application today!