11/19/2025
Long Post Alert — But Juno Deserves It
Juno.
A dog who was adopted five years ago.
A dog who was brought back to the shelter by her adopter when we couldn’t take her back immediately.
We want to be transparent: when her adopter first reached out to return her, we questioned a lot, we were very upset. The reasons we were given didn’t make sense, and we do not take returns lightly—especially when the explanation shows the adopter has made no efforts to make it work to keep their dog. We were already uneasy, and when the adopter ultimately dropped her off at the shelter, we were pi**ed.
We didn’t have an open foster—not one—but after hearing what her previous adopter told us, we knew there was a high chance she didn’t end up in the right hands. We have always promised our dogs that they will never return to the place we once saved them from. So we ran. We picked her up. And we started from scratch.
Juno went straight into board and train, and since then she’s had a few short-term foster breaks. Along the way, we saw real concerns—Juno struggles with stranger danger and needs time, structure, consistency, and ongoing training.
Come April 2026, Juno will have been living in boarding for almost a year.
That may sound far away, but it isn’t.
Her trainer is amazing. He works her every day, gives her affection, structure, and purpose. But boarding, no matter how great, is not a home. For five years Juno had a family—and now she lives in a kennel. It isn’t fair. It isn’t what she deserves.
Our hearts are heavy, and our hopes are low—not because we don’t believe in Juno, but because she needs a very specific adopter:
• Someone willing to continue her training.
• Someone patient enough to give her space and let her warm up.
• Someone with minimal visitors, or someone willing to work her through structured guest greetings or crate her when people come over.
• Someone who understands that love sometimes looks like boundaries.
• She can live with another dog—preferably a low- to moderate-energy male.
Juno has a tremendous amount of love to give to the right person. She just hasn’t found that person yet.
And now comes the hardest part to say:
If we cannot find the right adopter for her—someone who can give her a real home and real stability—we will have to start facing very difficult decisions. Not because we want to. Not because we don’t love her. But because living day after day after day in a kennel is not a life. Prolonged boarding can slowly undo all her progress, break her spirit, and cause her to decline. That’s not fair to her. As a rescue we will not allow that to happen.
This is not about giving up. This is about being responsible, compassionate, and honest about her quality of life.
Backlash helps no one — especially not Juno and we just won’t tolerate it.
If you cannot provide constructive support or help her find the home she needs, please refrain from commenting.
To the person out there who can be her match:
Juno is waiting.
We are waiting.
And she deserves to finally go home.
