We thank Gwinnett Jail Dog Program for their kind thoughts ..............
"We were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Jail Dog Alum Hoss on October 18, 2023. His story started with us in 2012 when he was rescued from Gwinnett Animal Shelter. After just a few days in our program it was found that this ruggedly handsome 2 year old, Anatolian Shepherd/Bloodhound mix was terribly afraid of men. Since our unit is filled with male handlers it was a very rough start for Hoss. Our wonderful friends, Penny and Pete Miller offered to take Hoss into foster. They run the highly successful dog daycare and boarding facility Desperate Dogs and the senior dog sanctuary, Frankie and Andy's Place. That alone should show you what huge hearts they have for dogs in need. Penny saw something in Hoss and offered to work with him at the Desperate Dogs ranch where she was able to observe, first hand, his severe fear and anxiety of men. Under Penny's knowledgeable guidance Hoss began to flourish! So much so that he ended up being the official dog greeter at the ranch for all that walked through their gates.
Hoss was given a great foundation at the ranch and was even adopted...twice...but always seem to find his way back to his true home, with Penny and Pete. Hoss would always return happily to continue his "duties" at the ranch by meeting and greeting new potential dogs coming into their program and just being the all round goofy, awesome boy he became.
In August of 2021 at the age of 11, Hoss was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes and was given a grim prognosis from their vet. Penny started Hoss on a holistic regime and just wanted to make him as comfortable as possible until...
In April of 2022 Penny posted a video of Hoss enjoying an active day at the beach without a care in the world. If you didn't know he had cancer you surely wouldn't of seen it through the video!
It wasn't until recently that Hoss started to slow down. Between his Bloodhound stubbornness and the love of his family that never gave up on him, Hoss left this world in October at the age of 13 1/2 years of age. For a dog that started his journey with such a fearful disposition, it is amazing to see the wonderful second chance he ended up with.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Miller's as they mourn the loss of their boy."