The little black-and-white dog knocked into furniture and hid things in his crate. He couldn’t go up or down stairs, didn’t know how to climb onto a couch. Flushing toilets and clanging pots sent him running from the room. He wasn’t a bad dog—he simply didn’t know any better; he’d never lived in a house. His lack of social grace earned him the name Jonny Rotten...
Jonny was one of the unsocialized-but-happy crowd, which is how he ended up with Cohen, who had a pit bull of his own and had previously fostered six others as a volunteer for the rescue group BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls). “The first step was to let him unwind his kennel stress,” Cohen says, referring to the jitters that follow dogs out of long-term confinement. He countered Jonny’s anxiety with quiet time and “the rut,” as he calls it. “Dogs love a schedule,” he explains. “They love knowing that the same things are going to happen at the same times every day. Once they have that consistency, they can relax.”
Cohen put Jonny on a firm program of walks, feedings, playtime, and relaxation, which helped relieve his insecurity and fear, emotions that can drive canine misbehavior. “A big part of it is building trust,” Zawistowski says, “teaching them that the world is not out to get them.” Within 10 days, Jonny embraced his routine and began to relax....
Look how far Jonny has come. Cohen formally adopted him last year, and he, too, is a therapy dog, working in a program that encourages kids who are learning to read. The children who take turns reciting stories to him don’t know him as a pit bull or a Vick dog. No one knows him as Jonny Rotten, either. Along the way he acquired a new name. Now he’s Jonny Justice
)
