This website is all about Ronon. In case you happened to wonder about the human behind the site, my name is Jenna. Here’s a little backstory about me and how I came to be on this journey with Ronon.
First, There Was Snickers
Before Ronon, my canine companion was a black and tan Shiba Inu named Snickers. Snick changed my life in many ways, all for the better. I had grown up with dogs and horses, but he showed me the full potential of the human/animal bond.
Snick and I were together for almost 18 years. In that time, we lived in six homes in five states. He went to work with me at an investment bank in NYC and a tool & die shop in Mississippi. We fostered and/or adopted dogs together. We raised money for rescues and US military veterans together. We spent the last 6 years of his life in Philly taking long city walks and snuggling as much as possible.
And Then Came Ronon
About five months before Snickers passed away, I arranged to adopt Ronon. He was about one and a half years old and living in Alabama. I was hoping to bring him to Philly before Snick died. After spending about six weeks at a vet in Alabama, getting checked, dewormed, and neutered, Ronon was transported to Indiana to what was supposed to be very temporary foster care, primarily for a temperament check to be sure he could live with Snickers. Well, he turned out to be SUCH A HANDFUL (busting out of crates, jumping fences, and being generally unmanageable), that it clear there was no way he could live with a frail, senior dog. When Snick died in September 2021, Ronon was still in Indiana. By then, I’d decided I couldn’t handle having another dog so soon. Unfortunately (or, fortunately?), I couldn’t find anyone else to adopt Ronon, so, in October he came to Philly. City life was far from ideal for him, plus I was not ready for another dog. What a combination.
Our first few months together were ridiculously difficult. Ronon wasn’t house trained at all when he arrived and couldn’t go more than a few hours without peeing. That didn’t go over so well in my Center City loft apartment. He was afraid of everything outside the apartment though, so taking him outside was even more of a challenge than house-training. He was scared, stressed, and incredibly unhappy living in an urban environment. He didn’t trust me and we weren’t communicating. I didn’t think we’d ever bond. In addition to grieving for Snickers, I had other difficult changes happening in my life as well. On top of everything else, Ronon had major separation anxiety and couldn’t be left alone when I needed to go to the office, but he was too anxious and afraid to go to doggie daycare.
I was worried about losing my job, and I truly didn’t feel I had the fortitude or heart necessary to give Ronon a life that would work for him. A friend on Long Island offered to adopt him if I couldn’t make it work. In a last ditch effort to find some equilibrium, I moved to a much quieter neighborhood in northwest Philly. At that point, we began slowly making progress together. We started obedience classes. He was accepted into a daycare/training program at a farm in Bucks County, so I was able to get to the office a couple times a week. Ronon’s confidence grew, and we finally began to bond.
Eight months later, he had made such stunning progress that I felt it needed to be documented, shared, and celebrated. I started this site to tell his story.