Meet Our Pack
The Heart of Our Rescue
Our Pack is a group of 6 amazingly smart, compassionate, and loving mostly "pitbull spectrum" dogs including 2 service dogs. They each have a specific role in the rehabilitation of our rescues. Through pack behavior, they teach new rescues how to be dogs again—how to play appropriately, trust, and love.
Loki
Role in the Rescue: Pack Leader
Breed: Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Birthday: 10/13/2012
Bio:
Loki is the alpha of our pack, and has been since we lost Roo in 2017. We first saw Loki when we were on vacation in Mexico. In our down time we happened upon a post from our friend Cinnamon who had found Loki and was looking for a good home. After some discussions we decided that we were that home but upon reaching out he had already been rehomed. However, before our return home to Michigan they returned him to her and we knew he was meant to be ours! Clearly Loki had never been in a home before and the first thing he did was mark every item in our home. To say we might have been reconsidering our decision is an understatement. Once we got that under control we quickly saw major aggression issues in him, to the point we believe he was previously trained or forced to fight for everything. Again through love and patience we persevered through that and Loki very quickly became the perfect sweet well behaved trained alpha he is today. Loki was trained as a service dog, and worked until 2020, when it became necessary to pull him from duty due to health issues. Loki has been attacked 3 times requiring emergency care, he's had 2 tumors removed from his front left paw, and has had surgery to remove mastocytoma cells on his left hip. Through all of this Loki has remained steadfast as our strong pack leader, an excellent guide for new rescues, and a patient father figure to all puppies that have entered our care. Loki guides with a firm paw as he keeps order and safety at the top of his list.
Björn
Role in the Rescue: Gamma Socialization Tester
Breed: Staffy / Mastiff / Pug
Birthday: 12/29/2017
Bio:
Björn was born at NovaStar Rescue in Dover, AR. His mom Penny was on a euthanasia list heavily pregnant and the wonderful people at NovaStar pulled her and placed her in the care of a foster. Penny, weighing only 24lbs gave birth to 8 big beautiful babies that at 12 weeks old weighed more than she did! Björn consistently ranked in the top two of size as the litter grew and his personality was always sweet and playful. One winter day he happened to evade the fosters and was left outside where he fell into a small creek and nearly froze. However, he was found quickly and they got him warm and he is the big handsome boy we have today. Björn is a gamma in the pack and while he is playful he is very cautious. Because of this he has been able to connect well with former rescues like Ouija and Dyrr who were very reserved and scared. He's taught them that while you can be scared humans are good snack dealers if you provide kisses. Björn is our biggest talker here, we are positive he is speaking some dialect of English we just don't always get it, but he keeps talking until we do. Björn is our heaviest baby here now weighing 97lbs, which is down from his 114lbs in Ohio.
Dyrr
Role in the Rescue: Gamma Play Tester - Big Dog Friendly
Breed: American Dingo mix
Birthday: 1/26/2020
Bio:
Dyrr was a rescue from NovaStar Rescue in Dover, AR. NovaStar found Dyrr along with a brother and sister on an abandoned farm. They believed he was blind in one eye as it was cloudy with a blue haze, however, that was a residual sign of surviving distemper, this has cleared up and it has made no apparent loss of vision. At NovaStar Dyrr's siblings flourished and he did not. He became despondent and was refusing to eat. They reached out to us as we are very small to see if we could work with him and of course we took him on! Under Björn's guidance Dyrr seemed to change overnight. He had come into us tick sick, unwilling to eat, shy and scared and in 24 hours he was jumping and playing and eating like a little cow. Not long after an adopter out of GA was set up for him, we were so excited for him, however, she suddenly passed tragically in an auto accident. Since that time Dyrr has formed a very tight bond with Björn and they are not usually apart for long, making Dyrr a complete rescue fail. While we were in Ohio, during free play Björn's jaw got caught under Dyrr's collar, after a very intense 45 seconds that involved Loki and Ollie grabbing Dyrr by the legs to slow Björn down so I could unhook them, Dyrr fell lifelessly to the ground. After emergency care, many stitches to repair his sinuses, Dyrr returned home bruised and battered. As we attempted to keep him separated from Björn while he healed, he flat out refused. Dyrr wouldn't go outside or anywhere without Björn by his side, he didn't blame or hold a grudge, it was an accident and he knew he was still very safe. (We did take their collars off) Dyrr is also a gamma within our pack making him very easy for new intakes and puppies to interact with.
Sully
Role in the Rescue: Service Dog - Secondary Alpha - Plays Well But Keeps Others In Line
Breed: Staffy / Olde English Bulldog / Border Collie
Birthday: 4/18/2024
Bio:
Sully arrived outside our rescue dehydrated and on the edge of heat stroke at just 10 weeks old, we quickly jumped into emergency mode treating him slowly to get him back to stable health. Very quickly Koda and Ollie took to grooming Sully into a strong alpha and at two years old and strong Loki does have his paws full keeping Sully in line. Sully is a medical service dog, he was trained here at the rescue. He specializes in diabetic alert, deep pressure therapy, blocking, and migraine detection. When we see leadership skills and the right temperament in our dogs they do receive training to fit their personalities. Every dog can not be trained in the same way, and outside of walking, sit, stay and other basics, just like humans each dog has their own interests. Training based on the interests of the dog helps them thrive! After losing Koda and Ollie so quickly Sully suffered a blow to his self confidence and he is now fearful until he adjusts to a situation. He does have panic attacks at times but when his working vest goes on he turns into a completely different dog. At work Sully is confident, well trained, well mannered, and he is friendly with both animals and humans. He prefers not to be pet when he is working as it breaks his concentration. So if you see Sully out and about, say hi but please don't touch.
Apollo
Role in the Rescue: Strong Beta - Temperament Tester
Breed: Pomeranian / Chihuahua
Birthday: 4/20/2021
Bio:
Apollo was a last minute add on to a rescue pickup out of Louisiana. Working with different rescues, rehabs, shelters and animal control offices we save as many dogs as we can. We initially had 20 in this truckload and one of our coordinators out of Louisiana begged us to take on this tiny little boy, he was absolutely darling and after much debate we added him on. As it turned out Apollo was carrying the deadly Parvovirus. While all of our crew at home were vaccinated, we had a fresh born litter of puppies in the group that were not. Every unvaccinated rescue that came into our Ohio facility after also contracted the Parvovirus due to the fact that we did not have a quarantine area for new intakes. For a very long time we did not have any applications for Apollo, perhaps because people saw us as a Pit Bull only rescue, however, he was our first dog to make the move to Mississippi, and he became a part of the family as he kept Joe company while building the fences and the rescue barn. Apollo is a strong beta in our pack letting the big guys know that while they are all at least 40lbs heavier and much bigger, he will tell them what to do and they will listen. Apollo is good for temperament testing as he isn't afraid and doesn't back down from any of our rescues. It lets us know immediately if they are safe around smaller animals or if they have a strong prey drive. Apollo is fast and agile, sweet and spicy, but unlike most small breeds he is not yappy. He loves everything and is extremely friendly making him a perfect addition to the training pack.
Ktu
Role in the Rescue: Service Dog - Strong Beta - Super Player and Boundary Pusher
Breed: Staffy / Mastiff
Birthday: 3/4/2025
Bio:
Ktu was adopted from Kern County Animal Services out of Bakersfield, CA. We first noticed him on a flyer on Facebook in Sept of 2025 looking for a home and as we looked at his handsome face and read about his personality he reminded us so much of Koda that we just couldn't pass him up! Upon first meeting him he knew we were his forever home. He showed none of the typical "rescued" dog tendencies and immediately displayed leadership, kindness, willingness to learn, and a playful behavior. While Ktu does not have any idea of how large he is, he towers above the entire pack, including Björn, and a swift swipe from his paw can send even the most sturdy of little dogs tumbling, Ktu absolutely has no mean bones in his huge 74lb body. Unlike many members of the pack Ktu spends up to 4 hours a day in exhausting play, he's never met a toy he didn't love. We have had to create toys to allow him to expel energy as our fenced in acreage never seems to be enough for this boy. He does have a strong beta personality but he is a gentle giant. Ktu is a medical service dog, specializing in migraine detection. If you see Ktu out working please say hello, but he is still in training so do not pet.
