Homeward Bound’s Jody Jones, savior to thousands of rescued golden retrievers, dies

Jody Jones, the co-founder of Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, which has saved the lives of nearly 10,000 dogs, died Monday from an undisclosed illness. She was 67.

“She’s touched this whole community and beyond,” said Audrey Farrington, a volunteer and board member for the rescue group. “She had an unbelievably huge heart, not just for rescuing dogs but for the human lives she impacted, too.

“She had this vision for Homeward Bound not just as a rescue, but also as a sanctuary.”

Homeward Bound, an all-volunteer nonprofit with a sanctuary in Elverta, was founded in 2000 by Jones and her husband, Mike, after their golden retriever Chelsea was hit by a car.

“She’d been doing some rescue, but she and Mike adopted Chelsea and Chelsea got out and got hit by a car, and she was not expected to live,” Farrington said. “And they made a promise to her that if you recover we will devote our lives to rescue.”

They were both state workers at the time, Farrington said. In the first year of operation, Homeward Bound rescued 255 dogs.

To date, nearly 9,500 dogs — not all of them golden retrievers — have been rescued.

“We rescue the old, the sick and injured Goldens as well as the young healthy ones,” Homeward Bound says on its website. “Some of these Goldens will have significant health issues and it is our responsibility to provide them with expert veterinary care prior to offering them for adoption.”

Homeward Bound is known for taking in even difficult cases, with the goal of getting the dogs into the right homes, Jones said in a 2015 Sacramento Bee story.

“We get them vetted, we get them evaluated to find out what type of a home they are looking for, and we get them home,” Jones said at the time. “So most of (the dogs) are with us short term until we find that wonderful new home for them.”

Farrington said Homeward Bound will continue its mission and that Treasurer Judy Kent has been named to run it in the interim while the board decides on a replacement for Jones.

“The board started working about three years ago on succession plans because no one can be irreplaceable,” Farrington said. “The dogs need us.”

In addition to her husband, Jones is survived by her mother and father, Barbara and David Johndreau, son Brian Stafford, daughter Courtney Stafford, and five siblings.

No services are currently planned, but supporters may donate in her memory to Homeward Bound through its website or at homewardboundgoldens.kindful.com. Checks payable to Homeward Bound GRR also may be mailed to Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue & Sanctuary, Inc., 7495 Natomas Rd., Elverta, CA 95626.

“We will carry on,” Farrington said. “She expects it and she prepared us for it.”

This story was originally published October 5, 2020 at 2:23 PM.