Page 21 - South Mississippi Living - February, 2025

Love at first sight definitely exists. And that’s exactly how “Scuba” Steve Johnson felt when he met an eight-week-old English Setter who he instantly named Oli J. We often hear people talk about rescuing a dog or puppy, but Johnson feels he was the one saved when he adopted Oli J in 2020.
“He was my everything, my soul dog,” Johnson said. “He was my heart, my life. I always told him if something ever happens to you, I’ll likely die. I can’t live without you.”
When he adopted Oli J, the only human family Johnson had remaining was his father, who died after an illness in 2022. Oli J was steadfast by his side as Johnson grieved the passing of his dad. “And there I was, I had zero family,” he said. “I have the best friends in the world, but it was lonely losing my dad. Oli was my rock.”
But just days after marking the second anniversary of his father’s death, Johnson was hit with another tragedy. Oli J was innocently playing in the backyard and discovered a red mushroom. Despite Johnson rushing Oli to an emergency veterinarian, the pup was gone within a matter of hours.
“I’ve had a lot of people say, it’s just a dog,” he said. “This was my baby, my heartbeat, my son, my whole life. As someone who battles extreme anxiety and depression, he saved me. Loved me unconditionally. Never turned his back on me. With every panic attack and every bout of depression, he would stand at attention beside me. Put his paw on my leg. He knew. He was concerned. What I was dreading ten years in the future happened in a matter of hours.”
Johnson described losing Oli J as more devastating than when he battled Stage 3 Colorectal Cancer in 2015. When he was initially diagnosed, he traveled to New Orleans to see a specialist who told him to get his affairs in order and prepare his family for the worst. Not one to give up easily, Johnson found a human angel, Dr. Allison Wall. She told him, “I’m going to save you, and God is going to save you.” And she meant it.
“But I would go through all of that over again if I could just save Oli J,” he said.
Feeling lost and hopeless, Johnson sank into the lowest despair he’d ever felt and prayed for a helping hand. As it’s often said, when a door closes, God finds a window and that opening was a text message about an abused eight-month-old Jack Russell Terrier who desperately needed a human hero. “He jumped in my arms,” Johnson said, adding he named him Jasper. “He saved my life, and I saved his.”
And sometimes, God opens more than one window. A few months later, Johnson learned Oli J’s sister, Mary, needed a home. Mary was surrendered so her owner could seek addiction treatment and needed a human hero.
“I did not even hesitate,” he said. “She just melted into my arms, and I just cried. We sat on the curb in front of our house for a good 30 minutes. As our neighbors walked by, they started crying too because they know what I’ve been through.”
So not all heroes in this world wear capes. Some heroes wear collars. And that’s exactly who Oli J was to Johnson, a hero for his human, in this life and beyond. “I feel like Oli J is up there with my dad and they are both watching out for me,” he said. “They knew what I needed. They knew I needed Jasper and Mary.”
ABOVE: Oli J. FAR LEFT: Steve Johnson with Mary.
LEFT: Johnson with Dr. Allison Wall.
BELOW: Mary. BOTTOM: Jasper.
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