Every kid has the right to have a loving family. This important piece of information was passed down to Shannon Pinkerton by her parents, who worked in the special needs community as caregivers.
Therefore, in 2009, when presented with the option to provide foster care for Joey, who was 10 years old and had Down syndrome, the choice was an obvious one. “He begged us to adopt him,” she tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue, which is available on newsstands now. “I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for these kids.”
After waiting almost 15 years, Shannon, now 52, and her husband, Troy, now 56, adopted not only their son Joey, who is now 23 years old, but also five additional young men with Down syndrome: Devlin, now 18, Julian, now 20, Cameron, now 23, Anthony, now 25, and Tracee, now 28. A few of the young males also suffer from developmental abnormalities such as autism with no vocal communication or dwarfism.
According to Shannon, there is never a boring moment in their lives, whether they are riding horses on the forty acres of property that they own at their home in Glenrock, Wyoming, gathering eggs from the hens that they farm, or just making a trip to Sam’s Club for some groceries.
“They are happy about being here because they don’t live a boring life,” says Troy, who works in a coal mine. “They don’t live in the same place every day.” They are either going to go horseback riding, going camping, or going to Disneyland. If they were, for example, confined to a facility, they would have to take each day as it came and wouldn’t be able to participate in the activities that so-called “normal” individuals can. However, these children seem to be always on the go.
“I want the boys to have life experiences that they didn’t have [in foster care],” says Shannon, who documents the boys’ activities on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. “I want the boys to have life experiences that they didn’t have [in foster care].” “If you spend any amount of time with them, you can’t help but fall in love with them. They do not form opinions about anybody based on anything. They are really generous people.
The boys often spend nights and weekends with the couple’s four adult biological children — as well as their three grandkids — and even travel to see their youngest son, Cody, who is 22 years old, wrestle for his college.
Troy says, “It’s very busy,” and he’s right. “[The boys] bring a great deal of happiness and excitement into my life. Simply put, we wish to assist them and provide them with a place that they may call home.