Name/Age - Moxy - 5-8 yrs old.
Family Members: Heather, Pup:Atticus Finch – Silly Quietly Loving Greyhound (5 YO), Cat: Stella – Tuxedo Studious (14 YO). Cat:Batgirl – Black Femme Feral (6 YO), Cat:Ptah – Genius Loving Lynx Point (1.5 YO)
How long has Moxy been in the family? Moxy has been in our lives since July 3rd, 2017
Profession: I am Self Employed Antique/Artist
Location: I am from Decatur, but have lived in Atlanta Westside/GA 15 years
Nicknames: Mox, Moxy Loxy, Honey Bunny, Mox-Mox
5 words/phrases that best describe Moxy?
Athleticism – Amazing power and skill set for ball catching body twisting athletics
Ambassador: She’s a great example of, with hard work, things will get so much better
Keen Sensed & a Curious Detecive
Thoughful, Grateful, joyful & heart full
People Pleaser
What makes Moxy unique? Moxy is a special girl. She is wise. All my life I’ve always known animals were gifts and we need to treat them with care, love and respect. But, out of all the animals that joined my life, Moxy has this intense depth to her. She shows her soul, bearing inner stuff so loud and it seems to catch me off guard every day. I find myself just looking into her eyes with a smile on my face. I feel blessed she is in my presence and I take pictures of her all the time.
Ears ready for take-off!
Rescue Story: On July 3rd, 2017 Atticus and I were walking into the abyss of the beginnings of July 4th crazy town since the year before I noted my neighborhood was like being in a firework’s battle. I was very concerned since this would be Atticus’s first civilian July 4th.
It was after 10:30 PM & distant fireworks were popping, as well as a few gun shots so I thought a good time to just get out in it. Atticus was apprehensive of the new night noise but hoped it would calm him for the finale within 24 hours. After making a big loop around the hood, we were on our way home when I saw, what I knew to be, the silhouette of a Pit bull and there was no human in sight. We cautiously continued up the street toward our house. I kept an eye on the dark dog shadow and watched Atticus’s behavior as well. When we were 10’-12’ away, I noted the pup appeared to be sniffing and paying no interest to us. Thus far it was not a threat. I tested the situation & called the pup over. Immediately, the stray looked up and came bouncing over, butt wagging wide, tail happy, and met us well. Atticus and the pup smelled politely. The pup had no collar. There was a large grotesque growth on one of her hips. She was not emaciated. Her flesh seemed loose under the dark dull fur. Her jowls drooped. Her teats were apparent. I would not let her wonder into the night alone, so we walked toward the gate into the backyard. She cautiously, but willing, on her own, followed. I would look for her family the next day. But I also wanted to check her out and she was scratching a lot. She had two ticks and literally 1000’s of fleas were caught in the teeth of the comb. I dipped them to their death in soapy water. The stocky dog threw herself onto the deck rubbing, side to side, her backside. I was not sure it felt good or she was more of an itchy mess from the fleas’ panic state. I changed the red water bowl 3 times that night.
I left her outside on the deck with one of Atticus’ dog beds and hoped for a good night sleep. I did not hear a peep all night. When I woke the next morning, I pushed back the curtain in my bedroom. She was sitting calmly in a chair, looking curiously from left to right at her new surroundings taking it all in. I will never forget that look. I thought we would go to Animal Control the next day when they would be open on July 5th and go through the routine for strays and would probably adopt her if no one claimed her as theirs. In the meantime, she needed a bath. That morning we drove to Petco on Collier Rd. She certainly had been in a car before. She got in my seat, but I told her to get in the passenger seat and she immediately crossed the console to settle in. She did whine a bit. I looked for any signs of familiarity from her as we drove by all the houses hoping she would lead me to her home. But that morning she whined the entire time and looked keenly at all the activity surrounding her. I kept a hand on her letting her know she would be OK. When we arrived at Petco, I picked up supplies and a Petco employee set up the bath. For a whole hour this red stocky Pit bull stood still while I lathered and massaged. She grunted and I knew it felt so good. Dead black fleas were all over my hands and arms while dirty bubbled water swirled down the drain. It was very satisfying for us both. I felt her body relax during the bath. I will never forget. Many dirty towels later she was a flea-free clean pup. The guy at Petco checked us out and chipped in to buy the shampoo. The rest of the day I drove all over the area where I lived while families had BBQ’s. I posted info on Next door and other websites for lost animals. No one recognized the pup in the back seat. I looked for “Dog Lost” signs. Nada. On the 5th I took her to my Vet to get tested for heartworm. There was no chip & no heartworm, but the growth on her hip they said was a concern. The next day I took her to Animal Control and the manager there said regardless if I dropped her off that day or the next day, I would not be able to pick her up, until the following Wednesday. The least amount of time she had to stay there, I knew, what was best for her well-being. We went home. The next day I could not take her to Animal Control. It broke my heart to think she would be caged up at A.C. where they do what they do since I’ve worked with them before with found pups. They do great work, but it’s a hard environment for the animals. Instead, I decided to put up a flyer of her at their facility. No one claimed her. A week later I named her Moxy. Within the month she went in to get spayed as well as to biopsy the hip growth. Later that day they called and said they could not locate her lady parts. It was either she had an odd anatomy, or she had already been spayed. Poor pup. I got a call a few days later and the growth was cancer. They had gotten good margins. She is still cancer free. Although, we certainly went through a serious rough patch about 10 weeks later. I came home on my birthday mid-September after going to a show and wanted to play with the pups. I got their favorite chicken toy to play tug of war, which we had never done. The next thing I knew Atticus and Moxy were going at it. Atticus was screaming. I was shocked. They had never ever had issues nor had Moxy acted odd with any other dog and we were around a lot of dogs at our park.
Unfortunately, Atticus needed stiches. Greyhounds have very thin skin. From that point forward Moxy began to resource guard. She became obsessed with everything she held dear. Such as her beds, her food, me, the carpet, the sofa, the cat… It was awful. I could not keep her. I committed to her a week after the 4th of July, but this behavior was making my house unsafe. I did a bit of research quickly and decided to take her to boot camp for two weeks to train and teach her the electrical collar. I never thought I would do this, it is not me, but I was desperate. I kept saying, “cake or death.” I thought, at least, when she goes to her new home, she’ll be more adoptable, since she will be well trained, and I would throw in the collar. While she was gone, I reached out to many Pit bull rescue groups in Atlanta and it was depressing. Pit bull’s are hard to place. My heart was broken and made up. Moxy had to go; somehow. Two weeks later I went to pick up Mox. My home had gotten back to normal. I went to the facility to get trained; it was a raining mess. We did a lot of work inside, but also needed to go outside, it was miserable. I would not open my heart up to Mox, but I did notice that she was like a puppet on a string and listened and performed very well. Her trainer said that all the trainers agreed Moxy is not a leader, put wants to please. She hoped I would have 2nd thoughts about giving up on her. A few days later, after tons of work, from all of us, my mind began to switch gears. It was slow, on a day by day basis. Not until February did I decide to keep her forever. I have never looked back. We worked our tails off. I have not used the shock collar in over a year and I so rarely had to take it off vibrate. My house is peaceful except for Ptah, the male kitten, but that’s another story. Anyhow, I’ve taken the pups to family & friend events and spend the night parties. Everyone tells me we are welcome anytime. They are just good dogs. This whole experience taught me so much; we continue to grow as a family and me as a leader. We hike almost every day and it brings me pure joy to see Moxy smile ear to ear and give me this look of pure love while she runs the trails. What is also super cool is Atticus and Moxy watch out for one another. We are a solid, well placed pack.
Getting comfortable quickly in her forever home.
What is your favorite pastime as a family? The pups and I love to hike together.
What is life like since you rescued Moxy? Added joy as well as feeling super safe since she is an amazing watch dog. Everyone thinks she is a boy and my Greyhound is a girl. Greyhounds are not considered to be a good watch dogs, but these two are good partners against crime. I want all my animals to be happy and relaxed as well as silly. We are all in that space now.
Photographers Note: This is another one of those stories where someone made the choice to not give up on a dog. Honestly, these are some of my favorites. This has nothing to do with Moxy being a pit bull (although as Heather mentioned it can be hard to find them homes), but more about us as humans doing right by our dogs. Every dog is different, they all have their own insecurities, issues, likes & quirks, just like human beings. This is true of rescue dogs or dogs that came from an expensive breeder. Sometimes you get lucky and have an “easy” dog, other times you don’t. The key is the humans that don’t give up on them! I think every one of us would go through the same struggle around what to do, especially when it involves another one of your beloved family members. One of the many great things about dogs, is they tend to live in the now and get over stuff usually a lot faster then humans do. Now to see these three, it’s like three peas in a pod. Such a balanced pack, with Moxy & Atticus as best buddies. Watching them run around together and smelling all the smells, was just too cute. Atticus was over smelling a tree and Moxy had to run over and see what news her brother had discovered. These two have definitely moved ahead!
Sister & Brother Team!