Name/Age: Luna - 4 y/o
Family Members: Jay – Dad , Sheila – Mom & Dino – 4 year old Pit bull/Bulldog brother and partner in crime
How long has Luna been in the family? We adopted Luna in May of 2017.
Professions: Jay – Graphic Designer for WebMD
Sheila – Paralegal for Georgia Public Defender’s Counsel Appellate Division
Location: Smyrna, GA.
Nicknames: Lunatone, Lunacorn, Lunatic, Snuggles, Itchymama, Dart, and Dina/Luno (when we try to get her attention but mix her and her brother’s names up)
5 words/phrases that best describe Luna?
Snuggle Bug
Itchy
Spunky
Needy
Loving
What makes Luna unique? Her insecurities and anxiousness makes the way she does normal dog things like playing, eating, etc. very unique and cute.
Nothing but LOVE!
Rescue Story: Jay and I, along with our dog Dino, first moved to Atlanta in May of 2016. Dino was always used to being surrounded by dogs but when we moved to Atlanta, he was very lonely. The first time we saw Luna was outside of Petco, as hairless as a naked mole rat on November 2016. The rescue group that took her in was Laskey’s Lucky Ones. Christina, one of the volunteers for the rescue group, had indicated that Luna (her name then was Petunia) was not available to be adopted for a few more months due to having to take steroid shots to help her with her skin condition. Per the rescue, Luna was found tied to a pole in the middle of a playground earlier that year. She did not have any hair and was covered in rashes and open sores due to the heat. She also had pneumonia and was barely alive. The moment they let us pet her and play with her was the moment we knew that Luna had to come home with us. For the next few months, our dog Dino had to go through several surgeries, including being neutered and TPLO surgery. As soon as Dino recuperated from his TPLO surgery, we immediately looked for Luna on the adoption website and were thrilled to see that she was still up for adoption. We submitted our application and in less than a month, we had finalized the adoption. Dino loved her since the very first day but became very dominant and jealous towards her. We kept them separated for the first few months but began 2018 with them sharing the same bed and even drinking from the same water bowl!!
Sweet Luna before all the TLC.
What is your favorite pastime as a family? One of our favorite past times is going to our basement and wrestling with the dogs! Both Luna and Dino have learned the queue words when it’s time to go downstairs and roll around. For the most part, Luna will get the zoomies while Dino tries to catch her, but there are times when they rather jump on us and nibble on our toes and arms. We also love to take them on hikes and long walks. Luna is very anxious outdoors but she really loves going for walks/rides as a family because she knows she’s safe with us.
What is life like since you rescued Luna? Mending the heart of a broken human is hard. Mending the heart of a broken dog is even harder.
Adopting a previously abused dog is about making her feel loved when all she knows is hatred. It's about letting her lick our faces for 10 minutes straight because she's terrified of what might come after. It's about spending endless hours at the vet's office trying to figure out a solution to the physical damage that was left from the previous owners. It's about seeing the pain in her eyes and knowing that there's nothing we can do about it.
Adopting a broken dog is about spending endless nights in different rooms than my husband in order to make both dogs feel safe and important. It's about showing our previous dog about sharing his toys and being sweet when all he wants to do is growl.
Adopting a broken dog is about screaming with joy when she has mental/emotional breakthroughs. It's about feeling that extra joy when she can finally hug us without cowering in fear. It's about loving her and showing her what second chances look like.
Luna has turned from a shy, shaky, and instant-aggressive dog to the sweetest, most energetic dog ever! Dino loves her and accepted her into the pack! They play for hours and fall asleep on the same edge of the bed. They share their toys - even that overly-loved toy that Dino would never let out of his sight. Luna still has severe skin issues that we are trying to fix but that doesn't stop her from wanting to wrestle with her brother every chance she gets.
Luna (as well as Dino) have thought us the true meaning of compassion. They have thought us about unconditional love and loyalty. But most of all, they have thought us the real meaning of a family.
Photographers Note: First of all, how can you read those words above and not get a tear (or a few) in your eyes. So many people have experienced these exact same things when they bring in a dog that needs a little something extra and every one of them would do again if you asked. After arriving at Sheila and Jay’s home, I can say I saw no evidence of this shut down pup. She was happy and silly, very welcoming to two strangers (my sister was in town and joined me for this shoot). To hear about all the wonderful things they did for this pup and are still doing to get her skin issues under control and to continually show her what forever safety and love looks like; you know this is where this beautiful girl belongs.
I quickly realized that Luna was one of many dogs that I, shall we say “coveted” the moment I saw her pop up on my social media feed. (which honestly happens a lot since about 90% of that feed is dogs, rescues and dog organizations. If only I loved on a 100 acre ranch to save all the dogs I want to rescue). Christina, who Sheila mentioned above is a past volunteer of SALA, so I got see her progression a bit before she was adopted and where I fell in love with that beautiful pibble smile for the first time. To be able to close the loop and see the happy ending of those dogs that I fall in love with on a daily basis, is truly special and it has happened more then once over the last 4 years of this project. So happy for Luna and her family that they found each other! As her caption reads above - Nothing but LOVE!