Name/Age: Luna - 3 y/o
Family Members: Bekka (dog, 12), Luke & Michelle (adults), Marly (10), Graham (4)
How long has Luna been in the family? 3 years
Professions: Luke - commercial product photographer, Michelle - entomologist
Location: Scottdale, GA
Nicknames: Luna Boo, Luna Bear, Lunatic
5 words/phrases that best describe Luna?
Goofy
Sweet
Tolerant
Friendly
Resilient
What makes Luna unique? Luna is incredibly friendly and loving to everyone (& every dog) she meets, but she is also absolutely beautiful. She has the shiniest coat I have ever seen on a dog, a trait that she gets compliments on all the time from strangers.
Resting post play sesh….
Rescue Story: We rescued Luna when she was about 8 weeks old. She lived next door to a friend of ours as a puppy, but her previous owners did not take good care of her. She was kept in a tiny cat carrier on the front porch without access to food or water. She would constantly find ways to break out of the carrier, and our friend would catch her and return her to the owners. Finally, after she escaped one day our kind hearted friend kept her instead of returning her to the tiny cramped carrier and asked the owners if she could just keep her. We had just recently lost our 10 year old pit bull rescue Lilly, so I wasn’t sure we were ready for another pup, but when our friend asked us to foster Luna we all fell madly in love with her.
In addition to the trauma of being neglected as a young pup, poor Luna was also mauled by a relative’s dogs when she was about 10 months old. Fortunately, after surgery and weeks of recovery, she bounced back as if nothing had ever happened. She is still the loving, friendly, goofball of a pup that she was before the attack, a testament to both her resilience and the steadfast nature of dogs in general.
Sweet baby Luna on her freedom day!
What is your favorite pastime as a family? Luna LOVES to play in our large backyard. She lives for being chased around the yard with her butt tucked under while the kids laugh and try to smack her butt as she runs by. In fact, she lives for anything she can do with the kids; she sleeps in our daughter’s room and graciously tolerates the ear pulls and pokes from our 4 year old son. As soon as school is over, our daughter takes her outside to run around the yard; she will wake up from a dead sleep to Marly asking “Luna Boo outside??” When it is time to weed the garden, she helpfully eats grass and rolls around on her back while our daughter works by the vegetables. I have truly never met a more tolerant, trusting dog.
What is life like since you rescued Luna? I was reluctant to get a dog, and especially to get a puppy, but since she came home to us she has become a true member of the family. She takes her job of loving us seriously and looks out for all of us - especially the kids. When my dad took the kids on a canoe ride at their lake house recently, Luna would not leave her post on the deck until they came back home. She stayed alert with concern that she couldn’t see the children anymore and only relaxed when she knew they were home safely. She comforts my daughter after tough days and tolerates the handfuls of dirt and god knows what that my son decorates her with outside. She has never had a moment of aggression in her life, and I can’t imagine our family without her.
Photographers: After a couple rain outs, we were finally able to get our photo shoot in on a humid Sunday evening. Luna was welcoming and sweet to her guest! However, she was a little more reserved in her backyard until the treats came out and Luke started to run with her….then she was ready to play! To support everything Michelle stated about Luna’s love for her kids; Michelle asked the kids to go inside so that she wouldn’t be distracted during the photo shoot. As they watched from the window, Luna’s focus was still on them. It was really the sweetest thing. As a kid there is really nothing better then being able to grow up with a dog who is your best friend and when it’s one like Luna, Marley & Graham will remember her their entire lives.