Name/Age: Mr. Magoo - 11 y/o & Willa Dean Opal - 2 y/o
Family Members: Stephanie & Nancy, Omar ( 12 y/o Corgi Mix) & Mavis (10 y/o German Shepard/Chow Mix)
How long have been Magoo & Willa Dean been in the family? Magoo for 11 years & Willa Dean for 18 mths.
Profession: Stephanie: Owner Atlanta Mindfulness Institute & a Psychotherapist
Nancy: Dean at Georgia State University
Location: Decatur, GA.
Nicknames: Mr. Magoo: Goober, Love Monster, Mr Squishy Head, Goo
Willa Dean: Wills, Deanie-Opal, Honey Badger, Hot Mess
5 of the best words/phrases that describe Mr. Magoo & Willa Dean?
Mr. Magoo:
Loving
Extroverted & Social
Nosey
Lazy
Super Super Resilient
Willa Bean:
Very Loving
Silly
Athletic
Busy
Attention seeking
What makes Mr. Magoo & Willa Dean unique? Magoo has been trained in trauma therapy and has worked as a therapy dog in Stephanie’s psychotherapy practice. Willa Dean has an insane high jump, about 8 feet!
Sweet frosty face Magoo!
Willa Dean going for the high toss!
Rescue Stories: My five-year-old godson and I found little eight week old Magoo near Memorial Drive, a very busy Street in Atlanta. He was so little, covered in mange and clearly sick. At first we didn’t even know if he was a dog. Of course we scooped him up with the intention of taking him to the Humane Society as I already had a home full of dogs. I wanted him to be safe and have an opportunity to heal. Unfortunately, the Humane Society took one look at him and said we could not bring him in due to his obvious skin condition. So I called my own vet and ultimately I ended up bringing him to Village Vets who immediately began treatment for multiple conditions. After two weeks of being in the hospital he came home with me. My intention was to try and rehome him to a loving family. Little did I know how hard it is to find a home for a black pit bull. Thank God I could not find him a home! After about two weeks, one night while I was walking him, this is weird, but my heart opened up so wide and I fell in love with him. From that moment on there was no looking back. He has been such a wonderful and beautiful part of our family. Our bossy little Chihuahua Lucille also took to him and taught him how to be a dog. Magoo fit perfectly in our pack! In addition, for the last 10 years he has been my co-therapist in my psychotherapy practice. He has had so many problems with his body but this dog was born with the biggest heart I have ever come in contact with; he is intuitive and knows how to offer comfort to whomever is in need. In fact, I think many of my clients come to therapy to see Magoo more than they come to see me. LOL.
Crusty puppy Magoo.
Willa Dean was found at a dumpster in Athens Georgia by a big hearted young women who brought her home. Unfortunately, she also had a number of other dogs that she had rescued and a new baby. Day after day our dear friend who lived across the street would see Willa Dean left out in the yard. One cold day in January I was sitting at Starbucks in Ellijay GA and I got a phone call from my friend. She was crying. It was cold and she could not watch this little puppy be left outside so she asked the woman if she could have Willa Dean. The woman, quite overwhelmed in her own circumstances said yes! Our friend called me to ask if I could help find Willa a home. Don’t ask me why but I knew that home would be with me. I immediately drove to Atlanta and picked up Willa Dean. We already had three dogs so I was a little nervous how this would work. But she was such a baby, they took her in and taught her how to be a pack member. During this time, our oldest dog Lucille, our alpha was in her last stage of life. Willa Dean was so gentle with Lucille and snuggled with her whenever possible. Sometimes I feel like Lucille sent Willa to us as she was leaving this earth.
This is my forever home now? - Willa Dean
What is your favorite pastime as a family? Magoo loves a tennis ball. He’ll fetch (when he still had 4 legs) and now he loves to just chew it like gum!!! So even now as a three legged senior fighting cancer, he lies on the bed and we throw the ball to him and he catches it. And his tail wags furiously while he has the biggest smile on his face! With Willa, paddling my SUP board and throwing sticks in the lake. She loves the water and would swim all day.
What is life like since you rescued Mr. Magoo & Willa Dean? Words are hard to capture how much joy and love Magoo has brought to us, our home, and the other dogs he lives with. He has been a comfort through the various ups and downs in our life. Even our other animals when they age, seek out his calm demeanor and comfort. To be truthful, we have a difficult time imagining our lives without him…
Our house is alive with Willa Dean’s energy. Every other dog is geriatric but Willa Dean. She brings a silliness to our lives. She is a total clown. But she is also so loving. And she LOVES Magoo. On Friday night everyone piles on the bed for movie night. It’s really so sweet!
Photographers Note: This was definitely not your standard photo shoot. To start, I showed up with two pugs I had rescued off the street on my way over to their house. I believe I said, “ We may have a slight change of plans” as Stephanie walked out of her house to meet me for the first time. Thankfully Stephanie & Nancy were completely understanding and we got the Pugs water and put into the AC bathroom of their home. They took photos and got them posted on all the social media neighborhood sites. Then we got to business. It’s always entertaining trying to get multiple dogs and humans all to look in the general direction of the camera. For some reason, Omar (the corgi mix) was just set on staring down Stephanie, as if to say…why are we doing this, I have better things to do today!!! He just wouldn’t stop staring at her no matter what I did. Finally I made some noise that he liked and he finally released the death stare and looked at me with ears up. However, that is not the photo I chose to post here. Going through all the family photos I took I was literally laughing and smiling all over again at the joy in Stephanie & Nancy’s face and the expressions of the dogs. This photo I thought showed the dogs personalities and the pure happiness of this family….don’t we all need to see a little more of that these days. I so loved meeting all of their dogs, witnessing the silliness of Willa and experiencing the sweet & soulful frosty face of Mr. Magoo; truly a pleasure.
We joked at the end of the photo shoot, that you get a photo shoot from Colleen and she leaves you Pugs as a parting gift. I did take the dogs with me and thankfully their Mom saw one of the posts and I was able to get them safely back to their home!