Last time I wrote about my canine kumu, Taffy. Now I would like to tell you about Mighty Moku Thunderpaws, Our company canine muse, founder and inspiration. When thinking about how Moku came to us the lyrics to that old Savage Garden song always runs through my head..."I knew I loved you before I met you, I think I dreamed you into life"...

I had been spending many years without my own dog, working at our Humane Society and walking other peoples dogs, (More on that in later episodes) when finally at looong last we were able to buy a house of our own. With a yard and a fence. Not exactly what I would call in the country, but pretty far from the urban core.  My husband and I mused about getting a dog from time to time. Having had dogs though out my life, I understood the commitment involved, but my husband not so much. One of us would say to the other, Should we get a dog? And if so what kind of dog do we want? Hubby would say he liked Huskys and Nordic type breeds, I was not picky about the breed (I was more about personality and rescues) So I would say "yeah they are cool, but what about this one from this rescue group?" He would shrug and that's where the conversation would end...

And so life went on.. until... one day... That one ordinary turned magical day.  We were puttering around the house doing our mundane household chores when I asked hubby a question. He was outside in the carport and didn't answer. I figured he had not heard me so I went to the door to repeat myself and found him giving water to a very skinny black and white dog. I hurried into the house to find some dog appropriate food. Hot dogs, that would work. I went outside (hoping the dog was still there) to give him a snack. I went out and got a closer look at the dog...very skinny.., covered in fleas and ticks... his coat was dull... he must have been so very hungry and yet he took the piece of hotdog from my hand with such extraordinary care, making sure no teeth touched my hand.  I looked into his soft brown eyes. In those eyes, those eyes that must have endured so much pain and grief, in those eyes I saw a soul filled with gratitude and love. Gratitude for a simple bowl of water and a bit of kindness.

I said to my husband, "This could be a great dog, once he is cleaned up" He was just above knee high at the withers.He was mostly black with white legs, feet and face. He had a touch of tan on his face. And his tail was tipped white. He held his head and tail low, not in a wary way but in a sad dejected way. As if he expected to be run off after he finished his hotdog.

He looked sorta husky-ish...He must belong to someone, we figured, and decided to take him to our local vet to check for a chip and get him back to his owner. At the vet he was a perfect gentleman, a gentleman with no chip. They explained that with no chip no one could prove they owned him. And that he needed some work... blood work, flea meds, etc. and what it would cost. The vet was about to leave the room to let us decide if we wanted to invest in him when she turned and saw how he was sitting tucked right between my husbands legs. "He trusts you" She said as she went out the door.

So we were sitting there with all these thoughts... Is this OUR dog? In fact, I think my husband did ask him "you wanna be our dog?" And of course, there is only one answer to that. Could this be real? An actual Husky type dog appears at our house? For free?! But it wasn't exactly gonna be free, he needed work. But we  knew we could not abandon those soft brown, soulful eyes. If he was gonna be our dog he needed a name. He also needed a name so they could chip him to us. I let my husband choose. I figured if he chose they would bond better. He chose the Hawaiian word Moku, which loosely means safe harbor. We had the vet chip him to us with that name. 

So the work was done....fleas and ticks were treated. We were told it would take a few days for all of them to die and fall off. Which was great but then....the blood work came back...Heartworm positive.

If you don't know what heart worms are, they are god awful things (dirofilaria immitis) spread by mosquitoes. They grow into spaghetti type worms and get into a dogs chest, lungs and other organs and squeeze the organs to death. If a dog is not treated, it is certain slow death. It is treatable if you catch it in time,  But is it an arduous process requiring several painful shots and months of reduced activity. And its expensive. They explained the options and costs for treatment and we brought our dream dog home to figure out our next move. It was decided that Moku had to sleep in the carport until all the fleas and ticks were gone. It is open to the street so we had to tie him up. (something I would never do now).

I guess he though he was always going to stay tied up in the car port and didn't like that idea...because on the second morning we woke up to an empty collar in an empty carport. I was heartbroken. The husband not so much because (He said) we had only had him a few days. I figured he knew how to survive on the street, but he needed to start his treatment. I put up notices on all the web sites I could think of..I am a shutter bug so I did have some photos of him. We heard nothing. A week went by, then another. Still no one responded. I searched the lost and found dog sites over and over. I tried to convince myself that maybe he wasn't meant to be our dog after all. But something deep inside me would not let me stop looking...I thought I saw a fleeting glimpse of his leg on someones front porch as we drove by... but maybe it wasn't him...lots of dogs have white legs...right?

Time was ticking and he was getting near the time the vet said it may be too late to treat him for heartworm. So I put up one more plea on craigslist. This one with his condition in big red letters.

A few days later my husbands phone rang. It was the Humane Society. We have your Siberian Husky.

 

How Moku became Mighty Moku Thunderpaws next time on Loose Leash Talking!