Moxie, an energetic and playful Goldendoodle service dog from Ballwin, started assisting her fur mom Chesterfield native and Parkway Central High graduate Katie Harris at just 13 weeks. Katie was a nationally-ranked tennis player before she was diagnosed with a connective tissue disorder which left her in a wheelchair with one seeing eye and a lot of horrifying pain. And it felt like her life was shattering right in front of her eyes and her mental health also started deteriorating.
She had thoughts of just ending all of the pain because she didn’t want to live like that anymore. But Moxie always brought her back to life and light every time. According to Katie, her dog literally saved her life multiple times.
Moxie is essentially tasked to do day-to-day retrieval of things that Katie does not have the energy to do so and Moxie definitely loves to help her out in every way she can. Aside from that, Moxie is also responsible for making medical alerts. There was one time when Katie needed an ambulance immediately but her head was in so much pain and she didn’t know where her phone was. And so she sent Moxie to find it for her so she could dial 911 and get help.
The next thing Katie knew, Moxie dropped her phone on her lap, and when the paramedics came, she grabbed Katie’s shoes and opened the door. Thanks to Moxie, Katie was able to get the help she needed on time.
Seeing the positive impact of her service dog, she decided that she wanted to pay it forward by establishing a non-profit called Moxie’s Mission. The organization aims at educating others about service, therapy, and emotional support dogs while also providing financial support to those in need of a service dog. And in between hospitalizations and surgeries, they were able to raise $18,000 and fund their first service dog.
From there, the organization just grew and they are preparing for their fourth service dog which will be handed off to a veteran. And Katie hopes that Moxie will be able to get the National Hero Dog award and acquire a bigger platform where they can talk more about the positive impact of service dogs.
Source: West Newsmagazine
