Moonie: The Tiny Survivor with a Big Personality

I drafted this post back in July but somehow never published it.

Between July and November, so much changed. I lost Hime at the end of August, and his buddy Potter followed him the very next day. And just last week, Moonie also crossed the rainbow bridge to reunite with his siblings….🌈

This post is about Moonie, a small mix of many breeds. Honestly, I can’t even tell what he is.

Moonie came to me through Victor from RRDC Shelter, rescued from an abandoned hoarding situation. There were more than 20 small dogs crammed together. When Victor first showed me a picture of Moonie, I honestly thought he was already gone. You could see every bone. He was that skinny. When he arrived in December 2019, he couldn’t even stand. Poor thing.

The vet guessed he was around 8 to 10 years old and said he probably wouldn’t make it past Christmas or New Year. I was only supposed to foster him, but you can probably guess what happened. Foster fail again.

I also fostered three of his siblings during the early days of the pandemic. One of them was adopted by a friend of mine. I’ll write about them in another post.

Moonie’s recovery wasn’t fast, but he made it. He gained weight, found his footing, and turned into the cutest little doll. He didn’t care much for the other dogs. He just followed me everywhere and tried to hog all my attention. And then the pandemic hit, which, for my dogs, was paradise. Mommy was home all the time.

Now here we are in July 2025. Moonie is still with us, but a lot has changed. He’s almost blind, has no teeth, and a broken jaw that prevents him from closing his mouth. He needs to be held when he eats. But his spirit? Still fiery.

Moonie screams when he needs to pee or poop. He won’t do it in his bed, ever. He does wear a diaper, but I’m not sure he even knows that. He screams when he’s hungry or wants some TLC. He used to sleep beside me in bed, but after falling off too many times, he now sleeps under the bed where it’s safer.

He also has his own routine. Breakfast? He’ll scream if we’re late. After breakfast, he needs to be in his spot, which is different from his post-lunch spot, and not the same as his evening spot either. Since he can barely see now, I have to make sure everything stays in the same place. Last week I moved his midday spot, which used to be under my desk. But I noticed I was getting more and more tired because I couldn’t stretch my legs while working. So I moved him. The drama, I tell you! It took days before he finally settled into the new spot.

I love this little demanding boss. He’s around 15 years old now, and when his time comes, I know one thing for sure: since December 2019, he’s had a happy, loved, and comfortable life.

And that’s really all that matters. 💛