“Murphy Brown Moon Shadow has a beautiful story of perseverance, community, inspiration and love,” Carla Naden, founder of Animal Synergy — a rescue, rehab and sanctuary for special-needs animals in Vista, California, wrote to me when I asked to share the pup’s story, which begins for us in January 2020.
“The short version is there was a dog noticed by a rescuer (Virginia Ramirez Wright) in Mexicali, who was paralyzed and dragged herself everywhere,” says Rebekah Snyder, MBMS’s foster parent. “Locals knew of her; she was said to be in this condition some months. The rescuer was horrified at her condition and took her to a vet and asked for help on Facebook.”
Rebekah followed the dog’s story on Facebook, donating money to help with her six weeks of medical care. When a rescue organization in Malibu, California, agreed to take her in, Rebekah transported her there from Baja California, Mexico. The rescue didn’t have experience caring for a paralyzed dog, but Rebekah did. “I had had paralyzed dogs before and knew it was going to be an extensive journey, as she was still battling severe wounds, infection, would need a chair, massive weight gain, physical therapy, etc. …”
The rescue called her within 24 hours and asked her to come get the dog. Rebekah says, “She wasn’t my dog — she was nobody’s dog — but now I felt intimately responsible for her future and that she didn’t get let down again. That’s when I called my vet to get a full assessment of what I was looking at and started calling special-needs rescues.”
Cue Carla Naden’s entrance into Murphy Brown Moon Shadow’s life. “She sees the beauty beyond the broken, the potential — not the pain, and the future for the forgotten,” says Rebekah. “Instead of seeing incontinence, Carla sees the world as Murphy Brown’s toilet. And now I do, too.”
Because of Animal Synergy, MBMS now has an entire team behind her. “From medical to behavioral to nutritional, as Murphy Brown’s foster, I receive “compassion consulting, meaning every step of her care she has massive support, as do I; something so needed when one takes on a special-needs dogs,” says Rebekah. “Murphy Brown went from no one’s dog, to a dog of the people.”
Follow Murphy Brown Mood Shadow, at animalsynergy.org, @animalsynergy and @murphybrownmoonshadowlove.
