Mocha Mooney

Mocha was a difficult dog who had a difficult life but found a home. Her life became more difficult after a routine procedure went incredibly awry, leading to a whirlwind of visits to many of Arizona's top veterinarians without a result (20-48). We were able to learn a little bit about Mocha's life from her human.

Mocha wasn't an easy dog to talk about. She was adopted as a scary dog—a "hellion"—who was so possessive and aggressive about her food that she wasn't able to live around other dogs. She actually got taken back to the shelter, but her person couldn't bring herself to give up on her; she called back the next day and went back for Mocha. Mocha calmed down and rested her head on her person's lap all the way back to her new home.

Trainers couldn't help with the dog's overwhelming fear and the issues it caused, but her person wasn't going to give up on her. Unable to help Mocha fit into her new environment, she adapted the environment to accommodate Mocha as well as the other dogs. As the other dogs in the family passed on, eventually it was just Mocha and her human. She was still frightful and somewhat distant, but she loved walks.

When her human finally had to put Mocha down as a result of her veterinary misadventure, Mocha rested her head on her person's lap, just as she did on that fateful car ride that would change both their lives forever. Years later her human still relates that Mocha never deserved what happened to her.