INTERVIEW words by JOEL NICHOLS | photo by ALLISON CARENZA
Adventures with Moxie! Moxie is the ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage. That’s one definition. Here’s another: Moxie is a three-year-old mini-goldendoodle who happens to be part of a dynamic duo with her human friend, Katie Harris. Once you hear the story of Katie and Moxie, you’ll want to help them in their mission to provide service dogs to people who need them. You can start by visiting adventureswithmoxie.com or finding them on Instagram and Facebook. You were always a very active, athletic person growing up, right? I played tennis. I was a black belt in martial arts. I played softball, volleyball. But I kept getting injured. It almost became a joke, like I was so clumsy. Finally, I was diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic with Ehlers-Danlos, which is a group of disorders that affect the connective tissues supporting skin, bones, blood vessels, and organs. I was in a wheelchair for two and a half years because I had no feeling in about 90 percent of my body. Never know what’s next. When did Moxie come into your life? I had no intention of getting a service dog. I didn’t think I was disabled enough. I thought that was more for blind people or quadriplegics. Then, I fell in love with my Dad and stepmom’s goldendoodle. That’s when we set out to find Moxie. She was nine weeks old. Fortunately, we know somebody who trains service dogs and she assessed Moxie because it takes a special dog to do this work. Were you a “dog person” before Moxie? Not at all! I was terrified of dogs growing up because I’d been bitten by one. Right near my eye. Had stitches and everything. Came close to losing the eye! Then, Moxie changed your life! She saved my life. Literally. When Moxie was about four months old, I reached a point where I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t do my job as a high school social worker. I wanted to kill myself. It was moment by moment fighting to just hang on. I was up in my room doing that ugly cry. Moxie came sprinting in, jumped up, and wrapped her little paws around me. I looked at her and it was in that moment that I realized I had got to stop focusing on all the things that I can’t do anymore and find what I can do. I had to find my “why.” I knew there were so many people out there who could benefit from a service dog but can’t afford it or can’t wait on the wait list or can’t do the training. I came up with a crazy idea to raise the $20K, or more, per dog and get a fully trained service dog to somebody in need.
48 | TODAY KANSAS CITY | SUMMER 2021
