October 4, 2023
Strength through service
Around Town
COMMUNITY VOICES By Dr. Larry A. Brown. Pg. 2 FLORISSANT FALL FESTIVAL. Pgs. 4-6
Features (FLIP)
Recipe, Movie & Sudoku. Pg. F-1 CLASSIFIEDS AND HOME & GARDEN. Pg. F-2 /F-3 Moore On Life, Lifestyle & Crossword Puzzle. Pg. F-4 Submitted photo Katie Harris was inspired by her service dog Moxie to start Moxie’s Mission, a nonprofit that helps provide education and knowledge of service, therapy and emotional support dogs, as well as provide financial assistance for veterans and civilians in need of a service dog.
Moxie’s Mission, a nonprofit created in honor of a life-changing service dog, works to provide education and financial assistance to those in need of a service dog By Wendy Todd Ten years ago, Katie Harris was diagnosed with the genetic condition, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a group of disorders that affect the connective tissues supporting the skin, bones, blood vessels and other organs and tissues. The social worker experienced excruciating pain, surgeries and was eventually wheelchair bound. Harris and her doctors were giving up hope. “I was truly fighting not to end my life every day, all day,” Harris said. But she’d adopted a dog, Moxie, a Goldendoodle, who wound up helping her on one of the hardest days of her life and would go
on to help so many others. The pain Harris was experiencing that day was unbearable and she didn’t think she could fight anymore. Her mental and physical strength were tapped. She was crying hysterically and thought her demise was imminent. But Moxie brought her back from the brink. “Moxie came pouncing up on the bed and just wrapped her little paws around me,” she said. “I was looking at Moxie and it was in that moment that something shifted. I decided I wasn’t ready to stop fighting and it was time to stop focusing on all the things I couldn’t do anymore.” In that moment, Harris realized how
much Moxie meant to her life and what a service dog could mean to others. She created a campaign to raise funds to donate a service dog to someone in need and was successful. From that effort, the nonprofit, Moxie’s Mission, began. Today, Moxie’s Mission helps provide education and knowledge of service, therapy and emotional support dogs, as well as provide financial assistance for veterans and civilians in need of a service dog. The nonprofit is an endeavor of passion for Harris. “This is a one-person job and I don’t get See ‘SERVICE’ page 2
Serving North & Northwest St. Louis County | FREE Online at mycnews.com | Vol. 102 No. 40 | 636-379-1775
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