Luna

Luna now lives in Half Moon Bay, CA
Luna has a history of making her own luck. When dog lovers arrived at the outskirts of Tehran to feed a feral pack, all but one dog raced for the food; Luna jumped into their car. The visitors were careful to close their car door on the next visit, but Luna flew into the car through an open window and inspired them to find her a home; so it was that Luna found her way to California. The family that initially fostered her were not well suited to her power and moxie, and they cared enough to ask that a better foster match be found. Farah put out a call for new foster care as she headed out to reclaim Luna.

In June of 2017 Zoya and I were without companion animals for the first time in decades. The last animal member of our family had passed away two months earlier, and we were looking for new ones.  Farah’s recounting of Luna’s history and needs resonated with us. Our previous dogs included a rescued Rottweiler and pit bull, so we were comfortable caring for large dogs. We felt it might be risky to present her with a housecat, so we decided that we would just foster, and once Luna was adopted we would find our own dog and two cats. But Luna had other ideas: she charmed every person she met and completely mesmerized us. By the end of the second week we were foster failures, and asked Farah for adoption papers.

Luna is a bona fide Middle Eastern Village Dog — what dogs were like after differentiating from wolves but before any human-controlled breeding. Her athleticism, her preference for a large territory, and her suspicion of dogs not recognized as pack members made domestication a challenge. But over these past two years, Luna has embraced her smaller home turf, learned the basic commands, and made friends with several neighborhood dogs. She is clearly happy to entertain biped visitors, and she is extraordinarily gentle with children. She takes long walks on the beach and bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. She alternates between naps and sentinel duty on a balcony overlooking a wildlife-rich stream and a busy stretch of the California Coastal Trail. She reserves judgment about dogs being jogged or running alongside cyclists, but she’s getting better every day. We reserve judgment about adopting cats, at least for now.

For a feral dog with a successful history of making her own choices, Luna’s embrace of this role in our pack is rewarding and truly humbling. We raise a kong toy to Farah, who enriches lives and makes the world kinder, one animal at a time. 

— Jimmy and Zoya