Winning Halloween Hound Photo – Little Bo Peep, Nakita, and her Sheep, Mojo.
I connected with their proud Mom and homemade costume-designer, Maryrose Alvarado-Therrien, to learn a little more about these winning Halloween Hounds. I discovered a heart-warming rescue tale that is indeed all about happily-ever-after.
Maryrose is an active southern Maine foster mom for Underhound Railroad. This animal rescue organization, founded in 2009, was born with the mission of “helping dogs on death row in Connecticut and all of New England.” Since then, their mission has evolved to “helping dogs and all our fellow animals on the earth…”
For those in the foster world, Nakita and Mojo may be referred to as “failed fosters” but that really depends on your definition of failure. Maryrose is still an active hosting foster for Underhound Railroad; she just decided that Nakita and Mojo were two lost lambs who needed to join her forever flock.
Initially it was thought that Nakita was a Chihuahua/Dachshund mix but later DNA testing revealed her Mom was a Australian Shepherd/Boxer Mix and her Dad, a Husky/Chow combo.
Nakita was saved by the Underhound Railroad after ending up on the doorstep of a Georgia animal rescue shelter where a dog’s days are sadly numbered. Nakita was one of five siblings who were all named after different types of pasta and she was initially known as Filini.
According to her Mom, “She was just a little peanut,” when she arrived at her foster home in Buxton, Maine for Easter in 2013.
Nakita already had a planned adoption and was just meant to be a temporary foster for Maryrose and her husband, Mike. Two weeks into the adoption, it became clear to all that Nakita was already very attached to her foster Mom, Maryrose.
“She slept at my head and lay on my feet as I cleaned my teeth,” explained Maryrose. The decision was made that this furry lass was a keeper so the originally planned adoptor was instead paired with Nakita’s litter sister.
According to her Mom – “As a puppy many people thought she might be an Akita so I named her Nakita.”
Nakita always seems happy to play dress-up with her Mom and won a few Halloween contests last year when she dressed-up as a Peacock. As a puppy, she proudly strutted her stars and stripes attire in The Old Orchard Beach annual parade.
With the addition of Nakita, the Avarado-Therrien house became a family of four rescued dogs. Nakita’s new furry siblings included King, a shepherd/ rottweiler mix, who is “a big teddy bear,” Monty, a black shepherd, who taught his new southern belle sister to love snow and Tyson, a pitbull/rottweiler mix, who was 13 when Nakita joined the family. Sadly, this year both Monty and Tyson passed away within a month or so of each other. Monty was only eight and died unexpectedly when his stomach flipped and he unfortunately couldn’t be saved.
Shortly before Monty passed away, Mojo, a 15-week-old foster pup arrived at the Alvarado-Therrien foster home. This sweet little Southern pup had a traumatic start in life. At only two pounds, he was thrown out a car window but was luckily found, brought to the Georgia animal rescue and saved by Underhound Railroad. Mojo traveled under the rescue name, Boston, but from the moment his paws crossed his Maine foster home threshold, this determined puppy had no intention of leaving.
Mojo loves to be touching his Mom when he naps; the chaise lounge by the fire is a favorite snoozing spot
Shortly after arriving in Maine, Mojo was off on a July 4th family camping trip to Moosehead Lake, where he boated, played and “loved everything”.
The recently departed Monty had a genuine soft spot for this new rescue pup and Maryrose and Mike felt confident that adopting him was what Monty would have wanted.
According to Maryrose, the name Mojo came from the simple fact this little rescue puppy “had a good Mojo and fit right in with everyone.” The name “Mojo” refers to magical powers and this pup certainly seemed to cast a love spell on the household.
Mojo is thought to be a Dachsador i.e. dachshund/labrador mix
As the Halloween sheep, Mojo was a wolf who seemed to want to shed his woolly attire. He rolled around on the grass, tried to pluck out the cotton balls and seemed determined to grow extra quickly; his Mom had to keep expanding his woolly coat.
Maryrose is certain, when it comes to Mojo’s first winter in Maine,“He’s going to have to get used to wearing a coat … he definitely feels the cold”.
Maryrose with her three rescues: King, Nakita and Mojo.
Nakita and Mojo are best friends who love to frolic around their fenced yard and dash-out from their bordering woods with surprise play maneuvers. Their older brother, King, will play along with their antics to a point but he’s more of a laid-back guy. When King thinks it’s time to chill, he puts his regal paw down and pauses the puppy play session. The playful pups don’t appear to have an off-button, Nakita is a Frisbee addict who likes to twirl and dance around and Mojo is always up for a game.
This furry tale has another chapter, a new Underhound Railroad foster dog, Honey, is currently living with Maryrose. This little girl is a year-old sandy colored Yorkie-mix who’s ready for her forever home. Maryrose and Mike would love to adopt Honey but are committed to keeping enough free wag space in order to continue as Underground Railroad fosters. If Honey looks like a dog you could love or you know someone who would be a good match, then see Maryrose’s contact details below. I’d love my dog-loving Maine Wag readers to help ensure this sweet rescued hound lives happily-ever-after too.
Honey, aka Lilo, is a rescue from Underhound Railroad looking for a furever home.
Maryrose Alvarado-Therrien can be contacted at raratulip@aol.com. You can discover other Underhound Rescues through their link on Petfinder. Maryrose will be receiving some Maine-inspired HappyME dog gear for her wags.