Luna’s Homecoming Story
Content Notes
- Mentions of animal neglect / improper care
- Medical discussion (migraines, disability)
- Emotional themes (loss, vulnerability, attachment)
Welcome Back to the Den
The lights are a little warmer this week.
The floors a little louder with paws.
There’s a presence here you’ve probably felt before- but this time?
She’s taking center stage. Right where she belongs.
This is The Crippled Cryptid.
A soft-lit corner of the internet where disability, chronic illness, service dogs, and everyday survival exist without apology.
If you’re new here, hi. I’m Sky.
Professional cryptid.
Unwilling amateur cyborg.
Occasional chronic illness and disability advocate.
Medically interesting enough to make half my providers sigh when they open my chart.
I sigh too. Then I ask for coffee.
I live in a haunted meat suit with a deeply suspicious warranty, spend a lot of time in Bed Jail™, and am almost never alone-
Because two years ago, a very special dog found me.
Her name is Luna.
Service dog. Medical alert. Professional problem notifier.
Part guardian. Part shadow. Part “Mama, sit down before I make you.”
And if I pretend my ears don’t work that day?
She escalates.
Full cattle dog side-eye.
Zero tolerance.
Big sighs.
“Mumther. We are not negotiating your poor decisions today.”
This Week Is Different
This week marks her second Adoptiversary.
And if you ask me?
That makes this less of a blog… and more of a celebration.
🌻 This Week in the Den
This isn’t a one-night story.
It’s a full week of Luna Bean.
We’re telling it properly this time.
- The full “how I got her” story- the parts we’ve only brushed past before
- The first alert- the moment everything shifted
- The chaos. The learning curve. The what do you mean this dog is smarter than me era
- And yes- her very important, very serious Adoptiversary menu
We’re talking:
- puffed yak cheese chews
- salmon skins
- a homecoming-day salmon filet she will absolutely believe she hunted herself
- and a brand new ball, because some traditions are sacred
Stay close.
You’re going to want the whole story.
The Pack She Chose
But Luna didn’t just choose me.
She chose us.
There’s M&M—
My partner, my best friend, the one who gives 90% when I only have 10.
Her belly rub dealer. Sweater curator. Bandana chooser. Co-conspirator in calling her a bed hog.
(She is.)
There’s the Yard Yeti—
My little brother. Her best friend.
The only one who throws the ball far enough.
The loudest “Lulus!”
He gets the most tail wags.
He gets the most boing.
And there was Bear.
Her first teacher.
Her first best friend.
The one who showed her how to be a dog.
How to love a family.
How to stay close.
She still carries him.
In the way she treats his toys- gentle, like they’re sacred.
In the way she took over his bed like it meant something.
Because it did.
Bear taught her how to be part of a family.
She taught me how to stay in mine.
📸 [INSERT PHOTO: Bear and Luna together / Bear’s bed / a soft memory shot]
Alt text: Luna gently interacting with Bear’s space or belongings, showing their bond.
What This Story Really Is
So, this week?
This isn’t just about how I found Luna.
It’s about:
- how she became who she is
- how she learned my body faster than I did
- how she went from chaos gremlin to medical lifeline
From:
why is this dog acting possessed
To:
Oh- this is what being cared for feels like
It’s about the moments that built her.
And the ones where she quietly gave pieces of my life back.
Pull Up a Chair
Returning cryptids- you already know. Welcome home.
New ones?
Come a little closer.
Mind the tail. She will absolutely step on you and then act like it was your fault.
The Lunatic Café is open.
And this week?
You’re not just visiting the Den.
You’re stepping into Luna’s story.
There will absolutely be dog fur involved.
I wear it like a badge of pride.
🐾 On Today’s Menu: Luna’s Homecoming Story
Before we start- one small thing.
Rehoming situations like this can be complicated, and not all of them are safe or ethical. We went in cautious, asking questions, and ready to walk away if something didn’t feel right.
Something I think more people should keep in mind when rehoming- or stepping into a situation like this.
I found her on Facebook.
One of those groups where people give away:
- extra dog food
- toys
- things their pets didn’t need
And sometimes…
Dogs.
The kind of posts that sit wrong in your chest.
Sometimes, you can clearly see the red flags.
The things that scream puppy mill at the top of their lungs.
Sometimes, you can see that it’s an owner who just wants the best for their best friend.
At the time?
I couldn’t tell which was which with Luna Bean.
But, I’m sure you can guess that as time went on… we found out the whole truth.
📸
Alt text: Facebook rehoming post showing Luna with one blue and one brown eye.
The summer before, we had tried to adopt a young, black shepherd from a local rescue.
We didn’t get chosen.
They chose a family who lived in an apartment with kids instead- a choice I didn’t fully agree with, if I’m honest. One I’m still not fully on board with.
Not because I regret my girl. I will never regret choosing Luna.
But because some dogs need different things.
And a good life should fit the dog- not the image.
And the idea that all dogs “deserve” to grow up with kids, is not accurate, nor is it fair to the dog- or the people who are trying to adopt that dog.
Then life happened.
The 2023 car accident.
Everything paused.
But once we had a car again, we were back- mostly for Bear.
Getting him treats people didn’t want.
Toys their animals didn’t like.
Small joys.
And then one day-
There she was.
One blue eye.
One brown eye.
I read it once.
Twice.
Again.
The Pull
I researched.
Learned “Blue Heeler” meant Australian Cattle Dog.
I talked to M&M.
To BJ.
We decided as a family to go meet her.
There were red flags.
But something in me had already started leaning forward.
I allowed myself to have hope.
Even after the first meeting fell through.
So… we went to them instead.
The First Meeting
The yard was too small.
Bear followed her like a duckling.
BJ fell in love instantly.
M&M softened into her like she already had a place for her.
And me?
I sat on the pavement.
And waited.
She approached differently.
Curious. Careful.
She studied me like I was something worth figuring out.
Then:
- nose to hands
- lick to face
- climbed into my lap
Like she was settling.
Like she had already decided.
🐾 You were loud in a quiet way.
🐾 I didn’t understand it yet.
🐾 But I knew you needed watching.
📸
Alt text: Young Luna, underweight, with mismatched eyes meeting her new family.
She was too thin.
Ribs visible.
All ears. All angles.
And then-
She was handed over.
No tags.
No weight to the moment.
Her “owner” didn’t seem to care one way or another.
Like she was something that could be replaced.
Before, he’d promised her toys, her food, her leash- everything that was hers.
Instead…
Just a dog.
One with a green camo collar that didn’t fit who she was.
Honestly, it didn’t even fit her.
And suddenly-
She was ours.
The Ride Home
The plan was two weeks.
But I already knew.
She wasn’t going back.
The man had put her in the cargo hold of our Jeep Cherokee-
But that’s not where she stayed.
Halfway home, she decided something too.
She climbed forward.
Joined Bear and BJ in the backseat.
Two dogs. Heads out the window.
Wind. Motion. Freedom.
🐾 The back was wrong.
🐾 You were forward.
🐾 So I went where you were.
📸
Alt text: Two dogs sitting together in a car, looking out the window during the ride home.
The Truth Comes Out
The vet told us the truth.
Not 11 months.
Closer to 7.
Unfixed.
Not chipped.
We didn’t even know if she’d been vaccinated.
We fixed all of that.
We made her ours in all the ways that matter.
She was just a baby.
No structure. No understanding. Just too much world and no map.
Of course she was “too much.”
The Adjustment Period
Those first weeks weren’t perfect.
Moments I was overwhelmed.
Moments I think we all were.
Moments I wondered if we’d made the wrong call.
Not because of her-
But because I didn’t know yet how to meet her where she was.
We learned she’d been crated most of her life.
So, we gave her structure.
We got her a crate- so she had somewhere safe if she needed it.
Then we gave her choice.
Beds. Toys. Space.
She became someone who belonged.
The crate sits empty now in the basement hallway-
A memory of a dog who needed it then.
Not the dog she is now.
📸
Alt text: Luna relaxing in her new home environment with toys and her dog bed.
The First Alert
Two weeks in.
I was doing dishes.
She started acting strange.
Pacing. Barking. Pawing.
Then-
Migraine.
Sudden. Sharp.
I didn’t trust my body yet.
I’d had migraines for years.
Unpredictable. Uncontrollable.
But I started trusting her.
At the time, we didn’t know she was naturally alerting- just that she was trying very hard to tell me something my body hadn’t yet said out loud.
🐾 You didn’t listen the first time.
🐾 That’s okay.
🐾 I’m very persistent.
The Shift
That’s when everything changed.
We started researching.
Training. Learning.
And that’s how we got Luna.
Then vs Now
Two years ago, I was leaving the house less.
Trusting my body even less than that.
Now?
I still have bad days. That hasn’t changed.
But I have warning.
I have interruption.
I have something that meets me where I am instead of asking me to push past it.
📸
Alt text: Luna performing a trained task or accompanying Sky in daily life.
From Chaos to Precision
Did she get into the trash?
Yes.
Did we upgrade to locking lids?
Also, yes.
But now?
She refuses food unless I approve it.
The other day, someone tried to give her an Oreo brownie.
She brought it to me instead.
Because she knows.
Because she chooses.
Because she’s that dog.
🐾 Luna’s Supply Drop
The Lunatic Café runs on love, stubbornness… and an unreasonable number of tennis balls.
If you’ve ever wanted to spoil the Service Dingo™—
Luna does, in fact, have a wishlist.
(Her current obsession: anything that squeaks like it owes her money.)
Consider it contributing to the Adoptiversary Feast.
No pressure. Ever.
But if you feel like leaving an offering at the Den?
She will accept it with great enthusiasm and zero dignity.
Pictures and videos will absolutely be provided as proof of spoiling.
All Adoptiversary gifts will be wrapped, and videos will be taken and posted of her opening them- if she can open an easter egg, I’m sure she’ll be able to open her presents, I’ll just need to sneak something tasty into the wrapping so she knows.
🌙 Love You. Say It Back.
Maybe this week-
Say it to the ones who stay.
The ones who notice before you do.
The ones who sit closer when something shifts.
The ones who don’t need language.
Just presence.
Because from the beginning-
Before I had words for it, before I understood-
She had already decided.
The floors were always going to get louder.
For Luna
This week is for her.
For the dog who found me.
For the Service Dingo™ who refuses to let me fall apart unattended.
For the quiet, stubborn, life-altering presence that changed everything.
🐾 You think you chose me.
🐾 That’s fine.
🐾 You needed the story to make sense.
Stay soft.
Stay stubborn.
Stay.
🐾 I told you.
🐾 I’ve got you.
-Sky
© The Crippled Cryptid
Disability, honesty, and a little chaos.
🔗 https://linktr.ee/skylanarissa
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