Maya Angelou has come a very long way from the terrified, painfully thin mama we first met at Animal Control, and these days she seems determined to make up for every bit of life she missed along the way.

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Maya was picked up by Animal Control as a stray while she was going into labor and delivered eight puppies in the shelter. Two were stillborn, two more would later die, and the stress of the shelter environment became almost unbearable for Maya. She was frightened, overwhelmed and unsure of the people around her, and eventually stopped producing the milk her four surviving puppies needed. They had to be removed from her and bottle-fed, leaving an already scared dog alone in a place where she simply could not begin to decompress. Maya needed out, and SEPR became her last hope of leaving the shelter and getting the opportunity to discover who she was when she was no longer simply trying to survive.

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We named her Maya Angelou because even then, buried underneath all that fear and loss, we believed there was a girl in there who would eventually find her way back up.

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It took time, patience and a foster home willing to let Maya move at her own pace, but underneath all that fear was an incredibly sweet dog waiting for someone to give her a chance. Once she began to understand that she was safe, we started seeing more and more of the real Maya, and the transformation has been pretty remarkable. The dog who once wasn't sure she could trust anyone now truly loves being close to her people and is an absolute snuggler. She has learned that couches are comfortable, sunshine is wonderful, car rides can lead to adventures and having people who genuinely enjoy your company is a pretty great way to live.

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At an estimated five to six years old, Maya was finally spayed after coming into rescue, permanently ending a cycle her body had likely endured more than once before. The condition of her uterus suggested the litter we knew about was not her first, and quite possibly not even her second. We will never know exactly what those first years of Maya's life looked like, but it is very apparent that while someone expected her to have puppies, nobody spent much time teaching the dog herself. Now, for the first time, Maya gets to be the priority, and she is embracing that opportunity with everything she's got.

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Maya recently started obedience classes and is having a wonderful time learning all the things nobody bothered to teach her before. She is picking up new skills daily and working hard on her leash manners, including learning to walk nicely with her Gentle Leader. She is food motivated and eager to participate, which makes training pretty darn fun for both Maya and the humans working with her. She is still gaining some much-needed weight after being so thin and depleted from giving birth, so the extra training treats, enrichment snacks and rewards are certainly welcome while she continues filling out.

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There is also a wonderfully goofy side emerging as Maya discovers just how many things exist in this great big world. In many ways, she is getting the puppyhood she apparently never had. New things must be investigated, and Maya currently believes a very thorough investigation often includes putting said item into her mouth and possibly giving it a chew. She is learning what is hers, what isn't, what makes an appropriate chew toy and what the humans would very much prefer she leave alone. She takes redirection well and continues learning every day, but her future family should be prepared to continue providing structure, enrichment and plenty of appropriate outlets for a curious girl who has several years of lost time to make up for.

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With her canine foster siblings, Maya generally prefers to stay out of conflict and go about her business. She isn't looking for trouble and has shown herself to be a dog who would rather avoid confrontation than participate in it. As with all of our dogs, continued structure, appropriate introductions and good household management will remain important as she transitions into a new home.

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Maya has also discovered that she really enjoys getting out and experiencing life. She likes going for walks, taking car rides, exploring new stores and places, working on her training and, when the weather cooperates, finding a good patch of sunshine for some serious sunbathing. She would be a wonderful match for someone who doesn't simply want a dog living in their house, but wants a dog to include in their life. Maya is ready for the family who will load her into the car, take her along on adventures, continue her training, give her new things to experience and then make room for her to curl up beside them when the day is over.

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Medically, Maya has been doing well and is finally able to focus on simply getting stronger, maintaining her health and continuing to gain the weight her body needs. After everything it has been through, seeing her healthy, spayed, learning and thriving feels particularly significant. For years, Maya's body appears to have been expected to give. Now her life finally gets to be about what she gets to have.

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And what Maya wants really isn't complicated. She wants people to love, things to learn, places to go, snacks to eat, sunshine to soak up and a soft place to snuggle when the adventure is over.

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We named her Maya Angelou before we knew exactly who she would become, but perhaps somewhere in that frightened, painfully thin mama we could already see a little of the girl standing in front of us today. Maya has risen from fear, from loss, from motherhood and from a life in which very little seems to have ever belonged to her. Now the cycle has ended. Her body is hers, her future is hers, and for perhaps the first time in her life, the story ahead gets to be hers too.

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Her past will always be part of Maya's story, but it no longer gets to define her future. She has done the surviving. She has done the mothering. Maya has already done the hard part.

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Still she rises, and this time we hope it is all the way home.

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SPECIAL RECOGNITION TO MAYA'S FOSTER FAMILY FOR THEIR TIME AND DONATIONS: 

Heather & Joe