{"id":180,"date":"2010-07-14T07:21:02","date_gmt":"2010-07-14T12:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/?p=180"},"modified":"2010-07-14T07:21:02","modified_gmt":"2010-07-14T12:21:02","slug":"a-dogs-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/?p=180","title":{"rendered":"A Dog’s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Moxie<\/a>

Moxie posing with her flag. From the "Bale Mill Odessey" by Judy Hurdle.<\/p><\/div>\n

It is rare but not unheard of that a dog’s passing would make the news. Moxey was one of those dogs. Moxey, the beloved pet of Hardy Hardella, passed away from old age and indigestion at the age of twelve in the early summer of 1907. Moxey was given a \u201cdecent burial\u201d for he \u201chad earned recognition above that accorded to the average dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moxey or Moxie, a Scotch Collie, was born on February 27, 1895, in the kennels of Senator Julius C. Burrows of Michigan. Mr. Hardella, the manager of Hardella Dye Works, bought Moxey a month later.\u00a0\u00a0 Historic Joplin will dedicate a post to the interesting life of Hardy Hardella at a later time.\u00a0 In Joplin, Moxey was \u201cone of the best known residents of the neighborhood at Third Street and Jackson Avenue\u201d and was \u201cfamous for its utilitarian service.\u201d Moxey, it seems, did not believe in performing \u201cfoolish tricks\u201d like shaking hands or rolling over.<\/p>\n

\"Moxie<\/a>

An advertisement featuring Moxey.<\/p><\/div>\n

Instead, he was known for carrying around a basket of \u201cmeat or vegetables all day if necessary.\u201d Moxey \u201cwould quickly learn and gladly perform\u201d any useful action. He and his owner were so close that it was said that Mr. Hardella never whipped Moxey so as not to \u201cestrange the fine devotion of the sagacious animal.\u201d Moxey’s owner turned down an offer of $300 to sell Moxey to the owner of the Wallace Show, a traveling circus that at one time was second in size only to Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.\u00a0 Moxie was known for leading parades while clutching an American flag in her mouth.<\/p>\n

\"Moxey's<\/a>

Moxey's image in her obituary.<\/p><\/div>\n

Upon Moxey’s death, Mr. Hardella purchased a \u201cpretty coffin for the magnificent dog\u201d and was buried with the same reverence \u201cas would have been a child.\u201d The Joplin News-Herald<\/em> eulogized Moxey, \u201cThe small part of the world with which he came in contact is better, probably, because he lived. Such dogs seldom live. Their influence is good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Moxey<\/a>

Moxey, from the private collection of Judy Hurdle.<\/p><\/div>\n

Sources: Joplin News Herald, Missouri State Archives Death Certificate Database, Livingston’s History of Jasper County, Bale Milling Odyssey by Judy Hurdle<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is rare but not unheard of that a dog’s passing would make the news. Moxey was one of those dogs. Moxey, the beloved pet of Hardy Hardella, passed away from old age and indigestion at the age of twelve in the early summer of 1907. Moxey was given a \u201cdecent burial\u201d for he \u201chad […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[747,754,745,749,748,752,751,328,31,753,742,743,744,750,746],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.historicjoplin.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}