Above: Out & About’s Jim Miller (l) with Moo Moo and Movies on Tap co-creator Ryan Kennedy.
In September 2022, during a Movies on Tap fundraising event at Penn Cinema, a spunky gal named Moo Moo stole the show — wowing the audience with her cute looks, hot-pink outfit and natural charm.
The 7-year-old canine was up for adoption.
Moo Moo had been brought to the event by Faithful Friends Animal Society, a nonprofit animal welfare organization raising money and awareness for new animal care facility they were close to completing in New Castle.
Although Moo Moo didn’t go home with a new owner that night, her Hollywood ending was just around the corner. Five months later, Greenville retiree Jim McKinnon would follow the advice of his barber and stop in at Faithful Friends’ just-completed new facilities.
For Moo Moo, it was another chance to let her star power shine.
“She came into the room with all flags flying, tail wagging, and then on her back, tummy up, wanting to be rubbed,” McKinnon says, “She sold me completely.”
Just like that, Moo Moo had a new home.
“She adapted so quickly,” says McKinnon with a touch of astonishment in his voice, “I was amazed that in no time at all, she was my dog.”
“She’s terrific. She’s house-broken; she sits; she stays; and she’s sweet.”
McKinnon is no stranger to dogs. He says his family always owned dogs — as many as six, at one point. When his wife passed a year and a half ago, it was just him and Lucky, the family pit bull, who they had brought home from a shelter 14 years prior.
But even a dog named Lucky can’t live forever. In February, Lucky passed.
After a period of mourning, McKinnon realized how much he wanted another dog. That’s when he took his barber’s advice.
“I would encourage older people such as myself to adopt older dogs,” says the 84-year-old McKinnon. “They seem to realize that they have been given a new chance and adapt quickly to their new situation. Plus, they are wonderful companions.”
Moo Moo may make a sequel appearance November 16 at Movie on Tap, which again benefits Faithful Friends. For a $25 ticket, guests see Planes, Trains and Automobiles on the big screen along with two pre-show cocktails created by co-sponsor Tito’s Handmade Vodka, complimentary popcorn and the warm feeling in their hearts knowing they are helping dogs like Moo Moo find a friendly forever home.
And, if we are all lucky enough to see Moo Moo there — remember — she’s taken.
— For tickets for Movies on Tap on November 16 benefiting Faithful Friends, visit wilmington.penncinema.com/movies-on-tap.
