If you ask Tiarra Moore how her fiancé proposed, she likely would respond that it was “pawsitively” perfect!
Tiarra’s love for dogs developed when she was just 3 years old and has blossomed into a calling to help serve animals in need. Her fiancé, Teyton, proposed May 2 at the Montgomery County Animal Shelter where Tiarra has been a volunteer for the past year.
“I’ve had dogs my whole life. We had two puppies and a rescue when I was 3. A few years later my family rescued another (dog),” Tiarra told the Advocate.
The first rescue, a senior, died when Tiarra was young and the puppies when she was 17. The most recent loss experienced involved her family’s other rescue, which passed Tiarra’s sophomore year of college.
“I knew I wasn’t ready for another dog. It’s so hard losing them. My friends kept telling me to go to the shelter. I’ve never not had dogs.”
Her friends were insistent the shelter might help ease the pain of loss. They were right.
“I finally made a deal that I would go one time and probably never go again. I wasn’t able to have another dog at the time because I was living in the dorm. It actually did make me feel a whole lot better.”
Tiarra’s been volunteering since. She currently runs the shelter’s TikTok and Instagram platforms.
“I’m there all the time. I just love it.”
A personal friend of Tiarra’s and the shelter collaborated on helping the proposal go off without a hitch.
That friend, Kristin, suggested pictures be taken of Tiarra at a local park as a Mother’s Day gift.
During the photo session, Tiarra received an urgent call from Montgomery County Animal Shelter Director Adam Grubb. Grubb said there had been an intake of dogs at the shelter and needed Tiarra’s help to find placement for them at the shelter.
“When I went around back, my favorite dog, Rubin, was outside with a little bandana that said, ‘I do too.’ Right around the corner was my fiancé.”
Tiarra and Teyton have been dating about three and a half years. They met in high school. Originally from Johnson County, Tiarra’s mother moved to Mt. Sterling a few years ago.
While the pair haven’t set a wedding date and Tiarra said she’s uncertain when she might welcome another furry friend into her home permanently, there’s no doubt she will continue advocating for adoption/rescue.
“In October I brought home a foster that I kept in my apartment for a couple of months. When it was time to take him back ... my mom ended up taking him,” she laughed. “He went from about 20 pounds to 90 and I just couldn’t adopt him for my apartment.”
Tiarra quickly shifted the focus off herself during the Advocate’s interview to Rubin.
Rubin is the shelter’s longest resident. For additional information about him and how you can adopt Rubin, see the related story above at left.
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