Dog abandoned in Everett dumpster has new home and new name

EVERETT — Things are looking up for the pit bull Everett police found abandoned in a dumpster in November, as she settles into her new home and newfound social media presence.

Binny, now named Maisey, first made headlines when Everett officers responded to reports of a pit bull inside a zipped suitcase with a rope tied around its neck in a dumpster behind a restaurant in the 8800 block of Evergreen Way on Nov. 18.

Officers transported Maisey to the Everett Animal Shelter, where staff discovered she had recently given birth.

Maisey’s story garnered the attention of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who offered up to $6,000 as a reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction on cruelty charges of those responsible for abandoning her. On Dec. 14, patrol officers arrested a suspect.

Maisey’s story also got the attention of Melissa Munn’s partner, Christy Romo, who waited for Munn to get home to share an article about the pit bull. That night, Munn said she put in an application to adopt Maisey.

Initially, Munn wasn’t sure if they were ready for another dog after the passing of their dog, who was also a rescue and mostly a pit bull, but Maisey was also not ready to be adopted yet.

“I was like, ‘Well, I’m just gonna submit an application and see what happens,’” she said. “If it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t work.”

While Munn’s application was processing, the atmospheric river began rolling in.

During historic flooding in December across Snohomish County, the Everett Animal Shelter announced a temporary evacuation due to the flooding risk caused by rising water levels in the Snohomish River.

The night before the evacuation, the shelter reached out to Munn, asking about her availability for a phone call. The next day, Munn said her phone rang around three hours before the expected call.

“That’s when they had said, ‘We have to evacuate the shelter. You are No. 1 on our list for adoption. Do you want to come up and pick up Binny?’” Munn said. “And we were like, ‘Yes. Yes, we do.’”

On the two-hour drive to the shelter, Munn began thinking about names.

“Binny was a cute name, and I understand the name, but I also didn’t really want to have a connection to that kind of history and trauma,” she said.

Initially, the name Daisy was in the running, a reference to their previous dog, nicknamed Buttercup. After some internal deliberation and rhyming, Munn said she landed on Maisey Mae.

Munn said Maisey settled into her new name and her new home right away. Now the pit bull spends her time playing outside, attending what Munn calls “teach the human classes” and napping on the couch.

“She does not like the rain, so she lives in the wrong part of the country for that, but she does love to be outside,” Munn said.

A trip to the vet revealed that Maisey was barely 2 years old. The pit bull is very much a puppy, Munn said, referring to Maisey as “very young at heart and spry.”

People interested in following along with Maisey’s journey can do so on her very own Instagram account, @maiseythemiracle.

Munn said when she was actively following the media surrounding Maisey’s tumultuous few weeks, she noticed people commenting that they hoped the pit bull had a social media account for more updates. While it started with around 30 followers, mostly Munn’s friends and family, ever since the Everett Animal Shelter posted an update, Maisey’s following has grown.

As of Thursday, the account has 1,513 followers. In her recent posts, Maisey can be seen “supervising” the installation of Christmas lights, receiving plenty of ear scratches and showing off her new duck pajamas.

Munn hopes Maisey’s social media presence shows people the resilience of dogs and destigmatizes the pit bull breed.

“They are a dog, like all other dogs, that just want love and care and to be treated well,” Munn said. “She’s just doing great and deserves the best, and she’s going to get that.”

Jenna Millikan: 425-339-3035; jenna.millikan@heraldnet.com. X: @JennaMillikan