Hayley was brought into the shelter in western PA by her owners - IN THE TRUNK OF THEIR CAR. They said their reason for doing this was because she had killed a cat, and she chased cows! Now that makes sense. The shelter people told us that normally a dog brought to them in this horrible shape is usually euthanized right away. She was skin and bones - at least 15 lbs. or more underweight. You could see every bone in her body in detail. She was full of every kind of worm there is, and had cuts and scrapes all over her, and a big gash on her tail. But when the woman at the shelter looked into her eyes - they knew that this one could be saved, as even though she had been treated so badly, her eyes were full of love. The shelter called us and when we heard about this poor little girl we knew we had to take her.

She was still quite underweight when we took her into foster, but we knew with lots of love and good food - she would be in good shape very soon. She was still too thin to be spayed, so we waited a few weeks, and darn if she didn't go into heat a week before her spay appointment. But, we finally got that behind us, and Hayley was so enjoying being with people and being warm, well fed and loved. She bonded to me immediately, and was constantly at my feet or trying to get on my lap. And she just loved to play ball. She would fetch the ball and drop it at your feet as well as any lab around. And she was the stickiest Velcro dog I have ever seen. The beginning of her life was so horrible and traumatic, and you could tell that this new life was like heaven to her. So she stuck to us like glue. The wounds on her had all healed - except for the gash on her tail - and she kept wagging it and breaking it open. Then of course the blood would spray all over the walls and the dogs and everything else in close proximity. We had tried everything to keep it from breaking open, and finally found some stuff called facilitator at the vets - kind of like a liquid bandage, and it kept the wound closed so it could heal. As the months went by, and Hayley was completely healed, we knew that we had to find a forever home for her soon or risk traumatizing her by rehoming her. And for Hayley, we knew the best home would be where she would have her own human and not have to share with anyone.

After 3 mos. in foster, we found the perfect home for Hayley. A single man who had no other pets but a bird, and was very lonely and wanted a companion. He immediately fell in love with her, and she took to him right away. Our only concern was that he lived off a major highway, but he assured us he would never let her off leash. I checked on them from time to time, and it was a match made in heaven. Hayley had her own person to love and be loved by, and he could not imagine not having her with him. He made sure he had plenty of balls to keep her occupied.

Unfortunately, his landlord reneged on the agreement to have her in the apartment, and he had to get her out of there. He could not give her up, so he took her to his mother and brother who live in PA, who had fallen in love with her when they first met her. They have a fenced in yard and no other pets, and he goes to see her every weekend. He has acreage in northern MD, and in April 2001 will be moving there, and taking his Hayley with him - that is if the mother and brother can bare to part with her. So out of the trunk of that car to having a home and the love of three people, Hayley has a happy ending after all - and one great beginning!!!