Haylee’s Adoption Story

Haylee the Injured Pitbull

After foster failing on Nadia, then Bambi we continued to foster. Remember this was in a townhouse with a tiny yard and no fence. However, we wanted to continue helping. We fostered a few dogs over the next year. Then Summer of 2017, I was told that I could pick my next foster from the shelter I volunteer at since I would know that dog. I was still fostering for the Society of Humane Friends of Georgia. There was a cute female pit bull named Haylee with a torn ACL.

I don’t know her full story, but apparently she was part of an eviction along with a male dog named Harley. They were basically on the driveway with all the junk from inside the house just abandoned outside. Haylee already had a microchip, but no one ever reclaimed her obviously.

Stuck in the Shelter for 2 Months

She had been sitting in the shelter for almost two months with no rescue interest. She was such a love bug though. Here is one of the videos of her that I was actually in as well. The shelter was pretty full at this time of year and unfortunately the management was absolute dog crap for lack of a better term. Dogs were being killed left and right to make space for potential incoming dogs. (That’s a whole other story though!) Sadly, I later found out that Harley was killed at the shelter for that very reason. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to think of Haylee almost having that fate. I feel terrible for Harley not getting a chance at a good home…

I Pick Haylee

Anyway, I decided to pick Haylee. As much as I loved pit bulls, she was actually my first pit bull foster. The day I picked her up from the shelter I took her to the vet to check out her leg. She was such an angel at the vet and in the car. I got home to do a quick backyard introduction with Bambi and Nadia with the help of my sister. It did not go too well at first. Haylee did fine with dogs in the shelter, but she was a little snappy at our dogs. I honestly just figured she was stressed, plus her injury likely didn’t make her feel any better.

We ended up having to do quite a bit of crate and rotate. Plus, we had to keep Haylee pretty confined after she had her ACL surgery. She had a big cone (e-collar) on that she hated plus a drain in her leg. Haylee was definitely living up to the stubborn pit bull stereotype. Since the cone was so big, we couldn’t leave her in the crate comfortably. So we would barricade her between some couches and the ottoman. This girl would find a way to push through. She ripped her drain tube completely out (with the cone on)! One time my sister was upstairs, then all of a sudden Haylee came walking in. She had found a way to get upstairs and past our senior cat we had at the time in the hallway. Oddly enough, Tango didn’t bother her so thankfully that was not an issue.

Getting Along

I really don’t even remember the exact moment they all started to just get along and exist, but it happened! Haylee started to feel better after healing from her surgery. We had to do some at home physical therapy stretches for her. She was then available for adoption. We actually had two meet and greets with the same family. However, they decided to hold off on adopting due to personal reasons. I kept toying with the idea of adopting her too. She was our “normal” dog meaning she would actually act super excited to see her people, cuddle, and wasn’t super fearful. Of course Bambi and Nadia have their own ways of showing love, but Haylee just makes you feel so special.

Then There Were Three

I finally caved in and agreed to adopt her as well. I am so very thankful I decided to add her to the pack. She brings me so much comfort that I can’t even describe it. Coming home to her she acts as if we were gone forever and that we are the most amazing people ever. She runs at you with the biggest smile and can’t even stand still from wagging so hard. Haylee is definitely the most needy of all the dogs. She will literally paw at us continuously until she gets attention. If she hears us baby talk to the other dogs, she has to come charging in.

At this point, I decided we had to take a break on fostering since that would be too much in a townhouse especially without a yard. We also started to realize that Haylee is not a fan of new animals coming into the house. Out in public settings, she’s great. She’s wonderful with Bambi and Nadia (unless they are acting like fools), but does not like newbies. She also tends to be the protective one at home which can be challenging, but is good in a sense. She’s extremely loyal and loving when it comes to her people. Thankfully, as a responsible owner I know how to properly and safely manage that.

So although Haylee doesn’t have as an elaborate story as the other two, she did have some struggles initially. I’m so glad she made it out of the shelter alive, is comfortable, and so loved. I truly appreciate that SOHF allowed me to pick my foster. I really did not intend on foster failing a third dog, but it worked out! Plus, Haylee prevents me from foster failing again and keeps me at my no more than three personal dogs limit! 😉

Thanks for reading about sweet Haylee’s story.