Reader Rescue Story: Bailey

This week’s story is about a precious puppy found alongside a busy highway. We hope you enjoy reading this story as much as we did.

If you are the pet parent of a rescued dog, we want to share your story, too! For information about submitting your story, click here.

Puppy Mistaken for Highway Trash
By Stacye Hixson

This rescue story is both happy and sad. My husband, Perry, was on his way home from work one day and alongside the highway he saw what he thought was a small paper bag blowing around. As he got closer he realized that it was a puppy, a very young puppy.

He walked up and down the side of the highway because he was afraid someone had dropped off a litter of puppies. He didn’t find anything, so he found a box by the road and put the puppy inside to bring her home.

When I first saw her I thought she was blind because her eyes were blue. We took her to the vet to have her checked out. She was covered with fleas, but otherwise she was a healthy puppy. The vet told us that she was not blind and that her eyes would change color.

The vet estimated she was about 2 to 3 weeks old. After we left the vet’s office, I went to the pet store and bought all the necessary equipment to bottle feed her, and over the next couple of weeks we introduced her to puppy food. She was growing so fast and we were in love. She was our baby, but she was particularly special to my husband, and the feeling was mutual.

Years passed and Bailey became a very important part of our lives. She had the most beautiful golden eyes and when she looked at you she had the biggest smile on her face. We taught her many tricks, she loved to jump on the trampoline with my boys and she loved the water. We always took her to Fall Creek Falls, a nearby state park. She would swim with the boys and slide down the rocks of the small waterfalls with them as well. She was just an extraordinary dog. We had never had a dog like her before and we haven’t had a dog like her since.

Like many dogs, Bailey was deathly afraid of thunderstorms. We always tried to make sure to bring her in if the forecast called for them. Unfortunately, one night we were unaware that thunderstorms were in the forecast. In the middle of the night I was awakened by a whining sound coming from the basement. Then I heard the thunder. I sent my son down to bring Bailey upstairs, and when he got down there he started screaming for me to come.

Bailey was lying in the floor, unresponsive, but making a whining sound.We immediately loaded her in the car and took her to the emergency animal clinic. After all the tests were complete, they determined that she had gotten so worked up over the storm that she had a heat stroke. The vet said she was unsure of her outcome.

Before we left the clinic, my boys and I went back and talked to her. We told her how much we loved her and begged her to get better. I bent down and whispered in her ear that her daddy was coming to see her and that he would be there in a little while. With heavy hearts we left our precious Bailey and went home.

Early the next morning I received a called from the clinic informing me that Bailey had passed away. The vet told me my husband had been there, and had talked to her and loved and hugged her. As soon as my husband walked out of the clinic our baby girl died.

The vet told me she believed that Bailey was waiting for my husband to come, just as I promised her. She had waited on the most special person in her life before she passed on.

PHOTO: Stacye Hixson

i Love Dogs, Inc.

i Love Dogs, Inc.’s three websites – ilovedogs.com, ilovedogfriendly.com and findavet.us – provide information and up-to-the-minute news to keep pet parents aware of all things dog. A premium canine vitamins and lifestyle company, i Love Dogs is famous for its line of diamond dog collars. The name says it all — at i Love Dogs, we are committed to the health and happiness of our canine companions.