Adopter Name

Hailey

Rescue Dog's Name

Jayce

Where Did You Find Your Dog?

Jayce is my rescue dog I adopted last October, but we had a rough beginning together. We started just as fosters for a group called Rescue Rovers out of Salt Lake City.

Tell Us About the Moment When You Knew that You Two Were Meant for Each Other.

They asked us to foster Jayce and we agreed wholeheartedly. However, after getting him home and reading about his past, it was very obvious he had been severely abused and neglected. When his previous owners signed him over, they put on his paper he had been on a chain his whole life because he was stupid and didn't listen to them at all. It was also very, very obvious he had been severely abused by a man because he was deathly scared of my husband at first and any man that came into the house. He would cower behind me all the time and bark and try and get under our table anytime someone came over. He also would attack other dogs out of pure fear. In the midst of this and everybody, including my family, telling me that Jayce was psycho, I could see something in those big brown eyes that told me there was more to him than his rough outer self. I put in the papers to adopt him (though everybody told me I was out of my mind) and started working with a trainer biweekly. With a rigorous training schedule that kept both of is busy for months, including many trips to Home Depot and Lowe's to get desensitized to men, on-leash trips to the dog park and Petco, and other outings to get socialized all other places, we were kept busy. Now, you wouldn't even recognize the dog he was before. He runs up and greets people at the door (man or woman). He also loves other dogs and we have started an agility class to further his confidence. Jayce has taught me so much, but I would say he has taught me the most is don't judge a book by it's cover.

How Has Your Hero Changed Your Life?

If I wouldn't have given Jayce a chance or judged him at first, I seriously would have missed out on an amazing best friend that means the world to me now. I would also say he's taught me patience, diligence, and compassion for all. You don't know where someone has been, so be kind to all. My friends and family can't believe I took a chance with him, but now they're the ones stepping up to say he gets to come stay with them while we're out of town because he's such a good boy now. I couldn't imagine my life without Jayce. He really did fill a gap I didn't know was missing in my life.