Hazel

Because of YOUR incredible support, Hazel is living her best life. When she came to us, she was emaciated and starved, a dog who had spent her entire life on a chain with nothing to show for it but exhaustion. Then a routine spay nearly took her life on the operating table. After emergency care, treatment for two tick-borne illnesses, and months of healing, Hazel has found her forever family, and these days you will find her exploring, hiking, and napping with her fur siblings, all thanks to you. 

Hazel spent her whole life chained outside in rural Kentucky. She was emaciated, lonely, and exposed to harsh weather, never knowing if her owner would remember to feed her that day. She gave birth to litter after litter, and another rescue was able to remove her puppies and spare them from the same fate, but Hazel herself kept being hidden away by her owner. 

A persistent local shelter refused to give up on her. They kept checking on her welfare, and eventually they were able to remove her from the property. When they reached out and asked if we could help, we immediately said yes. We could not turn our backs on a dog who had survived a lifetime of neglect and finally reached the edge of safety. 

When Hazel arrived, we set out to give her the fresh start she deserved with comprehensive veterinary care: vaccinations, preventatives, boarding, and a spay surgery so she could recover and eventually be adopted. We sent her to Ashland Animal Clinic, and everything appeared to be going well, until the spay. Veterinarians could not get her bleeding under control, and she had to be rushed to the emergency room for advanced care. 

There, we learned why. Hazel was carrying two tick-borne diseases, the kind that can quietly affect the blood and organs without obvious symptoms. In her case, the undetected illnesses were causing serious clotting issues, which meant her body could not stop bleeding the way it should and turned a routine procedure into a life-threatening crisis. The costs escalated quickly, and our budget was already stretched impossibly thin, but giving up was never an option. Hazel had already proven she was a fighter, and we were determined to see her through. 

And fight she did. With the emergency hospitalization, the careful monitoring, and the treatment your donations made possible, Hazel pulled through. Soon she was strong enough to leave the hospital and continue healing in a loving medical foster home. She even got all dressed up for her big day out and soaked up every bit of attention, because under all that hardship she had always been the sweetest little love bug, just waiting for someone to love her back. 

Then came the ending we had all been hoping for. Hazel found her forever family and fur siblings, and after everything she survived, she finally has a home and a family to call her own. None of it would have been possible without you. To everyone who donated, shared her story, cheered her on, and believed in her, thank you. You helped give Hazel her life back, and we will never stop being grateful for that.

With Love,

 One by One Animal Advocates