This Depressed Dog Was Rejected For His Deformed Face. But His Life Changed When He Got A New Home
Beaux Tox the dog was born with an unusual deformity. And his misshapen face meant that
no one wanted him. Then one day, after years of being mistreated, his life changed forever.
Beaux Tox is a yellow Labrador who was born six years ago
in Texas. His original owner was a breeder, and he was one of a litter of seven puppies.
But being so cramped in the womb caused him to be born with a surprising abnormality.
Specifically, the puppy’s skull was recessed into his head, bringing his eyes much nearer together
than those of a normal dog. Fortunately, he didn’t have any major problems with his
brain or his health as a result. But the pup, originally named Lucky, was difficult to sell.
Indeed, Lucky’s strange appearance meant that nobody wanted him. In the end,
the breeders decided to give him away for free to a man who lived close to them in Austin.
But the dog’s problems didn’t end there. Lucky’s new owner had cats who were not keen
on him being in the home with them. As a result, the man decided to keep Lucky outside in the small
backyard. He was not trained or taken care of properly and did not even have his own dog bed.
Rescue groups that were based locally tried to get involved and help the odd-looking Labrador.
However, their attempts never worked out, and Lucky would be taken back to his owner
and the backyard. Then, after five years, Jamie Hulit came across a photo of the dog online.
Hulit knew instantly that she wanted to give the animal the life he deserved.
“A friend of mine posted a picture of [the dog] on Facebook saying he
needed a foster [home] or to be adopted – anything,” she told The Dodo in April 2018.
“That day, I sent him a message saying, ‘I would love to take that dog in and give him a home.’”
So Hulit went to visit the pooch, and she was shocked by the condition that he was in.
The dog was extremely malnourished, weighing just 42 pounds with protruding bones.
He also had ear mites and fleas, but that didn’t change Hulit’s mind in the slightest.
In fact, it just made her more determined to help. “At that point I didn’t care how badly he might
be ill. I just didn’t want him to go into the foster system again and be returned,”
Hulit said to The Dodo. She had lived with foster parents as a child and made the decision straight
away to adopt him, renaming him Beaux Tox. “I wanted him to have stability and a place
that he knew was his home. That is why I adopted him outright from the owner,”
Hulit continued. “Beaux Tox had already bounced around and I just wanted him to be a dog.”
Hulit also took Beaux Tox to the Hoegemeyer Animal Clinic in Kerrville,
TX, to be checked out. Then, however, she received some devastating news: it appeared that Beaux Tox
was in extremely poor health. On top of being emaciated
and having fleas and mites, tests revealed that Beaux Tox had heartworms.
He was frail and could not be treated for the condition that destroys organs beyond repair.
And as a result, Hulit was told there was only a 50 percent chance the Labrador would make it.
Nevertheless, Hulit vowed that she would do whatever she could for her new dog. He was cared
for by Dr. Rydberg at the clinic and had to spend much of the first few weeks inside an oxygen tank.
Then one day, things got so bad that Rydberg telephoned Hulit at 3:00 a.m. and suggested
that she come and say her goodbyes to Beaux Tox. Fortunately, though, the pooch made it through.
And after some time, he had gained a sufficient amount of weight and was well enough to begin
the treatment for heartworms. Even so, Beaux Tox had very limited vision in one eye and
had become deaf in one ear from the mites. But, eventually, he was able to go home with Hulit.
And it wasn’t long before Beaux Tox found a new best friend in Hulit’s other rescue dog
Riley – a golden retriever mix who is 13 years old. “Riley and Beaux absolutely love each
other,” Hulit said to The Dodo. “They’re perfect for each other even with the age difference.
And even though Beaux acts like a puppy, it helps Riley stay young.”
What’s more, in April 2018 Hulit told Today that Beaux Tox “doesn’t know he’s deformed.”
He even wears ties made by his new mom to “soften his look” and avoid frightening others. “He thinks
he’s the most handsome thing that there ever was, and we just let him think that,” Hulit added.
And while Beaux Tox’s veterinary bills were expensive, Hulit has said that they
were worth every penny. “There are people who will pay top dollar for a dog’s papers,
and I feel like I paid for his health certificate. But I am 100 percent okay with that, knowing that
he is now a happy, free guy,” she told The Dodo. Indeed, even though he spent five years being kept
outside, the deformed dog is now loving life indoors. “He was an outside dog,
but you’d never know because he does not want to go outside,” Hulit said. “He’ll go out if you do,
but if you stay in, he’ll stand right by the door and look through the window.”
In fact, Hulit can hardly believe that Beaux Tox is the same dog. One year later,
he’s happier than ever and bringing his owner a whole lot of joy in return. She added to The Dodo,
“He’s so full of life, and he’s just brought so much to us.” Beaux Tox now has over 6,000
Instagram followers and has raised thousands of dollars via GoFundMe to help other pets in need.
And, online, people were touched by Hulit’s generosity. “We need more people like this in the
world. So happy that he has a wonderful forever home!” one commenter wrote. Another added, “Well
done, Jamie… he deserved someone like you to love him, and I’m sure he will love you back tenfold.”