Jamie Hulit is a dedicated animal lover in Texas. She works with and fosters with several rescues in the Austin and San Antonio areas, including the Heart of Texas Lab Rescue, Animal Care Services in San Antonio, and a few others. Keeping in touch with other rescuers and fosters through social media, Jamie’s “Dog Rescue World” casts a wide net, and brought to her attention a poor, deformed dog who desperately needed love.
Beaux Tox was born with a facial deformity, and for a pup at a breeding farm, that immediately marked him as unsellable. He was given away for free and passed from owner to owner until he landed in a property near Austin, TX. At the time he was named Lucky but lived a sad, lonely life. The lady of the house had cats and did not want him in the home, so he spent every day outside, sometimes tied to a tree for days with no bed and little to no stimulation.
When it came time for the family to move, they decided that Lucky wasn’t going to come along. They got in touch with a local shelter who agreed to help find him a home while he was still living on the property. A family was found, but almost right away Lucky was returned and continued to wait at the owner’s home for the right person.
One day the shelter sent a volunteer out to retrieve Lucky for some grooming. The volunteer posted photos of the poor pup to social media, and the photos made their way to Jamie, who immediately fell in love with his unusual face. Jamie tells iHeartDogs:
“It just happened to be somebody in my dog rescue world, so right away I contacted him and said ‘I want that dog. I don’t even want to foster it, I wanna take that dog.’”
The volunteer explained that Lucky was still living with the owner, and that he was not in the best of health – he was unchipped, unneutered, and after a life spent outdoors, Lucky was infested with fleas, malnourished, and had an extreme heartworm problem. Adopting Lucky would be a lot of work, but Jamie didn’t hesitate. She insisted on being put in contact with the owner and made arrangements to take Lucky home.
When Jamie met Lucky after everything he’d been through, she knew he’d need a new name and that he would have to see a veterinarian immediately. At five years old Beaux Tox weighed only 42 pounds – the average healthy male Labrador Retriever weighs between 65 and 80 pounds. His fleas were taken care of easily enough, but his heartworms nearly killed him.
“He almost didn’t make it. He was in the oxygen tank for a week. I ended up spending like $8000 dollars for treatment to get an MRI just to see what was going on because he was so infested… He was like skin and bones. It was a touch-and-go and we almost lost him once. I said to my vet, ‘I don’t care – for this particular dog just do whatever you need to and I will pay whatever it is. Don’t hold back.’ And he made it. He’s healthy. He’s in the free and clear.”
Now, about a year since Jamie took him home, you couldn’t tell by looking at him that Beaux Tox ever had such a sad life. He’s a pudgy boy for his size and can be seen smiling in photos with his family. He still spends time outdoors on Jamie’s ranch – but is welcome indoors as well.
“He just got his rattlesnake vaccination and he did go through some training because he didn’t know how to be an indoor dog. We have a ranch, so we kind of let him just roam free but he doesn’t really want to go anywhere. He just stays around the deck. He just wants to be jumping in the pool. He loves swimming.”
He also has a bigger family now – an older brother, Riley, and a new sister who Jamie rescued from the streets in San Antonio, Scout.
He will always have his facial deformity, but the trait that once made him “unsellable” doesn’t make him unlovable – Jamie calls it “his beauty.”
“When I first got him I really wanted him to be associated with people, but people kept asking about his face and they would laugh at him. I was like ‘Don’t worry, go ahead and laugh.’ I started making ties for him. Just so that it would offset his face and just maybe the tie would draw it in where he’s cuter, where he’s not as scary.
One of my girlfriends sells real estate in Fredricksburg and Boerne, and she asked if Beaux could represent the Hill Country selling team as their mascot.
The thing about Beaux is, is he is extremely smart, he is happy, his face it is a deformity. It literally changes every day. It really mushes to one side, or one day it’s pointy, one day it’s full and squishy – his face changes so often he doesn’t really look the same every day.”
And even if someone couldn’t love his face, Beaux Tox has a big personality.
“He’s very well behaved. He doesn’t chase the deer, he knows. He’s a boy. He’s 100% boy lab and he wants to go and have fun. He hasn’t had a chance to go and do that for 5 years. He does go and get in trouble but he’s a great dog. He prefers to be inside. He’s a middle child now, so he’s not a happy dog. I call it the case of the M.D.S. He knows he’s not the baby anymore.”
Jamie makes light of Beaux’s deformity, but it’s clearly out of love and acceptance. It’s apparent in the name she chose for him.
“The reason I named him Beaux Tox is because clearly he looks like he needs botox, and that’s okay. We appreciate beauty in all forms. And the dog bills cost me a fortune which is the reason I don’t have botox!
I’m grateful I got Beaux, and we still rescue and foster. He’s fostered kittens. Beaux Tox is good with anything. He’s good with kittens, baby skunks, cats. He’ll watch the tarantula for an hour. He’s very intrigued by everything… for him, everything is exciting.”
Featured photo via Jamie Hulit
Toledo, United States.
