Happy Tails: Layla

Layla came to the Lexington Humane Society after she was picked up by Lexington-Fayette Animal Care and Control as a stray in 2015 when she was just two years old. She was spayed and given proper medical care by the wonderful staff at LHS after living as a stray for a week. Eventually, Layla’s owner came in and confirmed she was her dog but decided against bringing her back home. Heartbroken and confused, Layla adjusted to her new life at the Lexington Humane Society. 

Four months after Layla turned up at LHS, she was adopted! Her new family brought her home and said she was doing great. However, it was only a matter of time before Layla would be back in our care. Two years after she was adopted, Layla returned to LHS as a stray yet again. This time, her owners picked her back up from our care, but it was far from the last time Layla would be neglected. Layla came back to LHS as a stray two more times over several months. Eventually, her owners failed to reclaim her. The Lexington Humane Society was starting to look like Layla’s forever home. 

Over the next two years, Layla made incredible progress with the staff and other animals at the Lexington Humane Society. She loved belly rubs from our adoption staff, car rides with our volunteers, and long walks at the University of Kentucky’s arboretum. Layla also found herself a boyfriend, Peter Quill, who was another pitbull mix looking for his forever home at LHS. Our Train-A-Bull coordinator, Andrew, and volunteer, Patty, both did an incredible job training Layla. In April of 2018, Layla became a proud Train-A-Bull graduate!

In April of 2019, Grace came into the Lexington Humane Society to drop off her internship application for the upcoming fall semester. She had recently been in contact with Casey, our foster care coordinator, about fostering a long-term resident at LHS. Casey had sent her a few senior dogs that she thought were a good fit for her living situation, so Grace decided to take a look at one dog in particular when she came in to submit her application. 

Best friends: Layla and Grace

When Grace first saw Layla, she said that Layla didn’t bark or get overly-excited. She just looked up at Grace with her big brown eyes and promptly rolled over onto her back for a belly rub. That day, Grace took Layla home and agreed to foster her for two weeks. Grace explained that she was nervous to bring Layla home since she had never had a dog of her own, but she felt a special connection to Layla. Two weeks turned into three, then four, until Grace finally decided to keep Layla for good! When we asked Grace about her decision to make Layla a “foster fail”, she said “I guess I am not cut out to be a foster mom, but I was meant to be Layla’s mom. I was nervous to be a first-time dog mom, but Layla has made it so easy!” Thanks to the Train-A-Bull program, Layla transitioned into Grace’s home flawlessly.

Grace says “Layla has filled a void in my life that I didn’t even realize I had. She loves to go on road trips, curl up on the couch with me while I study, and lick my face to wake me up when I miss my alarm for class. She also loves to lay out by the pool and sun bathe, even though she refuses to swim. I’m thankful that the staff and volunteers at LHS were able to love Layla before I could.”  Layla may have had a rough start to life, but she finally found her forever home.   If you’re interested in volunteering with our Train-A-Bull program, or becoming a foster parent, please visit our website at AdoptLove.net.

Layla enjoying life in her forever home.

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