It's hard not to notice Beaux Tox the Labrador Retriever, when you see him. His face is so unusual.
Squished and wrinkled, with a squinty expression, he can't help but stand out in a crowd.
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Beaux Tox first came to Jamie Hulit's attention when she saw his picture on Facebook after a friend posted it up saying the dog needed a foster or forever home.
Beaux Tox was living in a backyard and wasn't getting the care he needed. Hulit immediately stepped forward and offered to take him in.
She revealed that Beaux's unusual face was likely formed in the womb, where he developed a sunken cranium and close-set eyes.
Because of his deformity, he wasn't kept by the breeder, but given to a family. However, Beaux didn't get along with the other animals in the house and was relegated to the backyard.
Flash forward five years. Local rescuers had attempted to intervene, Hulit told the Dodo. But but it wasn't until she met with Beaux's owners that Beaux was offered a permanent home. Hulit offered to adopt Beaux Tox outright, knowing he needed a true home and not to be fostered. "I wanted him to have stability and a place he knew was his home," she said.
When she first saw Beaux in person, she could see he was emaciated, with fleas and ear mites (from which he lost his hearing in one ear), and as it turned out, a very bad case of heart worms.
Hulit told the Dodo that Beaux had a 50-50 chance of surviving the heart worm. But Hulit knew he needed the treatment if he was going to live.
What followed was a rigorous, months' long treatment tinged with moments of fear. There were several times when she nearly lost him.
But Beaux pulled through. And as the months past, he has grown stronger and now is settling in to his new home. He's got a 13-year-old brother "“ a Golden Retriever mix "“ to help show him the ropes about living indoors and the two absolutely adore one another.
It's clear he's got a new lease on life.
"He's so full of life," Hulit said, "and he's just brought so much to us."
He's paying it forward too, accepting and embracing the other foster animals that Hulit brings home, including a new sister, Scout.
