Hi! My name is Kayla and I’m from Laurel, Mississippi. I rescued and adopted a chow chow named Balou and this is our story.

I live in a national forest in our town on a rural back road. There are probably 10 houses altogether on this road, and one house in particular had been moved on a lot that had the most beautiful dog I had ever seen. He looked like a lion... or a bear. A big mane and brown/red fur. He liked to lay in the road, ditch, yard, and travel all over the end of his road. One day, I saw a lady in the front yard of his house and asked her what the name of that beautiful dog was, to which she replied, “Baloo.” She told me he responded to BooBoo well too! They lived on our road for about 4-5 years. Between then, I had maybe spoken to her 3 times, and last year she told me he was 8 years old and that she had had him since he was 8 weeks old! She raised him! He didn’t like being inside and loved only being outside, so she let him have his way. She said he was a stubborn old man...

Over the years, we learned to dodge him in the road. Some people wouldn’t even brake for him. She was right; he was VERY stubborn. He didn’t move at all for cars. People also would stop and give him treats as well. But he didn’t like people very much either. He would growl at you, so you would just throw it in the road, ditch, or driveway, wherever he was, and watch him. You DID NOT go near Baloo. The lady said he didn’t like people and he certainly didn’t like men. I gave him Slim Jims a few times. But if you know me, I’m TERRIFIED of big dogs. I just thought he was so beautiful and I would just watch him because I had never seen a dog like that before.

Fast forward to January of 2025. Over the last year, Baloo’s hair started matting and had completely fallen out. He had gotten skinny. He looked awful. I had noticed that over at least a week or so, that the lady’s car wasn’t home, but I thought it was because she was at work or that we had missed one another in passing. It wasn’t until I had a conversation with my mom and a stranger that would change everything...

January 14, 2025

My mom and sister were on their way to work when they called me. They had passed Baloo’s house and noticed he was laying in the ditch in front of his home and looked as though he was deceased. They didn’t stop because they were running late and asked me to go check on him. I got in my car and went immediately to his home. There wasn’t a car, so I pulled into the driveway and got out. I was terrified. I called his name and he got up! He limped over to me and was growling. I saw a TV on in the window of the home and knocked on the door but no one answered. I talked to him and let him sniff me to show him I wasn’t a threat and he came and sat down to chew his leg that was hurt. I looked him over to see if I could see any visible injury but couldn’t and that’s when an elderly couple from a neighboring road pulled up. Baloo quickly walked to their car, and they fed him a sausage biscuit and she petted him! I asked if they knew where his owner was. She told me, “Oh honey, she’s been gone for about 3 weeks now. We think she moved and left him here. We’ve been feeding him when we can.” At that point, I was in tears. How? Why?!

I drove home and grabbed some of my dog’s food, a blanket (because a cold front was coming), and some water and treats. I went back to his house and fed him. I sat on the porch of the house and that’s when I started to try and bond with him. But I had to work fast. The temps were going to drop to 13 degrees and he had NO shelter and I had to figure out a plan and I had to get him to trust me. I went back every day twice a day till the cold front came. And it worked...

I went then to the local tractor supply store and got tarps. I went home, got the staple gun, a chicken house heat lamp, some blankets, and my friend Anna gave me a bale of hay and I went to work. I built a makeshift shelter on his porch to protect him from the snow and weather to come. I worried the whole night. I immediately drove to his house that morning. Called out to him, fearing he passed due to the cold temps. He survived. This dog wanted to live. I had to fight for this dog to live. So that’s what I did.

Anna worked years in rescue; she had connections to people that could help me. I asked her for help. She put me through to a woman named Murray who has a foundation here called The Least of These Animal Rescue. I messaged her and she instantly got back to me. She met with me that day and at this point, I had bonded with Baloo for 2 weeks and we had a strong connection. So Murray and I just knew we could catch him. Boy, were we wrong. Baloo had never been in a car, so he wouldn’t get in one. He had never had a leash apparently. He wouldn’t put one on and became SUPER aggressive when we tried. So we tried a live trap with food because he was HUNGRY (before I started feeding him daily there were dead animals all over the property). He wouldn’t go near the trap. We tried for two days with no luck. Then me and Anna decided to try a new approach; we decided to try on our own.

She called in two of her friends who had been doing rescue for years as well. These two girls, Allie and Candice, were amazing. Anna referred to them as “the dream team.” After 4 hours in the cold rain, chasing him through the thick forest, and the fight he put up, we caught him. We finally caught him. We called Murray at the rescue. She told us, “Get him to the vet (the particular one she used) and I will pay for all his vetting. Whatever he needs I will vet him. Kayla, can you foster?” At the time, I didn’t think I could handle it, so I said I didn’t know. Murray insisted I think on adopting him because of how well the feral dog took to me. I told her I couldn’t possibly take in another dog. Especially an outside one.

I live closer and deeper into the forest. I also live next to a cattle ranch. Log trucks and farm and cattle trucks constantly come my way. Not to mention coyotes. He would be more at risk on my end of the road to be hurt. I had nowhere to put him to keep him safe. I also feared for the cattle.

He spent two days at the vet. In those two days, I realized I couldn’t live without him. I called Murray and told her I wanted to adopt him! She was thrilled and said she would cover those costs as well! I went and bought the biggest 10x10 kennel that the farm store had and Murray bought him a dog house. While we were putting the kennel up, I got a call from Murray. She was frantic. She said, “Get to the vet now. They want to euthanize him for his behavior and health but I told them no because you were on your way!” I immediately went to get him!

Upon arriving, I was greeted by a vet who looked very concerned. Asking if I was positive and if I knew the dog I was getting. I said yes and to tell me his findings.

Balou has to get the heartworm injections because the other treatments would kill him, the vet told me. He takes joint supplements and now a new medication for his arthritis that’s now helping wonderfully! His hair has completely grown back! He has gained a ton of weight! My husband has helped him gain trust in men! And I changed the spelling of his name to Balou, to mark a new beginning to his journey. Because he’s not that dog anymore.

Because we don’t have a fenced in yard, we would like to add on to his current kennel as well as get the canopy topper that will withstand the weather. This GoFundMe will help us be able to get these upgrades for him in order to have a better quality of life . Again, thank you all for your support and help! We truly appreciate anything and everything!

Kayla & Balou ♥️