Mom and Dad found me at Stephanies animal shelter in Gainesville, NY on 11/23/2008.

I was mixed in with a litter of German Shepards. Clearly, I was different from day one. Mom and Dad scooped me up and I had my Fureverhome.

On the ride, I couldn’t settle down, Mom did her best but I was restless. Dad grabbed me and held me on his chest, I could hear his heartbeat. I felt safe and secure, I promptly fell asleep on Daddy’s chest and he drove one- handed. It was the longest I’d slept since I was born. That place was just too noisy. I bonded closely with Dada that day, a bond that could never be broken.

We stopped at the pet store on the way home. I got to pick out a toy. This was the best day ever. Little did I know that there were many best days to come.

We got home and I met Tanis. He was a grumpy old fart but, I loved him anyway. I got to eat good food and play. I decided that I liked toys a lot. I even fell asleep with a ball in my mouth. Guess I was still pretty tired.

Tanis didn’t like sharing his bed with me. He grumbled like the old fart he was. I didn’t care, I wanted to be close to the only other dog in the house. Eventually, he got used to me and we became friends.

Dad would play on the floor with me every night. This became my favorite part of every day. I would pretty much insist on our routine even if Dada was tired. I knew how to pull at Daddy’s heart strings.

Dada would give me a liver treat and little beer every time I went poopy outside. I discovered that I loved beer also. Learned to go outside all the time real fast too.

Next spring, we went to this awesome place, CAMP! Camp was a great adventure every weekend. We went for walks, the smells were awesome. I got to see other people and dogs all the time. We hung out on the deck. Tanis taught me how to cozy up by the campfire every night. I got to sample all of the beer cans laying around. I got to chase the ball and swim in the lake. Camp was great!

Christmas 2009 came and I figured out how to open presents, became somewhat of an expert. I loved toys no matter what they were. Christmas was my favorite holiday. Mom and Dad would let me open a present on Christmas eve because I would go under the tree and sniff out which ones were mine. Yes, I was such a little kid on Christmas.

Sometime in Early spring of 2010 Tanis collapsed outside and couldn’t get up. Daddy picked him up and put him in the car. He and Mom looked really worried, I was scared, Something was wrong. Kathy from next door stayed with while Mom and Dad were gone. Mom and Dad came home and Tanis wasn’t with them. they were crying a lot. I knew something bad happened. Where was Tanis ? I refused to go outside by myself after that. I didn’t want to disappear too! I wanted to stay with my Family! This fear would last the rest of my life.

5/11/2010 A nice lady brought Levi to our house. We got along right away and the nice lady left him with us. Woohoo! I had a new brother! Levi found his Furever home. Mom and Dad nicknamed him “Meatsy” which was short for Meathead because, well, he wasn’t very smart. I remember watching him chase squirrels through Mom’s flower garden and thus, my poop because that was my favorite place to potty. I thought, why does he hate squirrels so much. I never really hated anything, just wasn’t who I was.

I never liked when Dada would have to go anywhere without me. I would bark and whine and carry on and then Daddy would stay for a while to calm me down. It was hard for me when he was gone away. When Dada would sit on the floor or couch I would wrap my neck around his. Another of my unique talents. I just somehow knew how to do this, no one taught me. We called it neck hugs.

I would always get jealous any time Mom would touch my Dad. I would bark and carry until they stopped touching each other. Sometimes, they would shut the bedroom door and that really pissed me off. Meatsy would lick my head to calm me down, didn’t do much other than get my head wet.

My favorite summer game was playing in the hose. Dad would spray it on jet and I would try and bite the water. Dad would stop it and move it around and make it fun. If anyone else tried I wasn’t interested. It was really all about having fun with my favorite person in the world.

Did I mention that I loved toys? My favorites were balls that squeaked so I could chase them with Dada. My other favorites were big fluffy round toys that I would carry around everywhere. Came in real handy as a pillow whenever you needed a nap. I always had to carry a toy outside with me, ALWAYS, no matter what. I guess it was another security blanket since I wouldn’t go out by myself. I also had a rare talent that I could bark with a toy in my mouth. Not many can do that I think.

The years went on and we were a truly happy family. Dada played with me every day and, that interaction with my Da was all I really ever needed.

One year Dad found something on my tummy that he didn’t like. He took me to the vet, I was scared. I spent the night at the vets and they took something off my tummy. I was really scared and didn’t like it. Dad picked me up the next day and I was ok after that. He said I was some kind of survivor. I never really understood what happened. Just glad that it was over and I was back with my Dada.

One year, we didn’t go to camp. Mom and Dad did a lot of stuff to our house. There was a lot of commotion and cleaning and stuff. Dad still played with me every day. Then one day in November, everything was being moved out of our house! OMG! this can’t be! Daddy told me not to worry, he would never leave his little girl behind. We moved into the country. Bigger than camp! We had a huge yard surrounded by woods. I could poop anywhere I wanted. My favorite place to go was in the woods. I think I liked the privacy even though I wouldn’t go outside by myself. Even if Dad when inside for a minute and left me outside, I would run to the door and wait for him to come back out. The snow was great in the country. Dad would make paths for us sometimes when we couldn’t even see over the top of the snow. Meatsy and I would always play and roll in the snow. It was great.

As time went on, I had a harder time getting up on the beds and the couch. Dad built stairs for us so we could get up on our own. Best dad ever!

Funny thing, even though Dada was my favorite person, I would always have to sleep near Levi. Sometimes I would start out in Daddy’s bed but, I would always get up later and sleep near Meatsy.

We had a fireplace at our new home which was like having camp in the living room. Just without all the empty beer cans lying around for me to clean up. Rats! Meatsy didn’t like the fire much though. He didn’t know what he was missing. I delighted in lying by the fire and playing with my Da. Eventually, I had a harder time getting up and moving around so, Dad would just roll the ball to me while I lied on the floor and I was happy with that. Dad even carried me out to go potty what I had a hard time with the stairs. I could always depend on my Dada to help me when I needed it.

I’ve decided to finish Haylee’s story at a happy memory rather than a sad one. Her life with us has changed the way I look at other lives forever. Haylee gave me what was perhaps the greatest gift I will ever receive, unconditional love. We had a stronger bond than most will understand. She could relay emotions with her eyes and her voice. Sometimes, when she was upset, her cry was eerily human sounding. That said, I’ve decided to start this organization in honor of the profoundly beautiful soul that was Haylee Wolf. Since Haylee was a shelter dog, I thought it would be the best way to honor her by helping shelter dogs. Our only goal is to pay the adoption fees for shelter dogs through donations and, I might be selling some things on this website in the future to raise money.

It will be one of the greatest days of my life and I will probably bawl my eyes out as I done several times while writing her story when we pay for our first adoption.

Thank you for reading Haylee’s story.

“Dada” Robert B Wolf