Lady came forward and gently touched my ribs and then patted my shoulder. She got down and talked to me. She pointed to the man and said, “This is David. It’s okay. He won’t hurt you.”

Lady and David went in the house and came back with a bowl of water and a bowl of wet dog food. Tika and Lily had gone in the house through their own doggie-door.

I liked it when Lady patted my head and hugged me. I didn’t want David to get too near to me. I drank my water and ate the food with great appreciation. They let me come in the house to sleep. David was talking softly to me and keeping his distance. I planned on staying in Lady’s sight just to make sure I was safe.

Lady placed a dog-sized bed on the floor at the end of their bed. Tika and Lily slept nearby.

In the morning, I heard Lady talking to a man at the front door. She had requested this man to come to the house, but I didn’t know that then. When I saw the man I was very afraid. I wondered if I had walked into a trap the night before. I tried to hide behind the livingroom furniture. I trembled. The man said to Lady, “This dog has been badly treated by a man – I can see that right away.”

The next few hours were a blur because I was so scared. But there was no need for me to have been scared. The man, it turned out, was Randy. He is a kind man. He is one of the directors of Boxer Luv Rescue, a very effective boxer rescue non-profit corporation in Arizona. He took me directly to a veterinarian. Lady arrived at the vet’s office shortly after. I overheard Randy talking to Lady there.

“Ursula, what do you want to call this dog?” Roger asked.

Lady Ursula answered, “I've been thinking about that. I think Hansen should be his name."

“Okay. That sounds like a good name. He needs a good name to help him get adopted. But first, of course, before we can help him get adopted, we need to help him get healthy again. That's going to take quite awhile."

Lady Ursula's face brightened up. “You mean he really has a chance of surviving even though he looks so ill?"

“Yes. The vet says he has severe malnutrition and he’s suffering from Valley Fever which is from ingesting a widespread spore. Valley Fever is an extremely painful illness for dogs. Boxers especially try to mask their pain. He’s probably not older than a year, so he may be able to recover. But this is one of the worst cases of Valley Fever we've ever seen. His recovery will take between 12 to 18 months. We do not consider him adoptable until he is fully recovered.”

“Can we be the foster family for him while he’s recovering?” Lady Ursula asked. Roger said yes.

I was grateful to hear the conversation and to know I might get feeling better. And I felt thrilled to hear Lady Ursula and her family wanted me to live with them. I was beginning to feel like there might be some love in the world after all.