This is the story of Bailey Barker. She was found in a trashcan in the small seaside town of Moss Landing, California on October 31, 2000. Bailey had been tossed away with her littermates sometime earlier that day or perhaps the day before. By the time she was overheard whimpering by some kind soul who called the County Shelter, she was the only one left alive.

Of course she wasn't named Bailey Barker then... she was just a little puppy that someone threw out as if she were an empty coke can. On second thought, at least a coke can has a good chance of being recycled these days. Statistically, Bailey didn't have much of a chance at all. Every year, 15 million cats, dogs and other pets in the United States are put to sleep. Bailey should have been one of the unlucky ones. Just days old when she was found, Bailey also happened to be a Pitt Bull mix. In many parts of the U.S., this meant she had little chance of being deemed adoptable and would most likely be destroyed without ever knowing love.

Bailey came into my life on a clear, sunny afternoon in December that year. She was a last-minute addition to the litter of Golden Retriever mix puppies I was to foster and she was not exactly a pretty dog. If anything, she was a small black lump with seemingly little personality. A few weeks older than the others, she had quite a bit of trouble fitting in with her dainty and very cute, fluffy counterparts. She was a fish out of water... Clumsy and uncomfortable in her own skin somehow -- like she wasn't certain where she was supposed to be or what she was supposed to be doing. Even surrounded by the 9 other puppies, she seemed very alone.

At the time, my next-door neighbor's 10-yr-old daughter Samantha would come by several times a week to help spend time with each of my charges. Sam loved the cute little Golden mixes, but it was the ugly black dot of a dog that seemed to capture her heart. She called her Guppy puppy and I watched curiously as the fish out of water began to bloom before my eyes. Sam and I both marveled at how Guppy adjusted to her new surroundings and seemed to glow just a little more each day. Though I had no intention of adopting another dog, I think the pint-sized black puppy with no family to call her own knew she was staying even before we did.

A few weeks into my fostering arrangement, all of puppies began to sniffle and became ill with a cold. I contacted the County and was asked to come in to pick up medication for the 9 puppies I had been given.

"But what about the orphan puppy?" I asked, my heart beating knowing the answer that was to come.

The 10th puppy -- I was told -- should be returned and she would be put to sleep. According to the County, it was unlikely that she would ever become adoptable.

The County shelter has few resources in a situation like this and decisions must be made. They do the best they can with the money they have allotted, but more often than not, it's just not enough. This case was no different. It would be survival of the fittest and due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, the orphan puppy would be the loser.

This could have been the end of the story. Indeed, it is the end for many animals. But the puppy I would soon call Bailey Barker had invaded my heart. In fact, she had taken it over. She came into this world with the odds stacked high against her and I had become her only champion by default. I convinced the County to allow me to take Bailey to my own vet and pay for her medication out of my pocket. The whole idea was against their regulations, of course. But after a few faxes back and forth, they finally agreed. Had they not? Had they ordered me to bring her in without further adieu? I might very well be writing this story from jail.

Sadly, the other puppies became even more ill and I later found out that each had been humanely destroyed in the end. Ironically, Bailey Barker was to be the only survivor.

Life began for my Bailey in a garbage can. It could have ended just as unceremoniously had our paths not crossed. Was it fate or luck? Kismet or karma? I can't tell you. All I know is that she is an amazing little dog who lives in my heart and soul. Everyone that meets her seems to love her almost instantaneously, as if they somehow know her life story before I tell it to them. Bailey has nothing in her heart but love, of which she gives freely. Her mornings are spent at home by my side as I paint, or by accompanying me to the barn where she loves to watch me ride. In the afternoons she can usually be found napping with her three cats curled safely within her watchful arms.

I am blessed to get to be in Bailey's life. I thank my lucky stars every day that the little black Guppy Puppy knew exactly where her home was even when I didn't.

- K. Reed Barker