All Dogs May Go To Heaven, But EKC Client, Frances Hayward, Makes Sure They Enjoy Their Time on Earth

Everyone who knows Frances Hayward knows she has a love and passion for all animals. Her beloved Amigo, a stray dog she found while vacationing in the Bahamas, may not be with us any longer, but her fight for animal activism continues in his honor. The Palm Beach Daily News posted an article, yesterday, taking notice of Frances' work.

Hayward has spread the message on the importance of saving strays

Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend, was a song written by Frances Hayward’s uncle. But had he been thinking of her when he wrote it, the lyrics would have been different. For Hayward, a Juilliard music graduate who majored in dance, and once studied under the famous Martha Graham, it would be dogs who would be her best friends. And vice versa.

Although she has owned as many as 16 at once, one named Amigo was like a diamond and shone out. He was a hungry stray called a “potcake,” and she found him in the Bahamas.

“He had such charisma, that spot-a-star-in-a-second quality like Lana Turner in him,” she recalled.

With her tireless efforts, her beloved Amigo became an international spokesdog, poster pet and mascot. They toured together, carrying his message throughout the world: the importance of saving strays, and neutering and spaying animals. “I have devoted my life to continuing Amigo’s legacy,“ she said.

She is still active in animal welfare in the Bahamas, sponsoring spray/neuter clinics and puppy lifts, and helping other potcakes through her charitable trust called Amigo’s Fund.

Alas, Amigo died l½ years ago. But when Hayward saw another potcake she later named Buster Brown, “he was skin and bones and so sick I had to give him a chance,” she said. And 12 years later, “he’s a strapping boy,” suffering basically only from eye problems.

Besides Hayward, Buster Brown has another “best friend,” a diamond in the rough in the form of “a maladjusted cat who hates everyone but him,” she continued. “These two love each other.”

So, Buster Brown lives a happy life on the island with Hayward and his occasional visiting cat-friend, while carrying a message a little different from Amigo’s: one of compassion and caring for older animals (and people).