Roy Hayes

"Boys Ranch Alum Is Dog’s Best Friend"

Roy Hayes loves animals. During the past five years, he has rescued countless dogs and cats by removing them from danger and finding them good homes. One of those homes is his own, where he currently has four dogs, four cats, and two cockatiels.

Two years ago, Roy, who is employed at Cal Farley’s Campus Support Center in Amarillo, was on his way to work when he saw a puppy playing near a busy street. Roy immediately stopped and retrieved the puppy. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the puppy’s eyes were swollen. A visit to a veterinarian revealed that the six-month old Alaskan malamute had severe corneal damage that was probably the result of a malicious act. One eye was completely without vision and the other only had 30% sight. Roy adopted the puppy, named him Chance, and nursed him back to health. A local television news program produced a brief story on Chance, and the puppy also won first place in the local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal’s (SPCA) Mutt-Fest competition.

Like Chance, Roy was given a second chance when he was young. His mother passed away when he was only 10 days old. A short time later his father remarried. “I did not have a close relationship with my father and step-mother,” Roy said. “We weren’t close. I think I was in the way.” The constant turmoil in the home led the family to seek placement alternatives.

Roy was 13 when he arrived at Boys Ranch. “I was excited, nervous, and I did not know what to expect,” he said. “I will never forget the day my dad drove me to the Boys Ranch office in Amarillo. Cal Farley came out to greet me, he shook my hand and said, ‘Welcome to Boys Ranch.’ That’s something I will never forget.”

While at the Ranch, Roy was involved in drama, sports, and the chapel choir. He participated in the building trades program and enjoyed riding in the annual Rodeo. “I rode bulls, although I did not consider myself a cowboy,” he said. “I had many opportunities to do things that I would never have participated in if I had lived at home.”

Roy has many fond memories of living at Boys Ranch, especially of the many celebrities who visited the Ranch, such as television and movie stars Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Ken Curtis (Festus in “Gunsmoke”) and Frank Sutton (Sergeant Carter in “Gomer Pyle”), singers Tennessee Ernie Ford and Glen Campbell, radio personality Paul Harvey, and Dallas Cowboys Coach Tom Landry.

His memories of Christmas at the Ranch, and the annual campouts are also special. “One year, a friend of mine and I were allowed to drive the chuck wagon to the campsite, where we would sing songs, fish, hunt snipe, and ride horses.”

Roy still loves the outdoors, and most of his hobbies revolve around being outside, such as hiking, camping, mountain biking, and riding horses.

One of Roy’s saddest memories occurred while he was living at Boys Ranch. “I will never forget the morning of Sunday, February 19, 1967, the day Cal Farley passed away during morning chapel service. It was like losing a father. I will never forget his funeral. It felt like a part of the Ranch was missing.”

Roy graduated from Boys Ranch High School in 1971 and joined the Army several years later. He came back to Cal Farley’s in 1999 as a staff member, where he currently works in the Development department.

Roy associates his “rescue” by Cal Farley and Boys Ranch with his rescue of Chance. He feels that they both were given a “second chance for success.”

“I think I relate to Chance, seeing what he has been through as an abused dog,” Roy said. “I can relate his story to my own life.” According to Roy, Boys Ranch was the best thing that ever happened to him. “Boys Ranch helped me become a better person, a more caring person,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the Ranch, there is no telling where I would be.” And without Roy, there is no telling where Chance would be today.