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We received this very nice letter about Baxter, from his human Christy. It’s a nice story, but I’ll let Christy tell it in her own words:
I want to tell you about a wonderful little puppy who came into my life just after the new year began in 2006. He was a little black and white fluff ball and he was full of fun! We struggled and struggled with just the right name for this little guy because he had the most amazing personality...we finally settled on "Baxter" although "Panda" was a close second. We adopted him from the shelter at 9 weeks... we spent every minute of every day molding him from an adorable little pup into a loving, friendly, obedient dog. He was smart as could be too! It was like he understood exactly what we were saying to him - particularly if we were telling him where to look for his ball! He lived for swimming and fetching his favorite soccer ball (black and white of course). He was my shadow and I told him every single day how much I loved that little man and thanked God for bringing us together. We had a bad year in 2005, we lost my 13 year old Yorkie on Valentine's Day and my 7 year old tri-color border collie on Thanksgiving. Baxter was just the ray of sunshine we needed in our lives and he put spark back in each day for my 6 year old Golden Retriever who had suffered the loss of two siblings in nine months. Baxter continued to entertain and amaze us on a regular basis, never meeting a person or dog he didn't like or want to play with. When we moved from Potsdam to Massachusetts he snuggled in for the long ride and made a smooth and easy transition to living with my sister and her dog and 15 year old cat. Nothing was ever a problem for him once he put his mind to something. His determination and intelligence always won out!
We enjoyed two Christmas holidays with Baxter (Boo-Bear as I affectionately called him) where he was showered with gifts and attention from all family members; human and canine. Everyone adored him! He tore into his gifts with delight and entertained us all day attacking his new stuffed animals, chomping on his treats and playing with his toys! He was always "up" for a party and company! Two weeks ago we had a birthday party for a family member who brought her dog over to play and B just wasn't himself. The next day I took him to the vet because I was very "in-tune" with this little guy and I knew this wasn't like him. The vet did blood work, tests and x-rays and it turned out that my little man was in the final stages of leukemia! He had not let on at all that he was sick until the very end. The diagnosis was barely determined when he succumbed to the disease and died in my arms at the animal hospital at the age of 26 months.
I have had and loved dogs for 18 years and I will continue to have dogs and love animals, but no dog ever touched my life the way this guy did. I miss him terribly every day but I thank God I had the chance to love him and have his unconditional love for two years. Had I not stopped into the Ogdensburg Shelter one wintery day on a whim, I would've never had the opportunity to spend time with Mr. B and that would have been very sad indeed. As the saying goes "it is better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all". I don't think this was necessarily intended to mean a mutt from a shelter but it seems to fit in this case!
I have always adopted shelter dogs and will continue to do so. Please give a shelter pup a chance. They'll love you a million times over in a way you could never believe in return for a chance.
BAXTER
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