Baxter, one of the loves of my life. For a couple of years I went over to the local animal shelter almost every day to help socialize pups and help get them adopted. Baxter was a good-natured pup but, along with his sister, had always been an outside dog. His sister was quieter and less energetic, so she was adopted after a couple of days. Baxter was more of a handful, so it took a little longer.
As I said, he was good-natured, and he was also extremely food oriented. So it was fairly easy to teach him to sit and lie down, and to walk reasonably well on a leash. One day when I was bringing him back to the shelter after a walk the animal control person was feeding all of the pups. Food! So Baxter started pulling on the leash, trying to race to his food. But after a couple of steps I would stop him and say, “Sit.” He would sit, but as soon as I let him continue he would try to race again. So, another “Sit.” I’m sure he thought he would never get to eat, but we eventually made it, and we went into his kennel so he could start scarfing down his food. His leash was still on, so I reached over his bowl to unhook it so I could leave. He stopped eating and gave me the most pathetic look,
You’re not going to make me stop eating, are you?
How could you not fall in love with a pup like that?
Once he was socialized, our group, Friends of the Shelter, advertised in the Albuquerque Journal for an adopter. A woman in South Albuquerque (a two-hour drive) thought he would be an ideal companion for her pup. The woman who drove him down invited me to come along. When we went into the house Baxter was quiet and in awe. He looked around, taking it all in, and at one point he stood on his hind legs to look at what was on the counter. The woman went over and gently but firmly told him no, so he got down and continued looking. He clearly felt at home there and it was a great match. That was about 20 years ago, and it’s still one of the highlights of my life.
July 7, 2024
Thank you for all the good works you did at the animal shelter. Our dogs have always been rescue dogs.
God bless.
I enjoyed it. It was a win-win.
…a good success story.
Yes. 🙂
I love this story…love the happy ending.
🙂
Wonderful story!
🙂
This gives me all the feels! I’m so happy for Baxter … it sounds like he desperately wanted to be a Good Boy.
I wish every furry inmate could find his or her own loving home.
Yes, he definitely wanted to be a Good Boy. 🙂
I admire your ability to help these animals. Baxter, I’m sure, loved you for it.
I enjoyed it.
What a story! I bet you would be a good dog trainer as a profession!
It was fun.
Yes, those wonderful adoption memories and the success are the best.
Yes, you have had a lot of those!
How kind of you to help at the shelter. We are sure Baxter loved you very much.
Happy Sunday.
I enjoyed it. It was a win-win.
One of the many things that I’m sorry I never did was volunteer at an animal shelter.
How did you get Miss Sweety-Pie? You don’t have to go to a shelter to help animals.
Those are the stories that stick with us forever and I’m so glad that you’ve helped find him a home. Our shelter where we’ve gotten most of our dogs has a friends of the shelter that does the same thing they’re always begging for people to come and help socialize the dogs. God bless everyone that works with these dogs
I enjoyed doing it, so it was a win-win situation.
awesome memory
btw I’m subscribed to Rocky Kanaka the dog helper at the shelter/s you put a link up for – I’ve learned a lot about dogs that end up in a shelter, along with a dose of positive things I could use
Thank you!
Working in a shelter to socialize dogs sounds like a very rewarding job. Especially when you get to send them off to their forever homes.
I love Baxter’s story and I’m glad it ended well.
I enjoyed doing it. It was good for me too. 🙂