The Less Than Perfect Dog - Lovable Baxter series

I've been putting together a collection of stories about my terrier, Baxter. This is the first in my series.

I learned about Fuzzy Paws Rescue in the spring of 2017 two years after my husband Tom passed away. It would be nice to have a second dog, one that might cuddle and play with the grandkids, I thought. With the loss of Tom, we needed to have some happiness come into our lives. Faith and Zach had been living with us for several years and Zach especially longed for a doggie companion, one that wasn’t a “Nana’s dog” like my Lhasa Apso named Biskit. And so a West Highland Terrier named Baxter came into our lives.

He and Biskit accepted each other and raced up and down the hallway at bedtime, barking gleefully. Well, it was Baxter that did most of the barking. For a little dog of twenty five pounds, he could sure make a lot of noise. Steve, a pleasant neighbor from across the street, came over to tell me that on the day we went to the fair, and left Baxter home, he ran out his doggie door repeatedly and barked incessantly in the yard. After that, I shut the doggie door when we weren’t home and I bought a bark collar that sprayed citrus toward his face when he barked. 

A new neighbor moved in next door and came to our door one day. “Hello,” I said, thinking he came to introduce himself.

 “Your dog is driving me crazy!” he announced vehemently. “Didn’t Steve tell you his barking is a problem?”

“Yes, and we bought a collar for him.”

“Well, it’s not working. Do something or I’ll call the police.”

This time I bought a collar that shocked him when he barked. I tried crating him in our bedroom, far from the neighbor’s side, when we left him home. He escaped and waited for us at the living room window; we could see him barking as we pulled into the driveway. After a visit from animal control, at the request of our neighbor,  we tried locking him in the laundry room when we were gone. When we were home, we kept a spray bottle of water nearby to point and spray if he barked.

He barked at neighbors mowing their grass. He barked at my vacuum cleaner when I cleaned the house, running up to it and biting it. He ran around the patio on a windy afternoon, barking as if to say, “Take that Wind!” 

I’m sure the neighbors were glad to see us go when we moved three years later. Fortunately, we settled in a neighborhood in Camas, Washington with dog lovers around us. No one minded his barking. If they did, they didn’t complain. And when I apologized on Baxter’s behalf, they assured me it was OK.

Pulling on the leash was another problem. When I took him for walks, he yanked at his leash, especially if he saw a cat. It took all my strength to hold him back. At least he wasn’t at fault when I fell and broke my collarbone. It was a beautiful day in June, 2022, with temperatures in the low seventies.  I was visiting my mother, who is in her nineties and I had taken Baxer out on some nature trails in her subdivision. I stopped at a pond to photograph the reflections of trees on the shining water. 

Then I noticed a pretty pink flower. I let go of Baxter’s leash and stood on it to keep him from running off. He stood still as I bent over to photograph the flower. The next thing I knew, I was lying face down by the pond. My shoulder had slammed up against some rocks. Baxter was  waiting protectively beside me. I looked around. No one was outside to see me or help me. Shaking, I pushed myself up with my good arm. I walked back to my mom’s and sat for a few minutes, before driving home with one arm out of commission. It turned out my collarbone was broken in several places and I had to have surgery to put it back together.

Baxter has been a less than perfect dog, but there is one thing perfect about him: his love for me. In the weeks that followed my surgery, he came into my room several times at night, from his favorite place on the living room couch, just to check on me. That’s what my son told me, who was staying with me while I recovered.  As I got well, I slept on my back instead of my side; so I snored more. When Baxter heard me snoring, he jumped on my bed, climbed on my chest, and stared into my face with a concerned expression. 

I think there’s a lesson in the story. Like Baxter, we may not be perfect. But if we have love, that’s OK. It reminds me of this Bible verse:

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins (I Peter 4:8 New International Version).

Author's Note

Hope you enjoy this story of Baxter. I'll be sharing more

Reviews

[Franky]

What a wonderful writer. I hated to see it end. I broke my collarbone skiing years ago so I know how that feels you. Yikes! I'm so glad you love Baxter and haven't gotten rid of him. Im.very loyal to mine as well.

[Chris Shaw]

I love your story about Baxter. a less than perfect dog:) Snap. Let me introduce you to Solo, she is less than perfect too. However she loves me as much as Baxter loves you Shelley. Nothing like the love of a good old faithful. As I write this, she is snuggled up next to me on the sofa. All she wants in life is me:))Looking forward to hearing more.

Chris

[Shelley Warner]

Yes, nothing like the love of a good old faithful. I have written a collection of Baxter stories and will post more in the coming weeks.

[Chris Shaw]

I look forward to that. Give Baxter an extra hug from me today:)

[Shelley Warner]

Oh I will, and give Solo a hug too.

[Chris Shaw]

I just have and she was very pleased for the extra attention :)

[Fabian G. Franklin]

This was quite wonderful...perhaps not the pooch of our dreams but maybe the love of a good mongrel is worth more than a pretensive so-called friend. The story was sad and troubling in parts but delivered with an eloquence and patience that reveals the author's character more than that of her pet. I enjoyed the read. Thank you for sharing this story of Baxter.

[Shelley Warner]

Thank you for that review Fabian. It warmed my heart.

[Samuel Dickens]

Amen, I say. I have my own stories about barking dogs, but the moral of your tale does much to defend that particular dog behavior. It makes me think how we humans have faults, yet God still loves us. If we're a bit lucky, animals and other humans will love us, too. I've missed your stories and am glad to see this one.