Goodbye to my Faithful Companion

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I have been deciding whether or not to write this on my dA journal or not but after seeing a few others, I have started typing.

Well... at approximately 5:05pm PT Tuesday (10/14/14), I lost my dear boy, best friend and companion. Baxter, was sent to the Rainbow Bridge by my vet, Dr. Wilson. He had mostly stopped eating the past month and had lost quite a bit of weight.  His bones were very pronounced when you petted him.  I'm not sure if this was related to his bladder tumor or not but when I took him to the park, he really didn't want to play with the other dogs or do much of anything.  I'm not sure how Emma, my dalmation/lab mix, will react to him not being around after ten years together.  We gave him quite a bit of food the past couple of days, all of his favorites (peanut butter & Milk Bones). He even cleaned up the floor in the kitchen before we left. He actually gained a pound from yesterday which makes me think that maybe I could've done something for him. I'm still mad at that vet hospital for denying me a more pervasive ultrasound to determine if he could've been operated upon for the tumor.

Baxter did have a scared look in his eyes as he watch the vet do the deed. Probably because of the needle in general he was sticking into his leg.

I'm sorry for rambling on various thoughts but I miss my boy. I will miss all the silly things he did like lay in front of the bathroom door so I would trip over him in the dark, rub his eyes on the walls and corners (:omg:), urinating over the same spot that Emma did just moments prior, always begging for food (just standing off to the side waiting for scraps), his bunny radar where he knew if a rabbit were just outside the house even if he was on the other side of the house -- (he could hear them somehow!),  following me around like he was my shadow (let there be no doubt, he was MY dog.. :D), rolling into your hair after you either colored or washed it (I've never seen a dog do that), his barking to let you know he needed food (Emma will just grab the dish and throw it at you), and his barking at dogs to either separate other dogs from "fighting" each other (playing) or to get them to run so he could chase. He used to chase along the little dogs along the fence at the park (the fence dogs).  There were many other things that made him uniquely Baxter.

We bought him at 3 years old in October 2004 as a companion for Emma when she reacted favorably to the puppies at Pet Smart. He was only at the store for an hour when we adopted him as we were on their call list for a new dog. He is a very lovable lug and although not nearly as smart as Emma, he always was very approachable and would lick your face if you let him.

Unfortunately he didn't quite get up to his 13th birthday (Nov 26) nor did he get one last romp in the snow. I was going to take him to Mt. Charleston for that last venture. I will also miss his plowing his face in the snow or water in the pool. I felt bad when we moved to Vegas away from the cold weather as he really loved that.

I have been taking a lot of pictures and videos of the last few days and I'll probably share some of them.

Tuesday was the part of owning a dog that I dislike the most.

Baxter, you'll be joining Bo and Mocha and your Bampa where you'll get plenty of walks, jumping on laps, chasing squirrels, and all the people food you want.

On a side note, when we went to say grace before we ate dinner and reflecting on the good fortune we had to have Baxter, Emma came in from outside, walked over to me and put her head under my hand as the blessing was said. As soon as it was finished, Emma turned around and walked outside once more. I know that my girl is a very smart dog but I'm speechless that this event occurred. God works in mysterious ways indeed.

Baxter 5/9/11 by Zespara  Baxter's Last Park Visit by Zespara Baxter's Last Day by Zespara Baxter and Emma by Zespara

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