Z is for Zest and Zeal

Because yesterday's post was a little sad and bittersweet, I figured I'd cheer you guys up.

Baxter has a tendency to remind me that life is full of zest, and I should meet it head on, zealously. To close up this A to Z Challenge, here are some take home, life lessons from my best friend:

*It's okay to hit snooze. More than once. But after a few times, you have to get out of bed and go potty.

*It's okay to steal someone else's food when they're not looking. If they ask or accuse, just hang your head real low and look sad. They'll forgive you and probably replenish your food bowl.

The last good snowfall of 2013.
Bax is the little black ball in the center.

*Water is the only drink you ever really need.

*Cigarettes are yucky, and so are drugs.

*Enjoy a good snowfall. Run around, make fresh tracks, even if it's midnight. 

*It's okay to slip your collar and run off and freak your family out. Just remember to stay safe and return home.

*Be excited to be home, especially after you've been gone for a long amount of time. This is your place. Be comfortable here. Be excited to be with the people you love.

*Remember the joy of a car ride. I think a lot of us take it for granted, but Baxter loves to have his head somewhat out the widow, or looking right through the dashboard from the backseat. Try to find things you've never seen before.

I've always thought the car ride
is the same as a roller coaster to him

*Take a minute and just enjoy the sunlight. As Spring and Summer come in to full
swing, Baxter loves just sitting outside. Not sniffing or running around, just getting his tan on. Breathe in fresh air. Smell flowers. Enjoy the small things.

*No matter how big or small, or what age you are, it's okay to be a lapdog your entire life.

*Be excited. Be excited for friends, and family, and other things you may not understand (like cats and other dogs). Listen when someone wants to talk. Cuddle up to someone when they're sad. Most of all, be there, and don't be there because you feel obligated.

*Be brave. Don't be afraid to stand up and growl for the things you'd be willing to protect. Don't go to sleep until everyone else is safely in bed. 

He's not tied up in this picture.
He's just waiting for me.

There are a million other things I could tell you I've learned from him, and you guys know that's true. But just remember to enjoy the small things, like going outside, reading a book in the sun, how awesome your family and friends are. Remember that days can get bad, but to a dog, as long as you're around, every day is a good day.

For those of you who just ended the challenge, congrats! We made it. For those of you who were just popping in and reading about my BFF, thank you. Thank you for giving me this chance to creatively explore my pup and my relationship with him. You guys are awesome.

Y is for Youth

They looked for the Fountain of Youth in Pirates of the Caribbean. They found it in Tuck Everlasting. But I'm afraid that in the world I live in, it doesn't exist.

I don't want to live forever. But as it is, Baxter is turning seven this summer. Sure he still acts like a puppy and runs and plays, but...the clock is ticking. He's officially considered a "senior" dog. If I tackle him wrong, he'll bite me because I've hurt his hips.

I've had a hard time dealing with the fact that Baxter will die someday. Chances are, it'll be before me, and it'll be WAY before I'm ready for him to.

So I think if I could do anything, I would find the Fountain of Youth, and slip some in Baxter's water bowl. I know I have a lot of years left with him, but I'm still bracing for it.

X is for Xenophobia

He's so cute sometimes 

For those of you who don't know, Xenophobia is the fear of strangers/strange places.

We all heard about that time my sisters were late to my graduation, walked into my house, and Baxter hid and peed himself, right? Well, it turns out, he hasn't changed all that much since then.

Sometimes, if it's not ungodly hot (or too cold) outside, I'll put Bax in my car (because he loves it) and go to work. (Don't worry, he also has his food and water bowls in the car, too.) I'll come out during my lunch break where we'll sit in the sun, and enjoy the day.

One day, my manager got my attention. "Hey, Lynne. I'm going on a smoke break, want me to let Bax out?"

Bax had met her countless times. She'd pet him, he'd lean into her, it was puppy love. "Yea, that'd be great."

About ten or so minutes later, she walked in. "Um, dude. He pushed himself against the far side of your car and wouldn't come out. I think I scared him. Go let him out."

He's all "I will growl quietly
while you walk past"

It took a minute, but it dawned on me that this is kind of Baxter's trademark. He's scared of the world unless I'm there to tell him it's okay.

When we first arrived in NC together we went to Jockey's Ridge State Park. We walked on the board walk out to the sand dunes. There were people everywhere asking to pet him. He would shove himself against me, and look at me like the approaching people were a big body of water. "It's okay," I'd tell him. Then he would slowly leave me and walk toward them.

He's gotten better the longer I've had him. If we're out and about, he'll go up to strangers and be all, "Hi, love me! LOVE ME!" But if I'm not around, typically he'll still hide like he's afraid the stranger will take him and he'll never see me again.

W is for Water Loathing

This is not Baxter.
This is my friend's awesome dog in Florida.

The scene is this: it's hot outside.

The kind of hot where you'd peel your clothes off and lay naked under a fan, but somehow the light cotton is keeping you more cool than if you were naked. So you lay in bed because it's too hot to do anything else.

You're sweating in places you didn't know existed. You have one goal: get to a large, cold, body of water.

And bring the dog, because he's panting and drooling rivers all over the floor.

You arrive at the local pool/ocean/river and you and the dog do cannonballs. You swim until your lips turn blue. You come home and the warmth that once was heat is reassuring. You crawl into bed and Fido sleeps beside you. It was a wonderful day.

***

Most dogs love water. I've seen videos of dog jumping contests (legit, people throw toys, dogs run after and leap off something like a diving board. Amazing.) When I decided to steal Baxter back, I figured we'd live on a beach. I'd get a tandem kayak. He'd ride up front, I'd paddle from the rear. When we got really ambitious, we'd paddleboard. But we'd be in the water.

He'd play fetch on the beach as the sun set. He'd swim in waves with me and smell of salt.

Instead, the reality is this:

Yep. He's standing close enough to notice it's raining
and yet not get wet. He wouldn't budge.

If it's raining Baxter will go DAYS without going potty. He will slip his collar at the mountain and seek shelter if there's a light sprinkle. He will run from ocean waves. He will manipulate his body weight when you try to give him a bath so that you and your mother will be covered in bruises until she looks at you and says, "I'm giving up. We can't do this." It will always take more than one person to bathe him.

When we lived in Gilead, we lived about a mile from a nice swimming hole. Just before we left, Baxter slowly started making his way into the water...just to his paws, never quite so far as to fully have to swim. It was progress, and I was so proud of him. (And like a bad owner, I may have pushed him further than he meant to go. :) ).

One of the proudest moments of my life!

Though he's a good dog, he has a few flaws. I can deal with the not listening when there's another cat or dog around. Or having to put him in time out from time to time. But the fact he HATES water? Really?

Ugh.
I'm not sure I can forgive something like that...

V is for Vicious

Just when you thought it was safe to step outside...

This is his hunting face

...the monster attacks!

No, but really.

Maybe it's because Baxter is 120 pounds. Maybe it's because he's a little clutzy. But when I ran the road race in October, he was waiting for me at the finish line. We tried chili together (more-so, he snagged my bowl when I wasn't looking), and explored territory we'd never seen.

As we walked through the crowd, a dog who I'd been eyeing since we'd arrive lunged out of nowhere and went after Baxter. The owner didn't even apologize, meanwhile I wanted to punch him in the back of the head. (Awhile later, the same dog went after another dog who was passing by. Angryface.)

Just before the awards cemerony, there were a million people milling about. Baxter

The worst that's going to happen
is him knocking you over
and cuddling.

and I tried not to get tangled around people. On the ground beside us, there was a woman with a baby. Baxter wasn't even near her when she started screaming, "Not by the baby! Get it away from the baby!" and using her body as a shield like Baxter was going to eat the baby.

I wanted to yell at her to get "The baby!" off the ground. What am I supposed to do? Pick Bax up and carry him? Nope, you can do that with the baby.

Ugh. I wish people realized that I'm the more dangerous one out of the duo.

Outside of that, if you don't know Baxter very well, he does this....thing. (Sadly, I don't have a picture of it.)

If you give him a treat, or if you've been gone for awhile and he's REALLY happy to see you, he'll scrunch his face up and show ALL of his teeth. Legit, it looks like he's about to eat your face off. I have to warn people about this WAY ahead of time.

Do your pets ever look like they're about to maul you?

U is for Understanding

Notice he's not leashed?
Told him to just stay and be good.

Baxter has never been through obedience school (I feel like he'd flunk out anyway). He hasn't really been trained, other than by hand signals when I don't want to talk to him in the mornings. But somehow, he's an inherently good dog.

When we lived in NC, in order to get into our house, you literally had to kick the door open. We'd just finished going for a walk, and because he was standing so close, I tried gently pushing my foot against the door. It didn't budge.

"Bax, can you step to the side so I can kick this?" I asked.

He literally stepped to the side.

Before we left, we visited my friend Jake. I left Baxter with him while I went adventuring a few hours away. The following day I got a text saying, "I love your

He's all, "Dude, it's messy. Please clean"

dog." When asked why, he explained that his sister had had a seizure. Baxter somehow understood that something was wrong, woke Jake up and led him to her.

There have been a lot of small things like this, Baxter brings you a toy, and you say, "No, get your new toy," and he drops that one and finds the one you've just told him to get. I have no clue how he does this, but somehow he does.

Which is why, Baxter is my favorite person on the planet :)

In happier news, WE'RE SO CLOSE TO THE END OF THE A TO Z! HANG IN THERE!

T is for Time Out

Sometimes, he can just sit next to me

So there we were, walking without a leash because MOST of the time Baxter is good enough. It's night time, there are barely any cars out (which is why I'm okay with him not being on a leash). Suddenly, he darts to the left, into the yard of the local veterinary clinic.

"Baxter, get over here!" I yell.

He responds by wagging his tail, taking several steps away from me and peeing on a tree.

I continue to yell, to whistle, to no avail. My dumb dog will not come back. It's usually at this point I start to worry; what if he runs back and gets hit by a car, what if a mountain lion comes and eats him, what if he sees a raccoon and chases it....

On a mission, I march to Baxter, grab him by the collar where his eyes go wide. It's clear he knows he's done something wrong. I walk-drag him a few steps until he fights me holding him.

"Fine, but you better stay with me!"

And he does. He takes a step, turns his head and looks at me, almost like he's saying, "Look, look I'm right here!"

We get home, I open the door and yell, "Go lay down, right now!" It is not a pretty voice.

He's all "Please just love me!"

My boyfriend locks eyes with me. "What'd he do?"

"Ran off and wouldn't listen, so now he's in time out."

How time out works:
1) Baxter acts up. Typically it's him running off and not listening to me. It can be for a vast majority of reasons: other pets, something cool he wants to smell, etc.
2) Baxter DOESN'T come back.
3) We get home, I tell him to go lay down
4) He's not allowed to come near us until I deem him okay to be out of time out. Typically, I yell, "Bax, it's okay to come out now," or "Bax it's okay to come to bed now" and he RUNS.
5) For the next few days he listens a little better