Kyla

I'd been considering getting another dog for Baxter for awhile. He loves other dogs, like a lot. Then I was with Damien, and he wanted a dog, and he pulled into the parking lot at my job and I met this little brown pit bull.

Kyla (front) and Baxter (standing)

She was so beautiful, the wind literally slipped from my chest.

Because we weren't sure how Baxter would handle her, or her him, we agreed it'd be a trial run and took her home. They met outside in a field, they sniffed, then continued to pee on the surrounding bushes.

In the next couple of days, Kyla ended up with a puncture wound in her ear from a fight, and she continued to try to eat Baxter randomly. Because it wasn't consistent fighting, I didn't worry. They seemed to get along (one would lay on one side of me, the other on the other). Finally, I got brave, went to my landlord, and she said, "You're a good tenant. I trust your decisions, even if it's a pit bull."

Damien and I broke up about three months ago. Though Kyla was to be his dog, he left her with me without any of her medical history.

I refer to her as the little tramp, as the red-headed-step-child, as the bad dog, etc. But she sleeps on my bed every night, and though she's the smallest person in the household, she manages to take up a majority of the bed. Baxter has been demoted to the floor (though pressed up against the bed, and my arm slings off the bed around him).

I finally had some extra money, and took them to a vet today. I had to respond "I don't know any of her medical history," and was almost immediately frustrated.

They like to lay together.

"What are you here for?" he asked.

"A heartworm test and vaccines."

I held Kyla as he drew blood. Because I haven't known her long, I wasn't sure if she'd try to bite either of us, but she just stood and allowed it to happen. Within minutes, we got the test back.

It was positive.

It was hard to breathe.

In two weeks we're getting the medication to try to start combating the heartworms. The treatment could kill her. Running could kill her. Moving too quickly could kill her. She could very well die before the treatment gets here (I'm hoping this statement is an overreaction).

I'm bracing for the following weeks hoping that everything will turn out okay. I'm bracing for the chance it may not, and my little family may be back down to Baxter and me. I'm bracing for how Baxter may respond if things go wrong. I'm bracing for the risk that Baxter may have also been exposed.

She really loves guarding the bathroom when I'm in it...
Weirdo.

It's doubly hard because in all the ways Baxter is a really good dog, Kyla is a really bad dog (he doesn't go potty in the house, she does. He doesn't steal food, she does, etc). And in the ways Baxter is a really bad dog, Kyla is a good dog (She always comes when calls, he wags his tail and continues ignoring me. She plays in the water, he stands to the side, etc.) The two balance each other out. They've stopped separating their food and water and started drinking out of the same dishes, sometimes at the same time together.

I don't know what's going to happen and it terrifies me.

At this point, I'm just praying for the best.

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?

D is for Drinking Til You Puke

This might be doggie-flaw week. I really enjoy pointing out all of Baxter's flaws, so you guys truly know what kind of monster he is.

If you guys grew up watching Mortal Kombat, you're told that The Element Which Brings Life is Water. For some reason, Baxter believes this whole heartedly. I understand he's a big dog, so he gets more water than say an ankle biter does, and while he hates rain, and rivers, and oceans, he loves drinking water.

After the Great Baxter Caper, I had to adjust to being a pet parent. I bought toys he hated, treats he refused to eat. For awhile, I always kept his food and water bowls completely full.

Until one day I was sitting around, and I heard the coughing. The coughing turned to gagging. The gag turned into...well, you know.

Every day, it kept happening. So I started paying attention. I learned that he'd only puke after he inhaled lots of water.

Now, my ears are tuned to the sound of him slurping. I usually give him to the count of ten before I say, "Hey." If he starts again, he gets a count of five. People who don't know this about him will stop me and say, "Dude, he's just drinking water."

But they don't understand....if I let it get out of control....
 BAD.NEWS.BEARS.

But thankfully, he usually aims in places that aren't occupied by my clothes, papers, or computer.

A few months ago when we were living in Most Recent Creepy Situation, I came home and there were 2-3 piles of puke on the floor. One of them had splotches of blood in them. I FLIPPED out, and took him to the vet (who we now live next to, literally) the following morning.

"So what's the issue?" the woman asked as she scratched him behind the ears.

"So, he's always been a bit of a puker...but last night..."

In the end, he was okay (just must have eaten something that didn't agree with his tummy), so, I guess I can still love him. Until he decides to run off on me again...

Pet Pet Peeves

So the other day just as I was getting ready to leave for work, Baxter decided it would be super cute if he ran off and tried to play with the dog next door. I had less than two minutes before I had to be on the road. I screamed at him to come back, went to go after him but the snow was real deep and I didn't want wet shoes for work, so instead, I stood there, fuming (flames were being thrown from my eyeballs in his general direction).

I came to the conclusion, "Sometimes, I wish he'd just get attacked so he'd learn his lesson."

With that said, because you all know how much I love lists, here is a list of pet-pet-peeves that I have. Those little things that pets (mine or yours) do that annoy the crap out of me, and make me consider dropping Bax off in a parking lot and running the other way. (Kidding...sort of.)

At least he's cute though :)

1) Hunting Season

Okay, this one isn't their fault. But, in the state of Maine, it's pretty prime to hunt, right? Well, they're kind of idiots here, and they like to shoot things; people, horses, deer, dogs...If it moves, they think it's worth shooting.

Come hunting season, you wear bright orange (or something bright) when you walk outside or down the street. Worried about Baxter tramping off in the woods, I found this bandanna and put it on him (because he's the size of a small pony).

Every time I let him outside, I held my breath, waiting for the day I heard a gun shot, and would have to go knife a hunter. (Thankfully, that never happened, though a few mornings, the shots were real close to the house.)

2) Counter or Table Top Loving Animals

My sisters and I raise our animals that they are NEVER, EVER allowed on the kitchen table or the counters.

Well where I'm living that doesn't seem to be a rule. (Than again, the poor cat is terrified of Bax and treed herself when we first moved in.) It's icky, and it just makes me think the animal is disrespectful.

3) Thinking They're Allowed Wherever

I tend to take for granted the fact that Baxter is a rockstar. If I have crap on the bed, he'll stand there and stare at me like, "I'm gonna need you to move that, k, thanks." He doesn't jump on strangers (that's not to say he doesn't rear up like a horse). If I'm sleeping he'll paw around, find my body, and very delicately step over/around me.

I forget not all dogs are like this. Some jump as soon as you walk through the door, some walk all over you as you sit on the couch. These dogs kind of make me want to punch them in the head.

Then, when I leave that place and go home to Baxter who wags his tail so hard I get bruises on my legs, I hug him super tight. (Best. Dog. Ever.)

4) No Pets Allowed

While you can have an awful pet who steps on me, chews on my hands, does whatever, nothing bugs me nearly as much as these signs. I loathe the fact that Baxter isn't allowed in stores (other than the lovely PetsMart), simply because he's amazing. And I feel like the public should get to meet him.

Although, the dogs who don't get along well with others.

Those ones should just stay home.

Pet Parenting

I don't have kids. I don't want kids. But I have an adorable 120 pound small shetland pony...er...dog. Baxter has been a huge part of my life for the last six years, and it's hard to imagine my life without him. We've celebrated his birthday, mine, gone to the ocean, across the country, and had other adventures. When we left North Carolina, we left several of his dog friends, and someone he loved a lot. It was really, really hard.

Bax with Le Partner in Crime
on New Years

But all the fun and bonding stuff doesn't mean we're perfect together. The other morning, my car got stuck in the driveway. This was after the night where I was caught driving home in a blizzard, and went off the road twice. Terrifying, but I was okay. So in the morning, I had to move my car so my roommate could get out, and managed to get it stuck. Using Baxter's weight to my advantage, I threw him in the backseat, and began shoveling.

And then he started trying to move to the front seat. I'd tell him to get in back, and then...he stopped listening.

At 6am, I found myself screaming at him because I was so livid I wanted to break someone's neck (namely my landlord's for not having the driveway plowed). Once my car popped into the road (literally), I threw Baxter back inside, apologized for screaming at him and went to work.

I came home about 12ish hours later.

Just before Christmas I was working 16 hour days between two jobs. I've been gone from home a lot. I miss my pup. I know he misses me because when I come home, he doesn't even want to go outside first thing, he just wants to crawl into my lap (because he thinks he's the size of a puppy) and snuggle. It breaks my heart that I'm away from him so much, and makes me feel like a bad pet parent.

Which is why on Christmas, and December 31st 2012, Baxter made the pilgrimage to a friend's house and rang in the holidays. I don't like being without him. I don't like that I'm currently in the library typing this up, and he has to hang out in the car. Pretty much, if you want to be friends and hang out with me, your place needs to be Baxter friendly, k? Thanks :)