It was Sunday February 20, 2011 in Daly City, California. Kimberley was working her shift at PetSmart as a pet food sale representative. Her day was changed drastically when she saw a very skinny Pit Bull, Baxter known to some as Twix.
She quickly inquired to his story and found out that the owners had dropped this poor 6-month old off claiming he had been vomiting and just not eating very much. The vet explained that he was in kidney failure and was to be put down the next day. There was talk that maybe he got into a toxin, but the owner also had mentioned that he had been small since he was born and was never a big eater.
Baxter had been at the vet for several days, and they had been trying to reach the owners. At first the owners had been responding, but then stopped answering their phone. This poor puppy was abandoned, locked in a cold cage, and had little hope for survival if he stayed at the Vet. Kimberley’s pet loving instincts sprang into action.
She of course had been tearing up and was spotted by a caring couple who had been shopping. They came to hear the story, and they too began to cry. All three became devoted to try to help poor Baxter with even the slightest chance of living. When all three caring people made it home, they began calling everyone they could think of. They had reached out to many rescues including some devoted to Pitt Bulls.
At this point Kimberley remembered having a card from a Pit Bull rescue from over five years ago. She called and Cindy answered from Reunion Rescue. After Cindy inquired to his condition she was also now devoted to trying to save their newly found family member.
Sharon Curry of Bundocks Kennels in Sebastopol, California told Cindy to bring Baxter to Bundocks and the plan was hatched. Each and every day that Baxter was at the vets, a call was made to keep him alive. They let the vet know that somebody cared, and somebody was going to do something.
Now that we had a plan, we reached out to friends on the internet and asked for donations from other caring animal lovers. The wonderful people stepped up to help out. We raised over $700 in just three days. Tuesday night we went to Rainbow Grocery to stock up on some of the treatments that would be needed to bring him back to health.
On Wednesday February 23, Kimberley and Brent picked up Baxter at 3 p.m. to make the trek up to Sebastopol. He was wrapped in a blanket and he slept quietly on Kimberley’s lap the entire two hour drive.
We arrived at the Kennel just in time for closing. We spoke with Sharon for several minutes and surveyed the surroundings. You could tell he would be in good hands. We spoke with Cindy and sent all the funds we had raised up until then and she said she would be overnighting the additional medicine and treatments.
Thursday, we received news that Baxter had in fact eaten some chicken out of Sharon’s hands and seemed to have made a slight improvement. Sharon fed Baxter hamburger meatballs every hour from her hand. We had hope he was on his journey to recovery. Friday we got notice that he had made slight improvements each day. His medicine was in the mail and would arrive on Monday. Saturday was another day of hope as he had eaten a little more.
Sunday, I received an e-mail from Cindy asking that I call her as soon as I could. My heart sank as I dialed the number. My fears were confirmed when Cindy immediately said Baxter had passed. Sunday morning Baxter had thrown up, most likely a sign that his kidneys were too far deteriorated and his body had stopped digesting food. We had gotten to him too late. He died in Sharon’s arms.
We gave Baxter all the love we could find. So many people had grown attached to Baxter in such a short time. He was truly loved and he is missed every single day. His spirit will live on in us and the people who cared for him most will be forever connected.
Baxter I’m sorry your previous owners abandoned you. Baxter, I’m sorry we didn’t find you sooner. Baxter, we love you. Baxter, we miss you. Baxter, you will be with us forever.
Baxter had reached out in communication to Patti who helped save Benny and who writes Benny’s blog. In fact, that’s how his name was chosen. Baxter chose it for himself. He told Patti that he needed lots of snuggles. Patti didn’t have to tell Kimberley about the snuggles. Kimberly just knew.
Kimberley and Brent made these lovely videos of Baxter that beautiful day they drove him to Bundocks. There must be some peace in knowing that in his last few days, Baxter had more love than he ever did in his short six months on this earth. He was a beautiful little soul and has brought a few of us humans together to recognize and realize we must learn from Baxter to make a change in the way we treat animals. Bless you, sweet little Baxter.
