For every person who “Likes” Peace, Love, & Fostering’s Facebook page* and then leaves a comment (say hi! say whatever you’d like!) between now and midnight on Dec 21, Baxter & I will donate 1 lb of kibble to the Montgomery County Humane Society!! Share with your friends so we can spread the news about adoptable Baxter while helping needy shelter dogs. Thanks so much!

So I realized that I haven’t really given you all an update on the general existence that is Baxter these days.  I always forget how far he has come until I stop for a second and think about what he was like the day he walked into my house.  I owe it to him to share a little of his progress.

You know how they say dogs take a while to adjust and settle in, and it can be anywhere from one week to a year? Well Baxter is a perfect example of this. Every single day he becomes more comfortable with something new.  Each time I think he is “adjusted”, he becomes relaxed with one more part of his life and proves me wrong — in a good way! Things I didn’t really expect he would do like a normal dog, he is doing.

He knows our routine now and looks forward to it. He knows that the food bowl means he has to plant his booty on the floor and not wiggle and scoot all over the place. He knows that when foster grandma comes into the room, if he looks extra cute he might get a few more kibbles (not on my watch!). He knows that, “C’mon Bax, let’s go to work” means get ready for the leash and the car. He knows that when we walk into the office his place is inside his pen. He knows to wait by the front window when I’m not home because eventually headlights will signal my arrival. He knows that if he is sleeping in my room and I leave but don’t go up the stairs, he doesn’t need to follow me. If I do go up the stairs he’d better follow because I might be gone for a while. He knows that when I make a big smile and lean towards him he is supposed to plant a big kiss on my face.

All of these little victories make me overwhelmingly happy. New dog owners should be aware that their new dog acting up, peeing in the house, being withdrawn, etc. probably has to do with the fact that they just don’t know how to deal with their new surroundings yet. Soon they learn boundaries and rules and what makes their humans happy or what makes their humans upset; and every dog has a different time frame for when they learn these things. This time frame doesn’t have anything to do with what kind of dog they are – a dog can be the best dog you have ever had (Baxter!!!), and just be a little shy or slower in becoming confident and comfortable.

It makes it fun; watching our lives with Baxter unfold. I can leave Baxter alone with my parents and everyone – Bax included – is at ease. I can tuck Bax into his crate at night and he sleeps happily until I drag him out of bed in the morning. I can be comfortable with him being in the other room without me. All of these are really things I wasn’t sure were going to happen when I first met him. Mostly because I’d never really taken on a long-term foster before, but also because Baxter had so much unknown about him.

He makes me feel so proud, happy, and fulfilled because of the dog he is growing into.  His forever family is going to love all of the same things about him that I do, and more, because they will get to experience the truest form of Bax as he lives with them for years and years.

For more information on adopting Comeback Kid Baxter, click here or email peacelovefoster@gmail.com.

*Up to 200 lbs of kibble. Multiple comments from the same contributor will only be counted once. If you already “Like” the page, just leave a comment and you will still be counted!