03/04/2023
Baxter is up for adoption, please be kind, this is a difficult decision for the owners. If you are interested send an email to [email protected] and you will be sent an adoption form, once you have submitted your answers it will be sent to the owners so they can hopefully choose a good match for Baxter.
Baxter is a 14-year-old neutered male who is very much a beagle. He’s smart, loving, playful, mischievous, and lives for food and cuddles. There isn’t an aggressive bone in his body. He is absolutely clean in the house and knows many commands and tricks such as sit, down, stay, paw, roll over, turn, etc., and will do them reliably with incentives (a little treat goes a long way, even if it’s his regular chow) and often with none, although recall is based on his attitude in the moment. For many beagles, when the nose is on, the ears are off and he is no different!
His previous people had a baby and he was with them until their daughter was a toddler; he was great with her and he loves children. He also lived with another beagle who had epilepsy which, unfortunately, could not be managed effectively with medication. Despite his buddy’s strange and sometimes aggressive behaviour (he bit Baxter twice while having seizures), Baxter was very good with him and I think he has missed having another dog around to hang out with.
Despite Baxter’s age, he loves his walks and will still tear around the dog park in spurts of energy. When at home, he tends to sleep a fair amount in the day, and having a good bake in the sun in the backyard is something he loves. Any time of day, he is fully switched on during his walks. He is a master at finding the pizza slice in the gutter or sandwich in the shrubbery. Who knew so much food was just lying around!? He has been known to steal things that he thinks are special and bury them in the garden. Beagle-proofing the house is required with him, but he’s a normal mischievous beagle in that regard.
There are challenges with Baxter that go beyond the challenges (tendencies) of the breed, however. He has been diagnosed with Cushing’s Disease. His form of the disease seems to be the benign pituitary type. He is on medication for this, which is fairly expensive, but is helping. It is certainly no cure. Over time he has become increasingly anxious and focused on food (even for a beagle, he can become quite desperate for food). He is fed twice a day, but about ½ an hour before his dinner, he will demand bark. Once fed, he seems to be in “frustrated starvation mode” and will demand bark for more food for upwards of 2 – 2 ½ hours and lick the hardwood floor in desperation. We have a cloth in the kitchen specifically for wiping up dog spit. He will get at any food or chewable items that are within his beagly reach. It’s amazing how far his tongue or toe nail can reach up and over the counter edge. He is attracted to the lovely chewiness of shoes, so ours are always out of his reach. Yes, these things are real problems. The best way to get him to settle after supper is to coax him onto the couch or our spare bed and cuddle with him. It’s not a terrible thing, but it dies take time and patience.
In general, Baxter does MUCH better with consistency and routine. This is even more true with managing his Cushing’s Disease. He is a sensitive boy and becomes very anxious with changes to his routine. When things are out of kilter he licks more and barks more. We have consulted a professional animal behaviourist who confirmed that his kind of “demand” barking is very hard to train away, and indeed, despite her assistance and support, we’ve never made much progress. Baxter isn’t trying to be bad, I think he’s just desperately hungry and reacting to all the changes going on in our lives right now.
Baxter also has typical aging issues. He is slowing down and has a sore right hip and a sore disc in his back. With the Cushing’s Disease, we have noticed that his back end isn’t as strong. That doesn’t really slow him down, but means he’s not easily able to jump 63 cm up onto the spare bed for evening cuddles. (We give him a boost.) He’s on medication to alleviate his sore joints and this seems to work. He gets two good walks a day of about 2 – 2 ½ km each. (He’d be happy to go longer, but we suspect that over-doing it can make his hip sorer.) The past few days, he's been getting 3 walks and loving it, with no major negative effect. He loves the beach and the dog park. As with most beagles, he does need to be on leash unless in a fenced area.
Baxter is a character and we love him dearly. He was re-homed with us in 2019, and we intended on having him to his last day. We have not regretted our time with him. We think he’s just the greatest little guy. Unfortunately, we have had a series of unexpected and major changes in our lives. This means that we will be moving back to Canada, but will be living out of a campervan for 2-3 months between a week before when our house sale settles (May 1st) and when we leave for Canada (some time in July). When we get to Canada, the disruption continues with 2-3 residence changes being required in the first 6-months to a year. The situation is very complicated and not what we would have wanted, but we know this isn’t a good situation for Baxter. We’ve talked to our vet about the current and impending changes, and she thinks that if it was just a matter of the flights to where we’ll be in Canada, it would be manageable for him, but the ongoing change and disruption for perhaps a year would be extremely difficult for him.
It is because of this changing and complicated situation that we are looking at rehoming our wonderful boy Baxter. This has been an extremely difficult option to even contemplate. We are trying to do best by our boy, so please don’t judge us. If we weren’t moving, he would be staying with us – no question. We are not “throwing him away”. We are looking for the right home for him that can provide the consistent, patient and loving care that he needs. He has been a highlight in our lives for the past four years we have had him, and we want to ensure the rest of his days are as good as they can be. We have all of his medical history and are open to discussing any questions that seriously interested people may have. We are in the Christchurch area.
