This week I yapped with a Cool Kibbles poocheroo, Baxter Soethe, who, for quite a while, thought he might never find his Forever Famly. Baxter is Honorary Chairdog for a special event comin’ up this Saturday, “Old Dog, New Dog: No Tail Left Behind,” so I was glad he had time for the innerview.
Baxter’s a hound-mix pooch, easy going, loving, neat an tidy lookin,’ short hair, tan with white details, figures he’s around seven anna half. He was sportin’ a bright red collar, an hadda buncha freckles on his nose, all in all very jaunty. (Popular with the ladies, I’m guessin.’)
He an his Dad greeted me an my assistant at the door, an Baxter came right up for the Wag-an-Sniff.
“Good morning!” I said. “I’m Bonzo. Thanks for agreeing to an innerview. I know you’re busy these days.”
“No prob, Bonz! Come on in. Always time for a fellow pooch. Plus, I’ve got some great volunteers. So far, it’s been a Piece of Pupperoni! I know we’re gonna find Forever Famlies for lotsa pooches. So, this is my Dad an Mom, Jeff an Katherine. Mom’s gonna have a human puppy real soon. I’m so excited! I already have a great liddle brother, Tristan, he’s 5.
“I can’t wait to hear about your homelife an your exiting project. First off, tell me about findin’ your Forever Home.”
“I didn’t have a terrible puppyhood or anything. I’d been adopted once already, when I was a lot younger. Problem was, I was sorta, well, totally, what humans call ‘a runner’; every chance I got I’d escape from where I was s’pose to be an go flyin’ off to places I wasn’t s’pose to be. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t mistreated. Runnin’ free is just in my hound blood, I guess. Anyway, the last time I was taken to the Humane Society by the Pooch Pleece, my famly was called to come get me – again – but they didn’t. I didn’t blame them.”
“Woof, Baxter. What happened then?”
“Well, I’d pretty much learned my lesson about runnin.’ So I figured pretty soon some humans’d come visit, an see me, an I’d see them, an Waa-LAA! But no-ooo. Day after day went by an I didn’t get picked. I got it: I was older, not a cuddly puppy. An I sure wasn’t fancy, or purebred, an it just wasn’t in my DNA to run up yappin’ and waggin’ and bein’ all adorable. I was a plain ol’ hound with a rep for roaming.
“Ackshully, I had lotsa frens at the shelter, pooches an humans. PLUS, I was chosen to help teach the newcomers about ‘personal space an boundaries.’ I was happy, but I still really wanted a Forever Famly. Before I ree-lized it, a whole year had passed!”
“Woof! A YEAR?”
“Yep. An the shelter was plannin’ their first ‘Old Dog/New Dog,’ a Cool Kibbles event where humans can have fun an get refresh-mutts an maybe adopt one of the shelter dogs. I wondered whether I’d get picked to participate. I wasn’t holdin’ my breath but – I GOT PICKED!
“I’d first seen Mom an Dad when they visited the shelter to check out the spiffy, new, air-conditioned kennel trailer (Totally Crispy Dog Biscuits). They’d had dogs when they were growin’ up, but weren’t really dog-shoppin.’ Plus, Dad’s a Labrador guy. Anyway, to kill some time, they sorta browsed the dog section, including me. I thought they seemed nice, so I tried to look Special. They went up an down the aisles, like, five times, an never once pawsed at my spot. So much for lookin’ Special, I thought.
“Anyway, on the day of the ‘Old Dog/New Dog’ event, all us pooches were excited; lotsa humans were talkin’ to us an pattin’ us; an I was havin’ fun hangin’ out with a buncha liddle kids.
“As it happened, Mom an Dad had decided to attend. They decided a Boy Should Have A Dog, but Tristan had been scared by a Pooch With No Manners when he was liddler, an he was Very Scared of Dogs. But, guess what? When Mom an Dad spotted me playin’ with the liddle kids, an bein’ frenly an gentle an laid back, they thought ‘Ah-HA! THIS Could Be The Dog.’ I couldn’t buh-leeve it! We went over to the Meet-an-Greet area an, long tail short, they adopted me. It didn’t take long for Tristan to not be scared, an now we’re BFFs. So, that’s the main reason I’m proud to be Honorary Chairdog of this year’s event.”
“Whata Grrreat Story, Baxter! So what’s life like now?”
“Wunnerful! I LOVE my famly, an ridin’ in the truck. I have my own bed, but I sleep with Mom an Dad, so maybe my new liddle brother or sister can sleep in mine. It’s about the right size. While Dad’s at work, I stay with Poppy an Gramma. They have a fence so I can run all over outside, which satisfies my hound-running-free thing. Poppy ’specially loves dogs, so we have The Best Time.
“Full disclosure, I don’t like when Mom an Dad are doing air-runs. I’m OK with one trip, but two in one day is Entirely Too Much. So I redecorate the house. I don’t tear stuff up, just move it around. Oh, except one time I thought the trash would look cool in a long line all through the house.”
I decided not to ask how that went over. “Any favrite food?”
“Basically Anything an Everything. I guess I’m a Fat Dog at heart. Good thing I run around a lot. I really enjoy when Dad makes me scrambled eggs for breakfast.”
Heading home, I was thinkin’ about Baxter’s event, Old Dog/New Dog. I hope lotsa pooches get adopted, like Baxter did. He said it’s at Walking Tree Brewery. I’m not certain what that is, but I’d sure like to see that tree walking, wouldn’t you? (Maybe my Gramma will make me some scrambled eggs. I’m gonna ask.)
Till next time,
The Bonz
