Sweet Baxter has crossed over.

Baxter the Therapy Dog, a San-Diego-area Chow/Lab mix who spent years providing care and comfort to humans at the end of life, died last Friday at the age of 19. After a puppyhood of abuse, Baxter grew up to become a certified therapy dog and enjoyed fame and fans worldwide for his years of volunteer work at San Diego Hospice, where he spent time cuddling, licking faces, and providing smiles for people in hospice care.



You may want to silence the music playing by going to the bottom of this blog page and clicking the playist off so you can hear the video of Baxter

He even became the subject of an award-winning book: "Moments with Baxter: Comfort and Love From the World's Best Therapy Dog." Many of those who knew Baxter believe that it was his own ailments that made him such a powerful companion to hospice patients. The arthritis that plagued him during the latter half of his life left him unable to walk. His owner, Melissa Joseph, helped him carry out his duties at the hospice by pulling him around in a cart and carrying him to patients' beds. (article found at PawNation and written by Rose Martelli)


And one more wonderful story about the love animals give us so freely. This is from my good friend "Whimsical Chick," you can visit her blog at: http://awhimsicalchick.blogspot.com/

The Doberman is pregnant. The fireman had just saved her from a fire in her house,rescuing her by carrying her out of the house into her front yard, then he continued to fight the fire. When he finally got done putting the fire out, he sat down to catch his breath and rest. A photographer from the Charlotte , North Carolina News- paper, noticed the dog in the distance looking at the fireman. He saw the Doberman walking straight toward the fire fighter and wondered what she was going to do. As he raised his camera, she came up to the tired man who had just saved her life and the lives of her unborn babies and kissed him just as the photographer snapped this photograph.



Such sweetness from God's creatures. St. Francis reminds us "Not to hurt our humble brethren [the animals] is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission: to be of service to them whenever they require it."

May we all be kind to each other and freely assist those who are in need. Sea Witch