Baxter     

Breed:  Olde English Bulldog

Sex: Male

Age: 6 years old

Weight: 70 lbs.

9/9/2018 Update: 

Baxter was ADOPTED!!!! He has found his forever home and couldn’t be happier. 

Baxter joined the NBBR family as an owner surrender. His previous family purchased him from a breeder and all was going well for the first couple of years.  At some point the family decided Baxter was shedding too much and he became an outside dog.  When the family situation changed and the family had to move, the rental they found would not allow pets (inside or out), so they contacted NBBR for help. Baxter, like many other Bulldogs that have joined NBBR, came from a small town several hours away from the DFW area.  Baxter’s family helped with transport and drove many hours (one way) to get him to Dallas. Once in his foster home it was apparent he was starved for human companionship.  Baxter wants nothing more than to be next to his humans or any humans for that matter. 

Baxter’s forever parents were new to the “Rescue” thing.  They had attended a NBBR event and met another Bulldog they thought would be a good fit. However, they wanted a Bulldog that could go to work with them and hang out with them and cuddle after work, all while having energy but not so much energy as to wreak havoc on the office.  While Baxter is six years old, he has the energy of a much younger Bulldog.  Couple that energy with a personality that doesn’t stop and you have a winning combo for sure. While  several Bulldogs made the short list, after much discussion, they decided they wanted to meet Mr. B.  Baxter took it from there, with his personality it was a fit and he had found his new Mom and Dad.  Baxter, while not needing to be an only dog, will sure appreciate being the only dog around. This will give him plenty of time to soak up all the attention he has been craving for so long. He will not only be the Prince of the house, but he will have reign over the Mom and Dad’s office as well.  So he not only scored big with a new Mom and Dad but many “Aunts” and “Uncles” at the office, plenty of humans to spoil him to the core.   Congratulation to Baxter, Mom and Dad.  

8/27/2018 Update:  Baxter, Baxter, Baxter. Baxter is a unique middle-aged gentleman who has certainly had a tough time in life that has bled into his current personality and behaviors. Since Baxter lived outside for the last half of his 6 year life with likely minimal interaction, it left him starved for attention and with no real training on how to behave. Baxter would do best in a home where his new owner is home most of the time or maybe works from home. Being in a good routine where he has freedoms and doesn’t feel forced to give up space/toys/bones would be great as he navigates this new chapter in his life. Even though Baxter has gotten VERY accustomed to the good A/C in the house, he still likes to spend a few minutes each day soaking up those sweet, sweet rays full of Vitamin D! It’s pretty adorable actually. Baxter still goes crazy when he sees a ball and loves to chew, play, and run around with them. Sometimes he will bring his ball to your lap and chew on it, not to be thrown and chased, just wants to chew on it in your lap and coat you in a nice, thick layer of Baxter drool – yum!

8/13/2018 Update: 

Baxter went to the event this past Saturday and did very well! He mainly just wanted to play with the toys and get attention, but that’s pretty expected with a bulldog! He’s continuing to acclimate to indoor life and seems to really LOVE it! He loves laying in his orthopedic bed for naps, playing with toys, being in the cool A/C, and getting attention. 

Baxter had surgery to correct his cherry eye on Monday and has had a smooth recovery so far. We started him on an anti-inflammatory for this arthritis since his limp did not improve with supplements. Baxter takes all of his medications well in food for the most part, making keeping him comfortable fairly easy. 

We did intros with our small English bulldog and it went really well! Baxter likes to play in short bursts, otherwise he likes to just be out with everyone. So far he is a social butterfly and is happiest when he is with people. I feel like Baxter will do well in any home setting as long as he isn’t by himself very much and gets lots of attention.

8/5/2018 Update: 

Baxter is doing fairly well in foster care. We are establishing routines and expectations to help him feel more safe and confidant. We are working on being overly possessive and negative behaviors. He went to the vet last week and he was started on some medication to help with that as well joint supplements for arthritis. If he is walking around he limps, but if he wants to play and have fun it goes away (go figure). Just a testament to how much he loves being in a home where he feels safe and loved as well as gets more regular attention and his own room. 

We are starting the slow introduction period since he has been recovered from his upper respiratory illness for a while. We are letting him see the other dogs through a baby gate and so far he acts playful (although very eager which can be a little intimidating). We plan on having him meet our English bulldog first, then maybe move on to our bigger dog. It’s all a process that we don’t want to rush for everyone’s safety long term. 

Overall he’s a big baby that just really wants to be around someone and not feel left out or forgotten. Who can blame him though after the previous situation he was living in. He loves to play outside, but only if a person is with him to play ball or tug with.

7/22/2018 Update:  Baxter is still recovering from his upper respiratory infection, but overall doing well. He is no longer coughing or having discharge from his nose for the most part. Now that he is getting used to the sounds/smells in our house he seems more relaxed and overall happy. We are still keeping him isolated since the cough just started improving the past couple of days and we want to be sure not to get any of the other pups in the house sick. Baxter eats well, sleeps even better, and enjoys chew toys. We have been giving him more time outside (10 minutes tops) now that he feels better so he can feel more relaxed. He has certainly become accustomed to being inside with the A/C going since he does NOT want to stay outside for any amount of time, especially if his foster mom or dad seem like they are going inside without him (we don’t, but he doesn’t seem to see it that way). I’ve been monitoring him closely and he has a limp (seems to be front right leg), but I’m trying to decide if it’s just age related stiffness after he gets up from sleeping, or if it is something more. Once he is no longer contagious we can start working on letting him see the other dogs through the baby gates and do introductions. He does need training and someone to work with him, because if he doesn’t want to do something he will let you know in an inappropriate manner . This makes it difficult to put him back in his room, but we eventually get there. 

7/16/2018 Update: 

Poor Baxter has had a rough week, but is already on the upswing and starting to feel better. He broke with kennel cough late last week and so we immediately started him on meds. His cough was so bad that he was vomiting after each coughing fit, he had nasal discharge from both nostrils, and just overall didn’t feel too awesome. Thanks to our awesome volunteers he was transported to the vet while I was at work and the vet prescribed medications for everything that was ailing him. He is still coughing, but not nearly as much and no vomiting! He is eating well and taking all of his medications and is starting to want to play with his ball again. While he is ill we are keeping him isolated from the other dogs in our home so we don’t have a house full of sick bulldogs. Once he has recovered from his respiratory illness we can start working on slow introductions and seeing how he responds to other dogs in the home. 

Now that he has been here about a week he has calmed down and is starting to see his foster parents as friends instead of scary new people. We can tell that he just wants to be loved on and show affection, but it may just take time for him to see how to act and respond with new people. Once he is no longer contagious we will also start working on getting him used to walking on a leash and harness (since from what I could tell that was a fairly new experience for him) in the backyard as long as it is not too hot. 

7/8/2018 Update:   I picked up Baxter from the vet this afternoon. 

Boy is he an energetic guy! He may look middle-aged, but he acts like a 6 month old puppy! From what I was told Baxter was mostly an outdoor dog that was good with kids and other dogs. The kennel assistant at the vet noted some dog aggression from him, but this could be rooted more in barrier aggression than actual dog aggression. Plus the fact that he was in an unfamiliar, noisy, new place could all be factors of why he wasn’t too keen on seeing other dogs at the clinic. 

Now that he is in a foster home we will give him ample time to settle in his new surroundings while keeping him separated from the resident dogs. This should help give him some sense of security in his new space and learn all of the new smells and sounds as well. 

We will be working on trying to learn some manners (although he was very happy to sit for his heart worm and flea “treat” this evening) while in foster care, because he comes with very few. He sure loves being around people and gets pretty bummed out when I leave his room. Baxter also did really well in the car ride and didn’t try to climb all over like most dogs do

7/2/2018 Update: 

Please welcome Baxter to No Borders Bulldog Rescue. Baxter is a 6 year old male Olde English Bulldog that weighs 70 lbs.

Baxter joins the NBBR family as an owner surrender. His previous family purchased him from a breeder and all was going well for the first couple of years.  At some point the family decided Baxter was shedding too much and he became an outside dog.  When the family situation changed and the family had to move, the rental they found would not allow pets (inside or out), so they contacted NBBR for help.

Baxter, like many other Bulldogs that have joined NBBR, came from a small town several hours away from the DFW area.  Baxter’s family helped with transport and drove many hours (one way) to get him to Dallas.   Once in the big city, Baxter went immediately to the clinic to get a check-up and to get neutered.   It didn’t appear that Baxter had been to the vet in several years so we were not sure what the check-up would bring.  We received great news that Baxter tested Heartworm NEGATIVE. This was a huge relief since he had been living outside.   Baxter was brought up to date on his vaccines and neutered.  The surgery went well and Baxter handled it like a pro.

Baxter will be staying at the clinic for a couple days and then will be joining his foster home to settle in to his new routine.  Baxter is a ruggedly handsome BIG boy. From what we saw, he has a great personality and is a very friendly guy. Stay tuned as we learn more about Baxter in the coming weeks as he begins his journey to find his new forever home.