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Meet Baxter, the world's oldest therapy dog
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At 19, Baxter still works as a therapy dog at hospice care center.
Want to know the secret to living a great life? Live in the moment. If you need a good example, just spend a moment or two with Baxter.
Baxter is a 19-year-old Golden retriever/Chow mix who is still on the job as a certified therapy dog. You read right – 19 years old. That’s the equivalent of a 101-year-old person.
With his owner, Melissa Joseph, of San Diego, Baxter makes the rounds a few times a week at the San Diego Hospice center. Although he can no longer walk – he enters the center aboard a red wagon dubbed the “Baxtermobile” – he reaches out to people who only have hours, days or weeks to live.
“With fuzzy ears, a cold, wet nose, and black eyeliner around his deep, brown eyes, Baxter wants nothing more than to cuddle with those who need it most,” declares Joseph.
She and her husband, Dennis Bussey, teamed up to publish a must-read book called Moments with Baxter, a collection of 36 touching, true stories about this amazing bond between this aging dog and hospice patients and their families and friends. Proceeds from this book ($24.95) are donated to the hospice center as well as to the ASPCA and The Humane Society of the United States.
Baxter, nicknamed Dr. Love by the hospice staff, reaches out to people from all backgrounds and ages. One special connection involved a 75-year-old woman named Muriel Thorne whose dying wish was to go to the movie theater to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – with Baxter by her side. Her wish came true and she died shortly afterward.
“In the end, she was in a lot of pain and she wanted to finish the latest Harry Potter book before she died,” recalls Joseph. “She posted a sign on her door to her hospice room that read: ‘No one enters this room except Baxter. I’m reading.’ ”
Baxter’s work as a therapy dog has been recognized by the city of San Diego who proclaimed July 21 as Baxter Day. And, many celebrities have marveled at this dog’s persistent determination to unleash love to those who need it most.
Cesar Millan, known as the Dog Whisperer, writes: “Baxter’s inspirational story reminds us how dogs can teach us to live fully in each moment; even if that moment may be our last.”
To learn more about Baxter, please visit the website: www.momentswithbaxter.com
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