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Since the dogs are a pretty important part of our lives, I think it is only fair to introduce you to them. All at once would probably be too overwhelming so I am going to do it one at a time.
Let's start with the puppy who changed our lives!
Meet Baxter. 
What was that adorable puppy you see above is now 120 pounds of lazy. Let me give you a little background....
What was that adorable puppy you see above is now 120 pounds of lazy. Let me give you a little background.... While I was in college, DM and I decided it would be a great idea to visit the animal shelter.
You know, just to play with the dogs.
Well, there had to have been over 30 puppies under 8 weeks old (in addition to older dogs)! I know a lot of people love puppies but I knew that there was no way all of them would be adopted. There was this adorable little red bundle of fuzz with white toes, a white tip to his tail, and a white snip on his nose. I fell in love. (Look above, can you blame me?) We left the shelter and DM knew he was in serious trouble...I had to save that puppy! The next day I went back and adopted the puppy and we named him Baxter.
There was one glaring problem. My university had implemented a mandatory 4-year-on-campus program... meaning, I lived in a dorm. Fortunately I did not have a roommate but there were definitely some hurdles to having a 6-week old puppy living in your dorm room. To take him outside, I had the tiniest little Vera Bradley bag that he would get into and I would carry him down the stairs out into the fresh air. He loved that bag... he would get it onto the floor during the day and curl up inside of it to take naps (little did we know napping would become his favorite hobby). Secondly, he had terrible separation anxiety. The poor thing hated being alone. Obviously a barking puppy does not help one remain inconspicuous in a dorm room. So, I had the ingenious idea that I would turn up animal planet on my TV and hope that people thought his whining and barking were part of the program. To this day I do not know how we managed to avoid being caught.
You know, just to play with the dogs.
Well, there had to have been over 30 puppies under 8 weeks old (in addition to older dogs)! I know a lot of people love puppies but I knew that there was no way all of them would be adopted. There was this adorable little red bundle of fuzz with white toes, a white tip to his tail, and a white snip on his nose. I fell in love. (Look above, can you blame me?) We left the shelter and DM knew he was in serious trouble...I had to save that puppy! The next day I went back and adopted the puppy and we named him Baxter.
There was one glaring problem. My university had implemented a mandatory 4-year-on-campus program... meaning, I lived in a dorm. Fortunately I did not have a roommate but there were definitely some hurdles to having a 6-week old puppy living in your dorm room. To take him outside, I had the tiniest little Vera Bradley bag that he would get into and I would carry him down the stairs out into the fresh air. He loved that bag... he would get it onto the floor during the day and curl up inside of it to take naps (little did we know napping would become his favorite hobby). Secondly, he had terrible separation anxiety. The poor thing hated being alone. Obviously a barking puppy does not help one remain inconspicuous in a dorm room. So, I had the ingenious idea that I would turn up animal planet on my TV and hope that people thought his whining and barking were part of the program. To this day I do not know how we managed to avoid being caught.
Fast forward to now. As I mentioned, that tiny little puppy grew into a gigantic dog.
We had no idea he would become such a monster! He fills his days with naps, naps, and more naps. He is the only dog I know that would prefer sleeping until noon. We literally have to make him go outside in the mornings. In the summer he doesn't want to go outside because he has a true love for air conditioning. In the winter he wants to be near the heat vent. At all other times he wants to be on the couch and will grudgingly settle for a dog bed if he must (but he is not the least bit happy about it). He has also more than conquered his problems with separation as he is probably our most independent dog. And our loudest.
We had no idea he would become such a monster! He fills his days with naps, naps, and more naps. He is the only dog I know that would prefer sleeping until noon. We literally have to make him go outside in the mornings. In the summer he doesn't want to go outside because he has a true love for air conditioning. In the winter he wants to be near the heat vent. At all other times he wants to be on the couch and will grudgingly settle for a dog bed if he must (but he is not the least bit happy about it). He has also more than conquered his problems with separation as he is probably our most independent dog. And our loudest.
Baxter will always hold a special place in our hearts as he started the wheels in motion for our love of helping and rescuing dogs and therefore changed the direction of our lives.
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