Last night, around 8pm Pacific time as we were getting home from a short walk to the beach, my sweet little boy passed away. It was sudden and unexpected. He was 8 years old.

In retrospect, Baxter had a near perfect last day on earth. We started the day cuddling on the deck as I had my coffee (that’s where the above picture is from). He greeted Amy as she came downstairs and had some breakfast.

He spent the morning in with me and out keeping Amy company and then spent the afternoon enjoying the sun out in the yard with her. The Roomba failed to run because it hadn’t charged enough (so he didn’t have to dodge that).

After dinner, we went for a walk down to the beach. We spread out a blanket and sat in the sun. He cuddled close to us both.

On the walk home, he really started to struggle to breathe. By the time we got to our house, he collapsed.

The next morning, as I was sitting on the deck and missing having him with me, two young deer went running by. A bird then flew into the open door and fluttered around the house for about 10 minutes until I managed to usher it out. Whether it’s true or not, I’m going to take both of these to be a sign from Baxter that he’s fine and that he’s at peace.

Baxter was one of the sweetest souls I’ve ever met. He was with me through some hard times and always knew just when to cuddle close. Rest in peace my little buddy, I’ll always remember you.