Floyd's Friends: Team Skelley

Happy Friday! 

I hope you guys have some fun stuff planned this weekend!
We sure do and it may or may not include some painting....!

Today we have a very special, basset guest with us!

Katie and Baxter are basset blogging buddies of ours and we are so happy to have them here!
They love bassets so we know they are good people, right?!
Anyone that can put up with the stubborn, sassy, (but mostly) sweetness that is a basset is a friend in my book! 

Take it away!
I may or may not have inserted some commentary in Katie's post, it was just too good and full of bassetness not to.
_________________________________________________________________

Yes, we are basset hound people.

Our first baby was actually a furry little squirt named Jake Flash (fantastic basset name). My husband and I adopted him in 2001 from a family in the mountains of Tennessee. We had only been dating for four months...What were we thinking? We both liked the breed, but had never owned a hound before. I always owned shepherds and labs, as my dad is a dog trainer, and Marc did not have a lot of pets growing up, just his beloved Charlie.

Awww...

We had this idea that bassets were lazy and laid around all day. And they do...when they are about three. Basset puppies are like all other puppies, full of energy. And Jake? Jake was nuts. He ate our sheet rock, he tore all the wallpaper off the wall, he lived to get loose on his late night potty excursion and would race through the neighborhood with me chasing him in my jammies. Jake was beside us through our relationship, our engagement, and our marriage in 2002. And we loved him completely. 

Then in September 2003, I found out that I was expecting a baby. We wondered how Jake would adjust to a tiny squalling munchkin in our home. Sadly, we never found out. Two days after the positive test, we found Jake lying in our backyard. He had a brain aneurism caused by an infected tooth. I had just taken him to the vet. He was supposed to be fine. We were heartbroken. (I hate to hear this :( )

Needless to say, we did not own another basset for a couple of years. We needed time to grieve for our friend.

When our son Cooper was a toddler, we started looking at basset rescues. We knew that we could not handle another puppy, cute and cuddly as they are. We wanted to give a home to a dog who really need one. We started talking to the Basset Hound Rescue of Alabama and picked out a small brown basset hound named Sparky (also a fabulous basset name). But when I called Sparky's foster mom, she said, "I am not really supposed to talk about this, but Sparky is going to be adopted soon." It turns out that the actor Garry Shandling had been put into contact with the organization by his assistant. He is a basset enthusiast, and wanted to adopt Sparky and - get ready - every elderly and "unadoptable" (due to age or illness) hound at BHRA!!! Once they figured out the logistics, Garry sent his PRIVATE PLANE to Alabama to carry back all of these basset hounds to Malibu, CA! Just picturing all these basset hounds lumbering onto a luxury plane makes me giggle. Isn't that a wonderful story? (l.o.v.e. the idea of this...can you imagine? I hope they got champagne.)

So back to our basset search. We started looking again, and fell in love with a black and white basset named Clyde (again, awesome). They found Clyde wandering the streets of Birmingham, AL. Clyde's foster mom assured us that he was the sweetest dog and would be good with our toddler. So on October 1, 2005, we brought Clyde home. We renamed him Baxter but kept the Clyde for his middle name.

Baxter Clyde:

photos via Life Simply Photographed

He's even famous!

Baxter truly is a member of our family. I call him the ninja dog because every time Cooper or his little sister Alexa forgets to firmly shut a door, he will nudge it open to sweet freedom. Luckily he is too slow to get far.

Baxter's Likes:

Walks, Food, Head scratches, Naps, and Treats

Baxter's Dislikes:

Baths, Having his nails clipped, Ear cleanings, the yippy dog across the street, and fireworks

He is a senior dog now, and even though we did not know him in his youth, Baxter will always be my puppy.

Thank you Floyd and Sarah for hosting us today! I have a feeling that if we lived closer together, Floyd and Baxter would be BFFs. For more Baxter adventures, check out our blog, Team Skelley, or follow us on Instagram. Baxter shows up regularly, sometimes intentionally, sometimes as a ninja photobomber.
_________________________________________________________________
Aw, I just know Baxter and Floyd would be total bffs! And while they hung out I would have to convince Katie to paint my ceiling like she did her daughters.  How awesome is that?! 
We are so glad Baxter found such a fabulous home with your family!
Bassets just really have a way of wiggling themselves into your hearts, homes and rooms they aren't supposed to be in.

Have a howlin good weekend, friends!

P.s. I want to say super HAPPY BIRTHDAYs to two lovely ladies in my life on Sunday!
My mama and Katie!
Hope both of you have great days because you sure deserve it!

P.p.s. If you want to be a part of Floyd's Friends, just let me know!! Shoot me an email at
totalbassetcase{at}gmail{dot}com with the subject Floyd's Friends!