Our dogs, part one: Baxter

We have 3 dogs, 2 are beagles and the other a border collie. 

Baxter the beagle is the oldest, she is 9.  Of all the dogs, she is the real deal breed-wise.  We got her from a family in Allen.  The puppies were held in their gated kitchen.  Jen, John, Paul and I stepped over the gates to enter puppyland where we immediately were attacked. By tiny beagle puppies.  It was as adorable as it sounds.  Think puppy breath, fluffy, sharp teeth, clumsy excitement. Uppercase CUTE! I don't recall how we - how the children really - picked Bax.  But they did and 9 years later she is firmly installed as a member of this family.

Baxter is the dog we tease. That's her role in our family. Instead of training her to sit and fetch and whatever, we've reinforced other kinds of behaviors that are way more entertaining than obedience.  Such as saying "COE-COE, ROE-COE" and watching her response.  I kid you not.  Whisper the word even and observe her sit up, tilt head and stare you down, daring you to say it again.  If you take the dare, be prepared to get jumped by a small but focused dog. We didn't train her to do this, it just happened.  We discovered this talent during the Vancouver Olympics. Watching the coverage, there was a woman or some athlete with that name and I said something about how great that name was, and Baxter started acting weird.  We finally made the connection that it was saying COE-COE, ROE-COE that set her off.  Go figure.

Baxter has many more talents, of course. She is the best jumper of all the dogs as evidenced by the amount of food she has stolen from kitchen counters and table.  She is stealth.  I can't count the times she has come out of nowhere to help you finish a plate of food.  Baxter holds the record for most underwear collected.  Baxter is one confident beagle and has no problem expressing herself during evening walks.  Just ask any of our neighbors. 

As I write this, Baxter is right next to me sleeping.  That's something she also is good at: sleeping.