How a scruffy little rescue dog changed everything
This is a letter to every person who ever felt like something was missing — and didn't know a dog was the answer.
It was 2021. Life was quieter than I expected.
Coming out the other side of COVID, Scott found himself in a season of change — newly on his own, figuring out what he actually wanted. Something was missing. He started searching for a dog almost without realizing why.
He found T-Bo on PetFinder — a scruffy French Bulldog–Shih Tzu mix with hair so long you couldn't see his face. His owner had passed away, no one could take him in, and he'd ended up in a high-kill shelter in the Antelope Valley. The Little Red Dog (TLRD) rescued him just in time.
He lodged his head under my armpit and rested his chin on my thigh. Then he let out this huge sigh — like he was saying, 'Ok. Take me home.' And honestly, that's exactly what I said back.
That first meeting changed both of us.
At the meet-and-greet, Baxter wasn't interested in anyone — guarded, on edge, sniffing around. Scott took him around the corner, sat down on the curb, and just let him be.
After a few quiet minutes, something shifted. What had been T-Bo was about to become Baxter. His best friend.
360,000
dogs euthanized in the US each year
50%
of every book sale donated to rescue orgs
Oct 16, 2021
the day Baxter came home
We became inseparable — and then a book happened.
They traveled 4,500 miles in a Sprinter van. Biked the beaches of Southern California. Hit restaurants and bars where Baxter charmed everyone who walked by.
Knowing what Baxter had almost lost — and how many dogs like him never make it — Scott wrote Baxter's Second Chance and founded BaxterDog Media. Because getting a second chance means helping others get theirs.
Today, Baxter is a fixture in San Clemente.
His story is in a children's book. He's got fans he's never even met. But mostly, he's just Scott's dog — the one who showed him that sometimes the thing you didn't know you needed shows up with a wagging tail and no apologies.
There are thousands of dogs just like him out there right now, waiting. That's why we're here.
Baxter's Second Chance started with one dog.
Now 50% of every book sale goes directly to the rescue organizations that save dogs like him every single day. Buy a book. Save a pup.