Remembering Paxton's Wonderful Life: The Love He Gave and the Love He Got

Red Lake Rosie's Rescue has been saving animals long enough now that we have had to say good-bye to some of our friends. Paxton (also known as Pac Man) was a special guy. He was a big pit-mix who turned himself in at one of our spay/neuter clinics in 2010 :-)

Paxton was starving, had cuts all over his body and mange when he arrived. He weighed just 50 lbs when he should have weighed over 100 lbs. He regained his health at the shelter, but we worried about where he could go. He had a wonderful, gentle personality, but he was very large and pit-mixes were almost impossible to place back then. Fortunately, Animal Ark liked pits and took Paxton in. He quickly found a home with his perfect family that included two doggie brothers over the years.

PAXTON & BROTHER TUGGER

PAXTON & BROTHER ROCCO

They soon learned that you can take a dog out of the rez, but you can't always take the rez out of a dog :-)

PAXTON CREATED A REZ DEN IN THE WOODPILE IN HIS BACKYARD :-)

PAXTON DECIDED TO FRESHEN UP LIKE A REZ DOG RIGHT AFTER A TRIP TO THE GROOMER :-)

We received this lovely tribute to Paxton from his mom:

In early December, my best friend Paxton crossed the Rainbow Bridge at home, peacefully wrapped in my arms.

Everyone loved Paxton, from my five-year-old granddaughter to my 85-year-old parents. He had such a fan club giving him treats, I had to put him on a diet. I found out he was getting daily treats from the mailman and our next door neighbor. LOL!!  

My Pac-A-Pooh's heart was as large as he. His love was unconditional. His spirit as soft and warm as his coat. His smile brightened everyone he met.

Run with the wind my friend, rather than fearing it.

"HOW LUCKY I AM TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT MAKES SAYING GOODBYE SO HARD."

***Winnie the Pooh

Karen, on your difficult days in rescue, please remember this. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been blessed to have had Paxton in my life. You know how special he was to me and how much I loved and needed him. Saying thank you is just not enough.....

Sincerely,
Joanne


Learn more about Paxton's wonderful life in his many blog posts:
http://redlakerosie.blogspot.com/2011/02/paxton-finds-home.html
http://redlakerosie.blogspot.com/2011/02/more-paxton.html
http://redlakerosie.blogspot.com/2011/07/everyone-loves-paxton.html
http://redlakerosie.blogspot.com/2012/02/100-and-some-pounds-of-fun.html
http://redlakerosie.blogspot.com/2013/01/paxtonpacman-update.html
http://redlakerosie.blogspot.com/2014/04/three-year-update-on-paxtonpacman.html
http://redlakerosie.blogspot.com/2016/02/paxton-celebrates-his-5-year-gotcha.html

Paxton celebrates his 5-year "Gotcha" anniversary

I got this amazing update on Paxton (aka PacMan), a dog that came to a Red Lake Rosie's Rescue clinic 5 years ago on his own and turned himself in for rescue! He was very hungry and just got in the crate in one of the communities. Heidi and Linda fell in love with this big boy. He spend some time at the RLRR shelter after he was neutered and vetted, regaining his health. This very large dog turned out to be a big marshmallow and went to a Animal Ark in the Twin Cities and was adopted. It is so great to get these updates years later!

Karen and RLRR

Hello Karen,

Here are a few photos of Pac's 2015.

1. Here he is enjoying belly scratches from my nieces. I takes two to cover his big belly. LOL

2. Pac with our 5 year old granddaughter. They just finished their walk around the yard.

3. Pac the life of the party on the 4th of July (see first photo above)

4. His favorite spot...in bed with his bone close by.??

Paxton is the most loving sweet boy! Thank you for rescuing him.

Sincerely,
K~ & J~

Check out Paxton's update after just one year with his family:
http://redlakerosie.blogspot.com/2012/02/100-and-some-pounds-of-fun.html

Three-Year Update on Paxton/PacMan

There were a lot of changes for Pac over the last year. In July our beloved dog Tugger passed away. We had 11 wonderful years with him. Tugs showed Pac that people can be loving and helped him with the transition into our family. We miss our Tugs!

In September we noticed Pac was really missing the companionship of another dog. So we turned to our friends at Animal Ark to see if we could foster. Into our lives came Rocco, a 1-1/2 year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier/Bull Dog mix. We became foster failures at Christmas when adopted him.

Pac and Rocco are complete opposites, but somehow they work. We are working with Pac to teach him that Mom and Dad have plenty of love for 2 dogs and that sharing toys is better than hording them in our bedroom (see pic). LOL!

Rocco of course is still a puppy so we are working with him on picking up doggy social queues like when to stop playing.

Our hearts are full of doggy love! We thought you would enjoy the first picture of him in what we call his "Red Lake Cooling Hole" Two things about the picture: 1. I had just brought Pac home from the groomer when he did this. 2. How can anyone resist that smile?

Thanks for all you do,
Ken, Joanne, Paxton, Rocco

Paxton/PacMan update

Hi All, It's time for Paxton's annual update. It's been 2 years since Pac joined our family. He is still reaching milestones.

This year he has learned to "ask". When one of Pac's toy rolls under furniture, he will come find me and start barking. I follow him to where it's stuck and give it to him.

He now barks to come in when finished doing his business. We use to have to call him in. He is the best snuggler on these cold winter nights! Pac loves his domain!

A daily walk with Dad is enough for him and then he wants to be with Mom, Dad and brother Tugger (10 yr old Pitbull) at home.

We love our big gentle boy and can't image our world without him. Thanks to all of you!!!

Sincerely, Ken and Joanne

Thank you so much Joanne and Ken for adopting and loving PacMan! We will never forget this guy coming up to the shuttle and referring himself at the clinic that summer day- very thin and a very loveable guy even then.

It is so rewarding to see him now! You made my day today!

Karen

100 and some, pounds of fun

Received a lovely update on Paxton (fka Pac Man) from his family. These are all AFTER photos. Paxton actually built himself a den in the woodpile in the backyard -- that brought a tear to my eye. His family says, "You can take the dog out of Red Lake but you can't take the Red Lake out of the dog."

He actually looks a little embarrassed :-)

It's already been a year since Paxton joined our family.

When he first came into our home he was so overwhelmed by the smallest things -- like warm air coming from vents, the refrigerator and its lights. He didn't know what a treat was.

Pac had and still has the most gentle soul. We had a instant connection. Now my Pac has taken over the guest room bed (he LOVES a bed). My nephew loves to spend the night because he gets to sleep with Pac.

When I open the pantry door Pac goes into his auto sit for a treat. Pac even knows a CUB Foods bag = a treat (I blame his brother for that). Pac is the perfect companion we hoped he would be for Tugger (our ten-year-old pit bull). Paxton likes to steal a nap on his brother Tugger's heated senior dog bed. :)

Pac also loves to snuggle, go for walks and of course POPCORN.

I've attached a few photos of my gentle big boy! Thanks for all you do!

J~

Everyone LOVES Paxton!

I wanted to send you a six month update on Paxton, along with photos. Everyone LOVES Paxton! He has so many new friends. The mailman greets him daily with a treat and our neighbor stops by at least 3 times a week with a treat and to play.

Above all who loves him, is Grandpa. He is 80 years old and drives the 40 mile trip just to walk his Pac. Rumor has it that grandpa has 8x10 of Pac that he has included with his grandchildren photos.

I am home with Pac most days and he loves is to supervise me. He is always at my side watching me do dishes, laundry whatever it takes to sure the jobs done correctly. The instructor at beginning training referred to him as "velcro dog" because he always leaned against my leg.

The 2 most favorite things in Pac's world are a people bed (he has taken over our guest room) and popcorn.

Paxton is a wonderful addition to our family! His heart is as big as him (107lbs).

Thank you for all you do! If it wasn't for you we would have never found Paxton!

Sincerely,
J~

More Paxton

Hello Karen,

My name is JD. My husband K and I recently adpoted Paxton. I have attached a few pictures.

Paxton is such a joy to have in our family! It's true he is a Mommy's boy and holds a special place in my heart.

He loves his brother Tugger and Tugger is so happy to have a playmate that's his size.

Last week Paxton made his first appearance on Skype to our son and his family in Colorado. Our grandaughter can't wait to meet him the end of March.

Karen, thank you for finding and caring for our Paxi so he could find his way to our family.

I best be going...Paxton just jump up beside me and rolled over. It's time for his belly rubs.

I will update you on Paxton's new adventures.

Take Care,
J~

Paxton finds a home

ANIMAL ARK BLOG POST:
Thank you to Paxton's family bringing him for a visit and finalizing the adoption!! God bless to your family!

PAXTON & HIS NEW FAMILYFROM KAREN:
Our Dear Paxton got a great home. Paxton has a "brother" - a purebred pitbull that he is learning how to play with and they are doing great. Paxton just "adores" him "mommy" and is always waiting on the bed for her when she get out of the shower - He really did hit the jackpot!

And Dr. Roni Bartsch, one of our clinic vets from Akin Hill Vet Clinic is his vet!

Heidi's visit to RLRR extended by double blizzard

Heidi was our Santa volunteer at Petco. She looks great and the dog looks just a little bewildered.

HEIDI CLAUSHeidi just spend 5 days at RLRR as a volunteer. She arrived on Tuesday, December 28th and left January 1st. The visit was a little longer than had been planned as while she was visiting we got not one but 2 snowstorms!

Thankfully she was here to help with the job of shoveling roofs as we accumulated almost 16 inches of snow and the possibility of roof collapse was evident.

So- we shoveled roofs, and took care of kennels full of dogs, and cats. All the animal care gets twice as hard with large snowfalls.

Heidi was an excellent worker who could climb roofs as well as deal with all the work of the shelter very well.

While here she took care of Moose and Manny, two little surviving pups from a litter of 5 that were brought to the shelter. They had been found in a hole in the ground and had ingested straw. 3 died within 2 days of arrival and our dear Manny died last night on New Year's Eve. We were especially sad because Manny and Moose were scheduled to leave for Act V where they would have gotten help from Dr. Vickie.

After two storms, Heidi left on New Year's day with Calypso and Moose riding out to Act V.
CALYPSO SAYS GOODBYE
LITTLE MOOSE IN FOSTER CAREWe want to thank all the faithful volunteers who come and help at RLRR shelter. They have been a real blessing to the animals!!

Sincerely, Karen

PACMAN/PAXTON
Pac Man aka Paxton went to Animal Ark recently and is now in a foster home to adopt. He gets along well with the resident pitbull and they really like him.
Here's his happy pics. Pac Man always has a smile on his face.
Thank you Ark for taking this wonderful dog and getting him this great home!!

Karen

HEIDI'S COMMENTS ON PAC MAN/PAXTON
I am so glad you sent me this update on my buddy Paxton, aka Pacman.

Although I have been standing up for the animals forever. I have in the last chapter of my life become more directly involved. I have learned that animal rescue takes more than a big heart.

I only mention this because Paxton (Pacman) taught me many things about this. He taught me that it is not as easy as getting an animal off the street or out of a bad situation. Someone has to take responsibility for that animal. Someone has to take care of that animal while it waits for its forever home.

I now understand that sometimes no matter how much you want to do more sometimes you can only hope for the best, send your love and concern and walk away. I know this is not the story for Paxton, but I know his future was an unsure one at times. But also his success and happy ending teaches me another lesson; that sometimes when you feel it inside you just have to try and keep fighting, never give up.

Needless to say, I will remember this handsome boy always and forever. Even having spent little time in each others company, he has become a special boy in my heart. I am happy that I had a hand in giving him a kind of life that he, and all of them, deserve! I am greatful for all the things he has taught me and helped me realize about the animal rescue world.

Paxton’s new chapter is as wonderful a Christmas gift as anyone could hope for.