BAKE lost his battle with cancer today. He had us all fooled for 3 months while he enjoyed his true ONLY home with Mother Martina, patron saint of the unwanted.

This is with a very very heavy heart that I am writing this Email (Martina understandbly not being up to it this time).

You see Bake was not just any dog, he was one of the LIFERS at Boxer Rescue. He came in when he was still a young pup and was one of the first dogs I met when I started volunteering back in 2000. Over the years I saw his beautiful face turn grey, then white, his demeanor change from a very hyper, strong, impatient, energetic pup into a disciplined, gentle, loving soul, who somehow still managed to find some kind of enjoyment in watching the world go by frBom his front run cell at the kennel. He loved sitting on top of his dog house and scare the stray cats who dared walk on his sidewalk. Every morning he took a particular pleasure in waking up Norm by throwing in the air his big hard purple ball. He actually was the only one who could get the man up!

He had been labeled Dog Aggressive and a Fence Jumper from the get go. He was really a typical case of a dominant strong minded Boxer male who simply needed someone to love him and raise him. He just never got that chance as he watched brand new dogs coming in and being adopted right away, without having to pay their dues. After a while he resigned himself to being one of the forgotten ones, not through any fault of his own but because people would assume that if he had been here that long there had to be something seriously wrong with him. Well, unless you were a WILD GOOSE (more on that episode later) you really had nothing to fear from Mister Bake, except maybe running the risk of being smothered by big wet kisses.

He was not only a lover, he was quite a looker as well. These past few months,there was not a walk that took place without someone commenting on how beautiful, gorgeous, handsome he was. He litterally stopped traffic once as a guy in a nice Mercedes wanted to know all about him and where he came from. Martina and I were always quite disapointed when a cute guy would approach us and start fawning over Mr Bake while we tried our best to get the guy's attention. NO it was all for Bake and deservingly so. After a while I started getting annoyed, wondering where all these people were when he needed a home and still had a chance at life... He certainly was a great ambassador for Boxer Rescue.

He was brave as well. Bake, Dagny, Sachi and I were walking in the wetlands of Marina del Rey when Bake and Dagny dove into a huge bush and out came a very disturbed wild goose who went on the attack. Sachi could not have cared less, Dagny took off like a missile and I had to drag Bake away because he was not about to be ruled over by a bird! I was not too proud of myself that day, but Bake had a great time.

In fact he always had a great time the minute he was being paid attention to, whether it be the weekly walks he got at the kennel for so long or those past few months at Martina. He put up a good fight because he wasn't about to let go of his little slice of paradise in West LA. When Andrea and I first brought him to Martina's after his diagnosis, we all thought he had a couple days at best. See what the power of love can accomplish... It was still way too short of a time but it was well worth it.

A lot of us know the challenges some of those lifers can bring on, but few of us know the kind of rewards they afford us, for there is nothing quite like bringing in a "difficult" dog into your home and heart and see the transformation happen before your eyes. The kindness, the love, the bonding that takes place and cannot be duplicated. Yes it takes patience, discipline ,vigilance but I guarantee you that there is nothing quite like the unconditionnal love of a dog who never knew it before.

As you go back to the kennel and attend to adoptions or exercise, please keep in mind all the Bakes that are still there and give them a chance. Don't pass over dogs because they're not pretty enough, not purebred enough, not trained enough, or have been there so long that they've become invisible.

I know Bake touched a lot of hearts and he was a favorite of a few of us but I would like to thank the TAKE ME HOME crew on his behalf and single out Andrea who never gave up on finding him a home, and of course Martina who opened hers. Raphaele