Bailey

I can't believe that I've talked so little about Bailey, our wonderful Akita, when he's such an important part of our lives. When we made the move to Belize, we sold our Dodge diesel pickup and bo't the Toyota because we needed the back seat for Bailey. The Dodge only had the front seat. He traveled down like a trooper, giving us lots of laughs and companionship. He loves to travel in the truck.

We rescued Bailey from the Humane Society in Bend, OR nearly 3 years ago. They figured he was 5 years old at the time. I can't figure how someone would let him go and not look for him. He's the most wonderful friend (I hate to refer to him as a dog) that either of us could want. They found him running in town and had had him for quite some time. Some think that he's part shepherd, but our daughter lived in Japan for a couple of years and she said that he looks just like the Akita's there. We don't really care.

Bailey has bonded tightly with both of us and worries when one of us is gone. At 120#s he's quite intimidating to folks who don't know him. We felt guilty when putting up beware of dog signs, but seeing the signs and seeing him are great deterrents. Even the census taker sat at the gate, waiting for one of us to come out. We don't tell folks that Bailey's really a love, altho' you can't be sure when you're gone what they'll do. He's very quiet, rarely whines or barks, but when he does bark, you'd better listen. It's huge and he's usually telling us someone, or something, is here. He's a terrific alarm system.

The one huge problem we have with him is that he's a bum. If loose, he'll wander just to see what the country looks like and then come home. We can't let him do that here because of the snakes, tarantulas, scorpions, etc. Just like with the golden frog, he wants to check it out and play with it. Consequently, we built our house with verandas all the way around and put wire around the bottom to keep him in. That's about the only freedom he gets, other than the 3 or 4 walks he gets each day.

I hate to see him age, but it's inevitable. He's getting a little gray around his muzzle and fat from inactivity. Of course, he hates the heat. It seems that his thick coat protects him from insects and I hope he's like the Arabs who dress in wool against the heat, so that his thick coat protects him.

At night he insists on sleeping near us, moving from one side of the floor to the other, always putting his head under the bed. During the morning, on the west side veranda, he'll sleep under the table and in the afternoon he'll move to under the settee on the east side. I think he's a cave dweller at heart.

Anyway, dear friends, I hope you enjoy meeting this very important member of my family.