A lonely senior dog that kept ‘barking and crying’ is happy after making friend

A veterinary clinic has been praised for going out of its way to find a fun and clever way to comfort a lonely senior dog while he was being treated. Baxter is a 13-year-old Shi Tzu who has missing his owner while at the Four Paws at Fulshear Veterinary Clinic in Fulshear, Texas.

In an interview with Newsweek, Dr. Meghan Denney, the founder of the veterinary clinic, explained that Baxter is an “attention-driven” dog who “loves to be the center of all things all the time.”

Baxter wanted someone to stay with him and keep him company but this proved difficult for busy veterinarians, who said Baxter would begin loudly “barking and crying” if he did not have a human companion nearby.

Dr. Denney explained: “Baxter was here for a few hours to get some lab testing done. He was happy and relaxed if someone was actively sitting with him and interacting with him, but if we had to step away, he would start singing us the song of his people—barking and crying.”

However, a veterinary technician at the clinic named Lyndee was able to come up with a unique way to keep Baxter happy, and that was to create a “person” out of boxes, clothing and a rainbow-coloured surgical scrub cap that had been stuffed with towels.

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Dr. Denney explained that the vets were still in the room with Baxter and continued to talk to him while getting on with treating other pets and that he was “fine” after being close to his makeshift companion

This hilarious and innovative way to take care of an upset dog has gone viral on TikTok, as the vet clinic’s video of Baxter has received hundreds of thousands of views.

In the video, Baxter can be seen curled up at the edge of a cage along with the creation that online users have dubbed the “care-crow”.

Baxter can be seen looking happy and panting while watching the “care-crow”, which features a purple jumper tied at the sleeves of the cage.

The caption on the video states: “The things we do to keep our patients calm and happy!”

Many online users have quickly flooded the Four Paws video comment section. One user wrote: “Awwww sweet baby! And what a good idea”

Another person wrote: “Vet techs could solve world hunger if given time and minimal resources I swear.” A third commentator wrote: “Honestly the compassion to do this lets me know those animals are well taken care of.”

Dr. Denney has said she has been shocked by how popular the clip of Baxter has become. She said: “Our goal is always patient care so this reduced his stress and was also funny, so I caught a video of it and made a TikTok.

“People like to see novel ideas on patient care and they love to see things they have never encountered before.”