EDITED TO ADD: We understand people are upset, we are especially upset as those who bottlefed, raised, and loved Baxter. When we posted this we wanted to acknowledge the sadness we as a team feel during this loss. There were many kind words to help us know he had an impact on many people while he was with us. Some people chose to focus on the obvious bad decisions of someone out of our control. This is not helpful to the healing process and has taken a toll on the volunteers who strive everyday to provide the best life possible to these pups we rescue. We are turning off the comments - not because we disagree or think people are “wrong” but because we need to grieve so we can help the other dogs in our care. Every time we get another notification, call, DM, email, it is another painful reminder for those of us who loved and raised Baxter. You can be sure Baxter will not be forgotten - quite the opposite, his memory will fuel change, but for now let us start healing so the tears can stop and we can help the others who need us right now. —————————————————————————- We are heartbroken about Baxters passing. We know he was loved and did great things for the people he supported thru his short life. He was from a litter that needed extensive neonatal care due to his mother’s health issues. Happily, the rescued mom and her pups did great thanks to round the clock care from our volunteers. Baxter had all the traits of a terrific facility comfort dog. His handler and the family loved and cared for Baxter when he moved to Maine. We found out Wednesday and we are still in shock. Please be kind and do not make assumptions - his family is grieving and there is now a hole in the hearts of many. The Hero Pups team is still struggling to understand this so please keep any negative comments to yourself until all the details are released. Thank you to everyone that has reached out since the media picked this up last night ❤️‍🩹😢 (fb)

We spent Memorial Day with some inspiring people as they completed the Murph Challenge in honor of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. The Hatem family outdid themselves again and collected over $21,400 for Hero Pups 😱 There were many VERY generous sponsors and donors but the stars of the day were the athletes that did a workout created by Navy Seal Michael Murphy. Many people were there to cheer them on and the pups gave snuggles and kisses for encouragement. The raffles were outta this world and the weather was PERFECT!! The Hatem Family now have the title of largest single day event cash total of all our events to date and they are the ones to beat - great job and thank to all that made the day a success ❤️🤍💙 Hatem Graphics Ronnie Hatem Kyle Hatem (fb)