Baron, Loved by York

In memory of Baron.

Baron crossed the rainbow bridge on January 15, 2021 after two weeks running free across York County. 

Baron was born in South Korea and ended up in a dog meat farm where he was rescued by the Humane Society International  along with 200 other dogs in late 2020. He and 8 dogs were sent to the York County SPCA on November 13 where they received training and medical care. 

Baron’s human mom met him for the first time on December 11, 2020 and he met his fur brother Koda on December 13. Baron was very anxious but you could tell he was the sweetest boy under all that anxiety. His mom brought him home December 19th and for the first day he lay in his crate not wanting to leave the comfort he had come to know as his safe place. It took him a couple days to be comfortable spending time outside the crate but once he discovered the home he never wanted back in the crate. He would lay next to Koda for comfort, Koda unsure who this new little guy was in his life getting all the attention. But they were buds. They walked together, Baron followed Koda wherever he went, including onto the sofa. In two weeks Baron conquered going down stairs, realized that a storm door had to be opened before he could go outside, was housebroken and that all the toys were for him to play with whenever he wanted. He enjoyed car rides as long as he was next to Koda and loved laying on Koda's blanket in the corner just watching us quietly. One morning he surprised us at 4:30am with wanting to play, barking, play stance and tail wagging like crazy. It only lasted for a brief minute but that is the Baron I will remember. We were working toward commands and enjoying treats. Everything we did was on his terms. He told us when he was ready to do something new. It was a lot of work and took more patience then I knew I had. But his family loved him and treasured every small step he made in those two weeks at home. 

Unfortunately Baron ran away while on a walk January 2, 2021 and escaped capture for two weeks as he explored York County. A Facebook page was setup to track and share Baron’s story during this time, ‘Bring Baron Home ’ and the York community fell in love with him and prayed for his safe return and sent in probably 50 sightings, including videos and photos captured on home cameras. These gave us life as we continued to track him and try to capture him across 50 miles of York countryside, but he was just too smart.

Baron’s last day on this earth he was spotted at the SPCA shelter, he found his way home, but sadly he did not get trapped and shortly after was hit by a car on 83. The staff, trackers and human mom said their goodbyes to him in the back of a SUV, we cried and hugged each other for the loss of such a special dog that brought a community and strangers together in one common goal of Bringing Baron Home.

In his memory, I am raising money for the York County SPCA so they can continue to save more Barons of the word ❤️