Celeb Pet Feature - Baxter

We didn't give you a celeb pet feature last week because of the holiday, but we're coming at you with a super cute one this week - and the dog's good-lookin' too!

Ryan Reynolds and his dog, Baxter, are an adorable pair.  They're often seen out taking walks with him and his wife, Blake Lively.  The pair looks like a match made in heaven (Ryan and Baxter, that is,) but how were they matched?

Ryan Reynolds wasn't on a mission for himself when he paid a Houston animal shelter a visit in 2009.  His friend, Steve, is paralyzed and his service dog had recently passed away.  Steve was in need of a new service dog, so his wife enlisted Reynolds help.  Steve's wife specifically requested Reynolds' help with finding the dog because she knew that Steve would appreciate it most if Reynolds picked out his new dog.  

So off Reynolds went, to a Houston animal shelter, to pick out the perfect dog for Steve.  And he found it, an adorable chocolate lab that Steve loved!  But while Reynolds was there, he found someone else too...

Reynolds says he was just looking around when he locked eyes with a "big, dumb-looking retriever" and something about the dog grabbed his heart.  He claims that he went over to the dog and whispered, "Hey, let's get out of here" and that the retriever jumped up, as if he understood him, and followed him right out to his car.

Though the dog was too big and too old to be trained for Steve, he ended up being perfect for Reynolds. He took him home and named him Baxter.

 How does Reynolds explain his connection with Baxter?  Simple, it's love.  “I just fell in love with him,” he told People magazine in an interview, “I didn’t mean to, I just picked him up along the way.”