Dogster

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Life as a Loved Pup

ADOPT 08 CONTEST

Here is where my mom will tell my tale of going from a vagabond to a queen. :)


I was 8 years old when my mom showed up one day with a bouncing (I mean literally bouncing) ball of blonde fur. She was very serious in her statement thet we were ONLY keeping this dog until its owners came for her. And if no owner was located she would need to go to the pound.

Apparently the crazy little dog had been following some kids to school for the last week and it was obvious she had no home. My mom , who had sucker stamped on her forehead, was talked into keeping the dog just until its owners were found.

Did she really think she would come home with this poor lost soul and think we would ever let her go? Our current house dog Smokey was really hopeful that in fact this new dogs stay would be temporary.

Smokey was a 3 legged irishsetter/shepherd mix who really belonged to my brother and sister who were 8 and 10 years my senior. I loved Smokey but by the time i was old enough to really "get" her she was to old to really "get" me. We named Bandit after Smokey and the Bandit. Smokey was not pleased at first but bandit wormed her way into her heart soon enough.

Enter the blonde dog with the black face and the ability to jump straight up into the air and make sure her tongue could clean your tonsils. I loved her the instant I saw her. I knew we were kindred spirits and really meant for each other. This was MY dog and noone was taking her away.

Lucky for me my mom really was a sucker and Bandit became family.

We spent every second together. We played, we cuddled, we ran and we even slept curled up together. She was there through good and bad. When I cried she would stare at me and lick my tears, when i laughed she would roll around on top of me and make me laugh harder. I wanted to be a doctor from an early age and she would let me operate on her and splint her arms and tape her ears and various other things that she should have rightfully bitten me for. But she never did.....she relished my attention any attention I gave her. We spent weekends in the Keys wher ther were no kids my age so Bandit was my only playmate. We would swim and spend hours lounging in the sea on rafts. She preferred the hydroslide and boogie board. There was the time I had panic attacks in the 6th grade after my teacher told me the world would soon end. I couldnt sleep and she stood by me in bed and wouldnt sleep either. I would shut my eyes for a few minutes and open them again and there she was watching over me.

Then the unthinkable happened. Bandit liked to jump our 6 foot fence but she would always be waiting on the front porch when I got home. One day she wasnt there. My heart was shattered. We spent weeks looking for her. I stopped eating and sleeping. I cried and sobbed and cried some more. My parents and siblings tried to convince me to go on. However, i knew she was out there and needed me as much as I needed her.

3 months had passed when my dad came home with a bouncing ball of blonde and black fur that smelled like death. Despite the fact that she smelled as though a sewer had vomited on her I hugged her fur and she bathed my face. She was home.

My father had been across the town to pick up a friend for a golf game when a stinky blur raced past him and jumped into the van. He was tempted to leave her behind ,as my father was not an animal lover, but he knew what this dog meant to me.

Bandit and I spent 17 years together doing what best friends do best sharing and loving.

It was March of 2004 when a seizure ended the life of a dog who had given me the beginning of mine. A seizure not able to be stopped by medecine or prayer. After 24 hours of hospitalization and countless rounds of meds the vets informed us it was time to let her go.

I carried her to our local vet in the same comforter I have used since I was 8. The comforter that held us while we slept, warmed us when we wept, and protected us from the boogie man. I was hoping it would protect her on her journey to heaven. I was really hoping that this comforter could literally comfort her.

The injection was given and she raised her head to look me in the eyes and then she peacefully left this world. She knew I would never have been able to make the decision to put her down and so she gave me no option. She made the choice for me.

Bandit is my first true love. She taught me all the things I know about friendship and love and how to be a better person. How to truly give from your heart for no other reason than the joy of making others happy and loved.

I will miss her alwasy and be greatful for her love and the time we shared together.