Bandit Man...

Bandit

Yesterday we let our brave little Bandit go. He went to the vet because he had injured his front left leg/shoulder doing one of his ”superman” jumps off a rock… It is hard not to keep questioning on whether the right thing was done. We did what we felt was best for Bandit. I hope….
His entire life has been one of so many hard things. He was born with some disabilities, both physical and mental. He was one of Tilli’s and Tybo’s puppies. Bandit was feisty from the start. Looking back he was always a little slower than the rest of the other puppies, and the smallest by the time they were big enough to go to different homes. Bandit went to my parents. However over time Bandit came back to our home to live.
Bandit had what is called Cortical Blindness. His eyes looked normal from the outside, but from his eyes to his brain the information did not connect. It was kind of like he was blind to his blindness. Over time even that seemed to get worse some how. He also had seizures that at times were really bad. We were never able to really potty train him. I never thought I could deal with a dog peeing or pooping in my house, but when you love the little animal you deal with it. We always called it Bandit leaving us "presents”. I know it sound gross, but it taught me to have patience, and humility with someone you really love. Each time Bandit would go up and down the stairs to go outside, I always thought he was so brave. He could not do stairs like a normal dog. He would put his front paws down on the step then twist his body to the side and then his hind paws would reach the same stair. It was that way with each step, each time, every day. The cool thing is, is that he did it!!! This taught me about being courageous and doing something even when you wonder how in the world you can do what it is you are trying to do. He is one of the little heroes in our family.
Truthfully we do not know all that was wrong with Bandit, and I could go on and on about the things that made it hard for him. The things that made it hard for us to take care of him, but I will not. If I had one wish for me it would have been that Bandit would have let us physically love him, and give him hugs, hold him in our arms. To be able to give him kisses, all the things like you do for a normal dog. It was hard, but we loved him how he would let us. We loved his cute pacing around the island in the kitchen. We loved how he loved the words “doggie treat”. He knew what that meant. We loved his big tail, and the way it would curl up in the air and he would almost prance when he would walk around. The way he got excited at dinner time, going around the table hoping he would get something to eat. He was our Bandit man….and we loved him.

One wish for him I have, would be to for him to run without any of the things that limited his life.
He is already missed. The house has a reverence about it. One of the little spirits that lived in it is gone. We placed him in what in time will be a flower garden. It will be a place where we can visit often. He is with our Tybo dog now, hopefully running and seeing without any more problems.

January 27, 2004 - September 22, 2010