Remembering our Bandit
Remembering the best pup, and her 18 years. We love you pupperoni.
Hello Campers, We have some sad news today.
***Warning*** Saying goodbye to a pet is never easy, I promise there is nothing graphic, however, if you are sensitive to topics like this please click away. we hope you have a wonderful day. Remember to drink your water.***
I have rewritten this post a couple of times, wondering if it did enough justice for our Bandit. So hopefully this will help you to understand our love for her.
If you guys have followed us for any amount of time you know we have a cat and a dog that travel with us. Bandit, our pupper sadly had to be put to rest. As pet parents, you only want the best for them. And while this decision was extremely difficult, we knew it was what was best for her. It was a painful and emotional decision but we decided that it would be best for her to stop her pain and not be selfish by medicating her just so we could still be with her.
She was 18 years old, developed dementia very rapidly(within a few weeks), and had arthritis to the point that the medication she was taking didn't help her anymore.
She also had severe glaucoma and had lost the majority of her hearing. Every time we would mention her age to people they didn't believe it, and that is because Bandit would be puppy-like even in her old age. She loved going on walks and having what we call cookies that were just Milk Bones treats. She did not like Sweet potatoes but loved Boiled chicken and veggies. She also loved Pumpkin Seeds ground up on top of her food. I loved making her food for her. She was allergic to some of the ingredients in most dry food so we started cooking her fresh food and it made such a difference in her coat and weight. ( Don't worry we had approval from her vet).
Chris adopted Bandit in Washington and they instantly became best friends. She would curl into a ball and ride on the front seat of every single vehicle he has had since he adopted her. When he first got her she would not eat alone, if he was in a different room, she would bring a mouth full of food and then drop it where he was and eat there. In her old age, she was starting to forget where she was and who she was with, but she never forgot him. He was her human.
She was such a fast runner, they would run up and down the driveway and she loved every second of it. Even in the last year, she would run up and down the driveway as we went to check the mail. Because I don't run as fast as Chris she would end up slowing to my speed. We had a lot of fun running together, and Chris thought it was funny when he would start to run next to her and so then she would start to pull me a bit to make me run with them. Bandit loved the snow, she wouldn't sit in it for long but she loved walking in it. Dogs usually love water, but not Bandit, she did not like water, so when Chris took her up to Murphy's Lake in Wyoming one summer she ran back and forth on the edge of the water barking at him as he swam.
Bandit will always be in our hearts, she taught us a lot. Love, Loyalty, and stopping to have fun in such a busy world. In open floor spaces, she would roll around on her back and then flip herself over and shake so all her fur would be all over the area she just rolled on. She made it snow every time she shook off, fur would just fly out all over. Don't wear black in our house, you will be covered in fur in less than a second. Because of her mixed breed of Lab, Blue Healer, and Border Collie, she has a black leaf shape on her lower back, and when she was younger and did not have gray eyebrows she had a black mask over her face like a raccoon. She is pure white everywhere else and smiles when she sleeps. I love when she smiles in her sleep, or when her legs start to twitch like she's running. Such a happy pupper. I would say "you chase that rabbit pup you get it!" and she would wake up and just smile as she stared at me half asleep.
Chris would get her the Kong toys, that are supposed to be indestructible. Well, it took her a few extra days to get it annihilated. Once she was done with that one he got her another one and by the time he got home that day she had already killed it. This is also why we got her stuffing fewer toys because she would kill them and flip the toys inside out. She was such a goof, but you could tell she was as happy as could be. Her last toy was a stuffing-less squirrel, even in her old age she wanted to play with it and carry it around. On one of my particularly bad days, she brought it out of our room and then came and laid down next to me with it in her mouth. She was such a loving and loyal pup, always making sure we were ok when things felt off. Emotional support, by staring at me while I am crying until I laughed and petted her. Or staring at me and then licking my cheek as if to wipe the tears away. She would just stare at me smiling watching me dance around and sing in obnoxious voices; while Furgus was staring at me as if to say "what are you doing human? oh, not the dancing again."
The first time she and Cisco (A beloved cat that Chris had in Washington) met they were nice and kept pulling towards each other through the bottom of the meeting area door. So Chris went and brought him home, and from what I am told they got along very well. I heard about a time where Chris was relaxing in a hammock, and all you saw was a black-faced bullet running towards the hammock and she landed it too! Laid right next to him in the hammock and relaxed with him.
Bandit and Furgus have been friends since Chris got Furgus (in San Diego). She raised him, so when we decided it was time we were concerned about him. He seems to be happy that the humans are still around, but he did have a week of confusion as expected. He had even brought a tuft of her fur (from who knows where lol) and brought it to me and then laid down next to me as if he finally understood. It’s been two months since her passing and Furgus still struggles as do we. He will go wander around meowing softly and doesn't want anyone to touch her last toy (the squirrel). He guards it in his little cat castle. They loved each other, and would often nuzzle their heads together. It is tough but he is doing better, it also helps him when we cuddle him and give him hugs. He has become so much more affectionate, though he was always affectionate it’s just more frequent now.
Bandit has not ever been the type to play rough with anyone. She is very protective and would play with her toys but not with others. Fergus tries to play with her, but she just lets him go about his way and play somewhere else. They have an understanding. They would rub their noses together or fungus would gently rub against her, even laying down for naps together sometimes. When Chris and I would leave the house, we would come back to them sleeping in the same area, close together and happy.
One of the funniest, but also kind of traumatizing events most recently was when I was cleaning the house and a mouse ran from under my feet to a corner. Furgus was first there to catch it, but I guess Bandit just felt like he was taking too long so she goes over to the corner where Furgus is and moves him out of the way with her backside, and then grabs the mouse in her mouth and breaks it in half and proceeds to eat the whole thing! She even decided to lick the floor where the mouse's blood has fallen. Our hero! Traumatized both the cat and me. So much so that the next time Furgus found a mouse he hid it under a blanket. I found it, and Chris cleaned it up. Furgus goes back to the blanket and is searching for it, looking around and moving the blanket all over then finally decided it was a lost cause and just laid on the blanket.
She was a loving and loyal pupper, who lived a long and happy life. Thank you for teaching us and bringing us together as a family. No Longer by our sides, but forever in our Hearts. We love you Bandit. We hope this shows even a little peek into our love for her. She will always be our Pupperoni and will always be in our hearts.
-The Whittens-
When tomorrow starts without me, and I am not there to see:
The sun will rise and find your eyes, all filled with tears for me:
I know how much you love me, as much as I love you:
And each time that you think of me, I know you'll miss me too;
I thought about our lives together, I know you must be sad;
I thought of all the love we shared, And all the fun we had;
So when tomorrow starts without me, Don't think we are far apart;
For every time you think of me.
I'm right there in your heart. 💝
Bandit when we came home and found her on the bed, this is half asleep lol