Thursday, November 14, 2013

Bandit's Story

So... this is a direct contradiction to the results of my survey. (Which can be found by clicking here.) Many of you have been saying that you don't want link-ups. Which makes sense. Too many link ups with other blogs are annoying and I do try to keep them to a minimum.

However...

This one I couldn't resist.

Karly Kim

A link-up to talk about your dog???? Um.... YES PLEASE!

But seriously guys, if you had a dog like this one you would want any excuse to talk about him too.


Just look at that face. How could you look at that face and not fall in love? Seriously.

My long-time readers know that I love my dog Bandit. He's the best dog a girl can have. However, I haven't shared his story with all of you..

A few years ago I had moved into a pet-friendly duplex. I was so excited about this because for the past year I hadn't had a pet and I missed having one. I grew up with the sweetest bichon frise and I missed having a dog. My sister who was living with me at the time had a cat, but it just wasn't the same.

Then, at the end of January, my sister found a small dog on petfinder.com.

His name was Bandit and was at a shelter in a town about an hour away. A few weeks prior, the owner of the shelter had been contacted by a woman in the town asking her to come save her dog. It was sick and needed help. So the shelter owner went to the woman's house. She couldn't believe what she found. There were two small dogs living in cardboard boxes in this woman's backyard. There was snow on the ground, they had fleas all over their bodies, and were severely malnourished. Miraculously, beyond needing to get de-wormed, fed, and the fleas taken care of, the dogs didn't need anything else. Bandit was the one in the worst shape. He even had bare spots in his fur and tail from the fleas. The house was also a meth lab. 

She went back to the home and tried to help the poor dogs. After a few weeks of convincing, she had finally been able to get the dog owner to let her take Bandit to her shelter. There, she was able to get him even better food. He even was able to get his vaccinations.

She described Bandit as being a happy, brave, and friendly dog. He loved to play with the others and needed a good home.

I knew I had to take him home with me.

Immediately I contacted the shelter and told her I was interested in the dog. After she checked up on my references, we set up a day and time for me to come by and check him out.

Bandit was amazing. He ran around with the other big dogs at the shelter like he was just as big as they were. (He couldn't have been more than 5lbs at the time and played with big black labs!) When my sister and I petted and held him he didn't shy away and ate it up. He was happy and healthy. All he needed was love, a good home, and just a bit more nourishment and care for his fur coat. 

It was love at first sight my friends. 

What's awesome though is that nearly everyone who has met Bandit has loved him. Seriously. There has been maybe one person who has told me they didn't like him - and they aren't animal fans in the first place so it doesn't count. All he ever wants is to be held, petted, and loved. 

In all honesty, I'm pretty sure he's more popular and well known in my small town than I am. My neighbors are always saying how adorable he is and how they can't help but smile when I take him for walks. 

It's been about four years since then and I've never looked back.

What about your animals? Any cool stories?

6 comments:

  1. people who neglect animals are terrible people because the ONLY GOAL that pets have is to love unconditionally! bandit is so adorable!!

    -kathy
    Vodka and Soda

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  2. I love my little nephew! Thank god he was saved. People who could hurt an animal have no soul!!

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    1. I know! The first owner claimed she loved Bandit... but how can you love something when you neglect it?

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  3. aww what a sweet story. love that you saved him and gave him a much better life. and thanks so much for linking up with us - i have been loving reading about everyone's sweethearts.
    -- jackie @ jade and oak

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  4. OOOO! I am so SO glad you saved him, and gave him a forever home. He's a sweety! As for us, our big kitty passed away in '09, and we would NEVER replace him, however we truly missed having a kitty. I was on KSL, our local classifieds, and a woman was giving away her cat's kitties. Jen and I went over, and this little old lady let me in (Jen was in the car) and I saw this little fluffy bundle of gray fur. The lady wrapped Wedge (named Greylee by her) in a white fuzzy blanket, and I carried him out to the car. When Jen opened my door, the first thing she saw was Wedge's little face, and heard his little "mew". <3

    The day we moved into our apartment, we knew we wanted a bird, so we went to the pet store and adopted Jango! He's such a sweet bird, and can talk! He's a big cockatiel, and has major attitude.

    Also in our apartment, we wanted to get Wedge a brother. I was on KSL again, when I saw that the shelter like half an hour away was saying some cats NEEDED to go, or they'd be put down. Well, this was like 40 minutes before they closed, and I still don't know how, but Jen and I got there in time and adopted Mau. (Named Ryan by them!) We saved his life, and he's such a big baby, cuddle bug, and happy kitty all around.

    Jen and I were visiting the pet store with my father-in-law and mother-in-law, when we saw Leia and Bastila in their cage, twittering. We decided, if allowed, we'd adopt them and give them a new home. They've been with us since! Both girls are budgie birds.

    Finally, Finn, was adopted last Halloween! He's our very sweet little camera loving beta fish. ^_^

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  5. Awww! I love this. You did such a GREAT thing rescuing that little guy. SO GREAT! We need more people like YOU friend!

    -Kate
    www.theflorkens.com

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