a tribute to Bandit

since i have been going through a lot of old photo's, and seeings how someone very wise told me to journal how i'm feeling through this whole process, i figured i'd post some pics of bandit, along with some stories and tid bits about his life and why he was so special.

up above, is a photo of him and my other shepard, Zoey, who is still with us, only here she's just a baby and they are fighting (more playing) over a stick

that was always one thing with bandit, he was never rough with her, only if and when she wen't near his food did he put her in her place. oh how they played and played pretty much until the last month they always would taunt, play and tease each other





















next up is a pic of the hubs with the dogs, while we were out snowshoeing on our property. we wen't on several adventures, the hubs more so than I really with the dogs. and man did they love to go!

bandit tidbits:

the hubs liked to call him "trigster" for a nickname, along with banditdog

he also always, always buried his dog bones that we bought them every year for Christmas

he would snap and eat a moosefly, bumblebee or hornet

he usually slept by my side of the bed (more so towards the end) and zoey always sleeps on the hubs side















here's another pic of him in his younger days, this was when we were renting a house with god awful fugly carpeting in a nice pea soup green. nice eh? we also get a nice view of my hand-me-down couch that we've since re-upholstered...oh and also how HUGE bandit's ears were. weren't they massive? hubs always used to joke and say "all the better to hear you with" from little red riding hood














another shot of the back porch of the house we rented. here i think he's saying would you quit it already with the camera and let me in already? again, i can't believe how young he looks here

bandit tidbit:

he was named after "Smokey and the Bandit", as they had a cat named smokey
















another snow shoe trip, i don't think i wen't on this one, or at least i don't remember it. i think he looks so pretty in this shot, and ready to jump or take off and go any second

bandit tidbit:

he looked forward to getting my left over cereal every morning as i never usually eat it all

he also had a fondness for mac & cheese

he dispised going to the vet, and he always knew when we were taking him

















and lastly this is quite possibly my fav pic ever of the dogs and us. i actually wanted more pics with the dogs but by the time we got around to getting them (semi) calmed down there was only the 1 pic left on the roll of film. and do you think we could get both of them to sit? hell no! but it's priceless how bandit is licking the hubs face and zoey is looking up at him (yes, they so love him more it's so obivious)

and finally the story of the 1st time i met bandit. u see the hubs and i weren't offically together yet, and my cousin jilly and I wanted to play a prank on the hubs. so one night we put together what we wanted to do (all i remember it was something with a rope?? no idea why, or what exactly for...), anyways we wanted to leave this rope in the hubs mailbox (he lived out on a country road), so off we go and it's just starting to get dusk out, so the sun is setting, we park the car on another road and walk up to his place thinking nobody to be home....well someone was home alright, this great big HUGE german shepard comes out and starts barking and chasing us and no sooner could i turn around and run then jilly comes flying past me like a bullet with that dog right on her heels. i burst out laughing, lose my shoe, get my shoe back on and run and catch us with miss speedy back at the car. had we known what a gentle giant he was, we would've known he would never have hurt us, still though we had a good laugh and scare and i didn't really become his "mommy" til about a year or so later.

i also hate to say that he was my favorite, but he sort of was. i love zoey to death in her own way but bandit was just special. a peaceful, caring, loving soul who loved us, protected us and was loyal to us. he loved both of us equally, where as zoey is solely devoted to the hubs, yeah sure she loves me a little but not like she loves him. stupid i know but i somewhat considered him my dog, even though i knew truly he wasn't. he will be truly missed and thought of every day. i just like to think of him up in heaven running along a woods trail of some sort just waiting for us to some day join him :)