a tribute to bandit

Bandit was our first foster. She was adopted just about a year ago, and I've been thinking about her a lot lately.  I keep looking back, thinking we should have kept her.  I still feel like I made the right decision, but I can't help but miss her. She was such an amazing dog.

A HW+ dog who went through HW treatment while in our care.  She was an amazing dog and her and Roxy were great together... they were both brindle, and just plain adorable together. I joke they were in "doggie love."

Bandit was found as a stray, and had at least one litter of puppies before that.  She had a love-hate relationship with squeaky toys. She loved every person that walked into the house.  Bandit taught Roxy to be a less afraid. We talked of keeping Bandit, but I was nervous because she hadn't yet been spayed (due to being HW+) and I knew that spaying a dog can sometimes change their behavior/temperament due to the change in hormones. I didn't want to have two dogs that didn't get along in the house, and there was no way of knowing how she'd be 6 months down the line.  The other problem was, if we kept her, we wouldn't be fostering anymore.  We had limited ourselves to 2 dogs in the house at one time, except for occasionally watching our friend's dog for a week or so at a time.

She wound up getting adopted by family members of someone who volunteers with the rescue, so I at least knew she was going to a good home. I met the family, a mom, dad, and teenage boy who totally loved her.  He was a good kid, too. You know, one of those kids that had respect for people and actually knew how to hold a conversation.  And he was so sweet with Bandit.  And Bandit loved him.  We knew we would miss her, and being our first foster, it was probably the hardest thing we had to do.  We still miss her.  Rob is still a little upset with me. I don't blame him, but after Bandit... we had the luxury to foster several other dogs, one of which we did wind up keeping.  He needed us.  If we had kept Bandit, Buster we would not have found us... err, we would not have found Buster.

Bandit, here's to you. We will always love you, and I'm sure by now, you've forgotten us because I know you're so loved where you are.