Everyone at RP said they were still very tastey. One comment was "Yummm upside down surprise cupcakes!"
Happy Birthday to Me!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Happy Birthday to Me
I made cupcakes to take to work for my birthday. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting and a few sprinkles for the holiday effect. A couple had a chocolate kiss inside thanks to the gift I received from Kathy this Christmas. I finished them last night, put them in a sturdy box with a cover and placed it on the kitchen counter, with my purse and workbag covering it. This morning while dressing, I noticed Otto was not in the bedroom. I called and he came bounding up the stairs. "What were you up to?", I asked him. He did not answer, which is a good thing because being another year older could lead to other things. Anyway..I proceeded to go downstairs and noticed nothing was on the kitchen counter. My purse and workbag were on the floor and my cupcake box was now UPSIDE down and in the family room. The smell must have been too much for him, he knocked everything down, the box landed upside down and then he pushed and pushed it into the family room, hopeing to enjoy a special treat. The box won, he didn't get any treat, but you can only imagine the condition of the cupcakes. I managed to "fix" them as best as I could, only a couple were in too destructive of a state to be repaired. Repacked them and brought them into work. What a nice start to the day.
Everyone at RP said they were still very tastey. One comment was "Yummm upside down surprise cupcakes!"
Happy Birthday to Me!
(sorry the other picture of what they looked like before I fixed them was all a blurr, which is the way I felt when I looked into the box.)
Everyone at RP said they were still very tastey. One comment was "Yummm upside down surprise cupcakes!"
Happy Birthday to Me!
Monday, November 28, 2011
In Memory of Bandit
This memorial has taken me quite a few days to put together. It is emotional remembering Bandit's life, how it ended so quickly and how much I really miss him. I apologize for the length and hope you understand once I started it was hard to stop.
I think his passing has hit me harder than any other dog before him (Blaze, Buck and Baron) because we don't really have an empty nest, we have dogs in place of kids. In the past when we lost one of our four legged friends, we were still so involved in the kids activities that i don't seem to recall having time to have a grieving period. It's not that we didn't miss them, but when a person is busy they don't have as much time to think about what is different, and life goes on. I miss Bandit, and I cry when I think of things we will no longer do together. I knew he was getting older but he just was so determined about things, that I just assumed he would get through this winter, his favorite time of year because of his seasonal allergies, as he has in the past...making his snow angels and sticking his nose in snow because it just felt so good! But, that is not to be. I hope you enjoy reading along to "My Life with Bandit".
Bandit was born March 31, 1998. He lived with his mom and dad, and the owners wanted to keep all three, until Bandit started to grow. At 9 weeks, they decided they didn't have enough room and placed an ad. We picked up the puppy at 10 weeks just as Heather started her summer vacation. She had persuaded us that we needed a second dog, it didn't take much convincing to get us to agree and it just so happened that her birthday was almost here. The puppy was all legs, and wonderful red color. Heather would introduce her new puppy, "This is Bandit, I got him for my birthday."
Bandit joined Baron, our first golden retriever and they got along great.
As a puppy, Bandit enjoyed going for walks. He loved people but his only fault was that he did not like other dogs. I am convinced this stems from the time he was walking with me and a big dog walked past and nipped him on the back. I think from this point on Bandit just didn't trust dogs he didn't know. Heather and I enrolled him in a Doggy Class when he was almost a year old, this put him in a room with about 10 other puppies. The first time he growled at a dog, the women in charge hit him with a noodle (those long styrofoam tubes used for floating in the water). I don't know if Bandit really learned anything from this but he did graduate from the class and he did not fight with any dogs. We learned something, and always made it a point to introduce Bandit to any dog that he would be hanging around with and then we never had a problem.
In his early days Bandit would actually chase a ball. He would then carry it around in his mouth but not bring it back. He was a Golden Getter, not a Golden Retriever. This never changed.
As he grew older he lost interest in balls but he never lost interest in Stuffies! When he was a puppy he slept with a little stuffed dog for quite a few months, but then his true passion took over and he destuffied it. He loved to make a tiny hole and pull out all the stuffing. He did this his whole life, what a talent!
Baron passed 5 years after we got Bandit. I remember Bandit being very lonely. He lost a good buddy. We picked out Bogart soon after, so Bandit was not alone very long.
It was around the time that Otto joined our family that Bandit started to get itchy skin. We never knew exactly what he was allergic to, but it seemed to be heat related. He would rub his face against the carpet removing all his whiskers. One summer he looked like a raccoon with the fur gone from around his eyes. He then started taking a couple pills to relieve the itch. The problem these pills also caused him to be more tired. In the winter, I was able to stop the pills, and his activity level rose. He would still love to rub his muzzle in the snow, oh that snow cooled off the skin. Many times we could only get him to come in out of the snow if we showed him a treat. He was so entertaining!!!
Don't you just want to hug him?
Oh yes, treats. Bandit loved, loved, loved the flip chip. The vet always commented on what great condition his teeth were and that had to be from chewing the flippy. This past year, Bandit demonstrated that he was still the top dog. Every night, yes every night, sometime between 7 pm and 9 pm Bandit would go up to Scott, sit and yip and wait. If he was ignored, he would yip a bit louder but he would not give up. Sometimes the yip caused his front legs to go off the ground. What was he asking for??..a flippy of course and one for all his buddies as well. Every so often Bandit would misjudge the time and come sit by Scott too early. Scott would say, "No Bandit, it's too early". Bandit would still stare. "Ok, you can have a small bone now, too early for a flip chip". And then Ban would go stand by the refrig waiting for his treat. Who was training who? Well, as Bandit got older we just were happy to have him be a part of our lives, so yes, we pretty much gave into him every time. If Scott wasn't home the whole scenario would take place in front of me. It was funny to watch then and now its so heartwarming when I remember it.
As I said earlier, Bandit has always liked to run. He went outside on a rope, as did all the dogs before him.
When he was young (before the electric fence), when someone would come into the house we always shouted..."Close the door" or "Don't let Bandit out". Unfortunately most people were not quick enough to close the door and out ran Ban. With those long legs we could cover a lot of space in a short time and the kids would have to go out and find him.
Years later, when Bogart turned 6 months we put in an electric fence. I had to walk both dogs around the yard to show them where it was ok to go, then the Electric Fence employee purposely lead Bandit over the line, to shock him. He jumped in the air as he yelped. (She did it so he would not be mad at me for shocking him.) Bandit NEVER challenged the line again, as a matter of fact, for months after he would walk closely along the house knowing he was safe there. Eventually he included the grass in his world, as the whole reason to have the electric fence so that the dogs could run, and eventually he felt comfortable to run in the yard.
Things that Bandit enjoyed.
*Open walks in the meadow behind Kathy's house.
*Going down the slide. As he got bigger it got harder but he still slid down on his tummy.
*He used to try and steal food from the kids hands as they walked by..or he would quietly go behind the end table in the family room to sneak someones food. It was commented how he was acting like his name.
*He would jump onto Scott's chair the minute he got up from it.
*He would rub his face in the rug and once the loops got caught on his collar, and he walked around pulling the rug with him.
*He was good at catching food thrown in the air.
*He loved when we had visitors!
*When he was young he loved playing tug of war
*He loved sleeping on the couch
*He loved flip chips, chew bones, milkbones, nylon bones, liver snaps, any kind of treat
Things Bandit did not like:
*Fireworks
*Thunderstorms
Both of these made him nervous and he would become a lap dog.
This past few years Bandit's routine at night was to go out, and take a stroll around the house. He got a little exercise and did his business. Last year we had a little scare. All our other dogs had passed away sometime around their 12th birthday, Bandit turned 12 in 2010 and in the fall of that year he was losing his sight in his left eye. I think the darkness and vision problem disoriented him because he would go out and not come back. I would go out with a flashlight and find him lying in the bushes along the house. I was worried that he was losing a step but he would be all happy to see me as if I rescued him. This went on for about a month, and then he just got used to seeing the world through one eye.
In the mornings he started out slow but most mornings he still pranced back into the house when Scott called him.
Bandit loved the water. I believed Kyle called him Swim Swimmy one time and when Bandit heard that name..it meant we are going to North Lake and get to swim. Ban was always hesitant to jump from the pier, so Bogart had to persuade him a bit.
One time he jumped in, and some ducks swam by. Bandit started swimming after them, as they headed into the center of the lake. Heather had to swim to him, and turn him so he would swim towards shore.
I did an earlier blog on how much Bandit loved his car rides but also would have to keep his head steady to avoid getting car sick. As a puppy he was a dare devil in the car. If we drove with the windows open, as the car was moving, he would randomly jump out of the car. It always kept you on guard when driving with him.
Bandit was also so gentle with kids. No one was ever afraid of him. He also made the best pillow for little heads. The neighbor girls would sit in the driveway and pet him.
Bandit loved being petted. He would often lift his arm and put it on yours as you scratched him, kind of like saying, "thanks so much, please don't stop, I really love it!"
All the dogs loved Bandit..
Unfortunately, a couple weeks ago Bandit must have moved wrong, or stepped wrong because he suddenly had trouble getting up. I say sudden as one day he jumps up onto the couch, the next day he needs help standing. He was very stiff and lies around for about a week. The vet wanted to see him to see if it was arthritis, and she decided it was. Some medicine should help. His checkup went well, he has great teeth, a strong heart, good reflexes and seemed flexible. Had I notices this open wound on the lump? No, I hadn't. It was prescribed to just put some neosporin on it to keep out any infection and start the arthritis medicine.
I think his passing has hit me harder than any other dog before him (Blaze, Buck and Baron) because we don't really have an empty nest, we have dogs in place of kids. In the past when we lost one of our four legged friends, we were still so involved in the kids activities that i don't seem to recall having time to have a grieving period. It's not that we didn't miss them, but when a person is busy they don't have as much time to think about what is different, and life goes on. I miss Bandit, and I cry when I think of things we will no longer do together. I knew he was getting older but he just was so determined about things, that I just assumed he would get through this winter, his favorite time of year because of his seasonal allergies, as he has in the past...making his snow angels and sticking his nose in snow because it just felt so good! But, that is not to be. I hope you enjoy reading along to "My Life with Bandit".
Bandit was born March 31, 1998. He lived with his mom and dad, and the owners wanted to keep all three, until Bandit started to grow. At 9 weeks, they decided they didn't have enough room and placed an ad. We picked up the puppy at 10 weeks just as Heather started her summer vacation. She had persuaded us that we needed a second dog, it didn't take much convincing to get us to agree and it just so happened that her birthday was almost here. The puppy was all legs, and wonderful red color. Heather would introduce her new puppy, "This is Bandit, I got him for my birthday."
Bandit joined Baron, our first golden retriever and they got along great.
As a puppy, Bandit enjoyed going for walks. He loved people but his only fault was that he did not like other dogs. I am convinced this stems from the time he was walking with me and a big dog walked past and nipped him on the back. I think from this point on Bandit just didn't trust dogs he didn't know. Heather and I enrolled him in a Doggy Class when he was almost a year old, this put him in a room with about 10 other puppies. The first time he growled at a dog, the women in charge hit him with a noodle (those long styrofoam tubes used for floating in the water). I don't know if Bandit really learned anything from this but he did graduate from the class and he did not fight with any dogs. We learned something, and always made it a point to introduce Bandit to any dog that he would be hanging around with and then we never had a problem.
In his early days Bandit would actually chase a ball. He would then carry it around in his mouth but not bring it back. He was a Golden Getter, not a Golden Retriever. This never changed.
As he grew older he lost interest in balls but he never lost interest in Stuffies! When he was a puppy he slept with a little stuffed dog for quite a few months, but then his true passion took over and he destuffied it. He loved to make a tiny hole and pull out all the stuffing. He did this his whole life, what a talent!
Baron passed 5 years after we got Bandit. I remember Bandit being very lonely. He lost a good buddy. We picked out Bogart soon after, so Bandit was not alone very long.
When Bo was puppy, and got into trouble Bandit would hide. He was not going to get blamed for something Bo did. Bo would do the usual puppy things like chew on shoes, or Scott's glasses, or pee in the house. Bandit would go upstairs away from the mess. A few years later when Otto joined the family, Bandit spent a lot of time upstairs as Otto was a holy terror in the house.
Bandit was the costume king. He was like a big toy, dress him up, pose him and take a picture. Actually none of the dogs seemed to mind dressing up but Bandit was the best. He liked the attention and would sit quietly waiting for some kind of praise. "Good Boy Ban", and you can almost see him smile.
 |
| Clown and Cat Burglar |
It was around the time that Otto joined our family that Bandit started to get itchy skin. We never knew exactly what he was allergic to, but it seemed to be heat related. He would rub his face against the carpet removing all his whiskers. One summer he looked like a raccoon with the fur gone from around his eyes. He then started taking a couple pills to relieve the itch. The problem these pills also caused him to be more tired. In the winter, I was able to stop the pills, and his activity level rose. He would still love to rub his muzzle in the snow, oh that snow cooled off the skin. Many times we could only get him to come in out of the snow if we showed him a treat. He was so entertaining!!!
Oh yes, treats. Bandit loved, loved, loved the flip chip. The vet always commented on what great condition his teeth were and that had to be from chewing the flippy. This past year, Bandit demonstrated that he was still the top dog. Every night, yes every night, sometime between 7 pm and 9 pm Bandit would go up to Scott, sit and yip and wait. If he was ignored, he would yip a bit louder but he would not give up. Sometimes the yip caused his front legs to go off the ground. What was he asking for??..a flippy of course and one for all his buddies as well. Every so often Bandit would misjudge the time and come sit by Scott too early. Scott would say, "No Bandit, it's too early". Bandit would still stare. "Ok, you can have a small bone now, too early for a flip chip". And then Ban would go stand by the refrig waiting for his treat. Who was training who? Well, as Bandit got older we just were happy to have him be a part of our lives, so yes, we pretty much gave into him every time. If Scott wasn't home the whole scenario would take place in front of me. It was funny to watch then and now its so heartwarming when I remember it.
As I said earlier, Bandit has always liked to run. He went outside on a rope, as did all the dogs before him.
Years later, when Bogart turned 6 months we put in an electric fence. I had to walk both dogs around the yard to show them where it was ok to go, then the Electric Fence employee purposely lead Bandit over the line, to shock him. He jumped in the air as he yelped. (She did it so he would not be mad at me for shocking him.) Bandit NEVER challenged the line again, as a matter of fact, for months after he would walk closely along the house knowing he was safe there. Eventually he included the grass in his world, as the whole reason to have the electric fence so that the dogs could run, and eventually he felt comfortable to run in the yard.
Things that Bandit enjoyed.
*Open walks in the meadow behind Kathy's house.
*He used to try and steal food from the kids hands as they walked by..or he would quietly go behind the end table in the family room to sneak someones food. It was commented how he was acting like his name.
*He would jump onto Scott's chair the minute he got up from it.
*He would rub his face in the rug and once the loops got caught on his collar, and he walked around pulling the rug with him.
*He was good at catching food thrown in the air.
*He loved when we had visitors!
*When he was young he loved playing tug of war
*He loved flip chips, chew bones, milkbones, nylon bones, liver snaps, any kind of treat
Things Bandit did not like:
*Fireworks
*Thunderstorms
Both of these made him nervous and he would become a lap dog.
This past few years Bandit's routine at night was to go out, and take a stroll around the house. He got a little exercise and did his business. Last year we had a little scare. All our other dogs had passed away sometime around their 12th birthday, Bandit turned 12 in 2010 and in the fall of that year he was losing his sight in his left eye. I think the darkness and vision problem disoriented him because he would go out and not come back. I would go out with a flashlight and find him lying in the bushes along the house. I was worried that he was losing a step but he would be all happy to see me as if I rescued him. This went on for about a month, and then he just got used to seeing the world through one eye.
In the mornings he started out slow but most mornings he still pranced back into the house when Scott called him.
Bandit loved the water. I believed Kyle called him Swim Swimmy one time and when Bandit heard that name..it meant we are going to North Lake and get to swim. Ban was always hesitant to jump from the pier, so Bogart had to persuade him a bit.
One time he jumped in, and some ducks swam by. Bandit started swimming after them, as they headed into the center of the lake. Heather had to swim to him, and turn him so he would swim towards shore.
I did an earlier blog on how much Bandit loved his car rides but also would have to keep his head steady to avoid getting car sick. As a puppy he was a dare devil in the car. If we drove with the windows open, as the car was moving, he would randomly jump out of the car. It always kept you on guard when driving with him.
Bandit was also so gentle with kids. No one was ever afraid of him. He also made the best pillow for little heads. The neighbor girls would sit in the driveway and pet him.
All the dogs loved Bandit..
Bandit's favorite spot to sit was at the top of the stairs. He never missed a night, no matter where he was sleeping when we turned out the lights, sometime during the night he would trudge up the steps to get to his throne. Even when arthritis made his joints stiff, he still wanted to come upstairs to be by us.
Here are a few pictures of everyone with Bandit
Bandit developed a small lump about 5 years ago. The vet felt that he was too old to have any kind of surgery and luckily the lump was just on the surface, it did not involve any internal organs. This last year the lump grew very large. It never seemed to bother Bandit, it just hung on him.
 |
| a year ago |
 |
| this past summer |
The medicine worked great, I noticed the next day Bandit could get up with only a little help but, he kept licking the wound, and more skin was gone. We now assume that the tissue must have been hurting him, and he was doing what a dog does to make something feel better, lick it. But, it was now half the size of his lump and I did not know what to do besides gauze it and hope it would scab over. It didn't.
Then the worst thing that could happen happened. Bandit licked it so hard, the whole wound now was deep exposed tissue,. I cried, and felt so helpless. (I couldn't take a picture it was hard to look at it) We took him to the vet who said there wasn't really anything we could do to fix it. They could ice it, to relieve the pain, but Bandit couldn't tolerate any kind of surgery and the wound would easily get infected. We were left with no choice, I know that but I still feel like I let Bandit down. He trusted me, he never gave up, determined to face day after day. The decision was made, and he passed away in my arms.
Thank you Scott for being there with me. Thank you Heather for really understanding why this hit me so hard and also for making a memory picture frame. A picture of Bandit, with thoughts and memories from everyone in the family about Bandit. Thanks everyone for your kind words and sympathy. I know some will say he was only a dog, no, Bandit was not only a dog. He was my buddy, a great listener tail wagging no matter how I felt, a furry friend that just wanted to be near me and a part of our family. He was a mess on the outside but wouldn't let it keep him down, until it did.
Thanks Bandit, for 13 and a half years of loyalty and love. Hope you are running with Baron in doggy heaven with an endless supply of flip chips. We will miss you!
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