Bandit's Story

by Kitty Hartson
(Broken Arrow, Ok. USA)

In April of 2002 my Husband and I decided we wanted a puppy. Or I should say I did. He was not really sure that he wanted a dog or not because we really did not have time for one. Well I was working one Saturday at the golf course and I was reading the pet ads and they had some Basset puppies for sale for $100.00. They were not papered because they got mixed up with other puppies. They were not sure who the momma was. We decided to drive an hour south of where we lived to go and see these puppies. They only had 2 left out of 16. We picked one with lots of little black spots. My daughter picked his name because we had a cat named Smokey. He has been the center of my husbands life for almost 9 years now. Bandit is the most spoiled 80 pound basset that I have every seen.

Bandit loved to go camping and he was always being played with and fed by someone at the camp grounds. Well that first weekend at the camp grounds we found out that he could not eat people food or he would get sick. As the years went on we found out that he had a sensitive stomach with everything he ate. We had to watch what we fed him.

We also had adopted my daughters female Rottweiler name Rudy. She was a very special friend. She was very lovable and Bandit just loved to be with her. He would get up every morning and the first thing he would do is go kiss Rudy on the nose. Rudy was 11 years old when we got her and 2 years later she died of cancer and Bandit missed her as bad as Craig and I did.

We were suppose to go to a Monday night football game in Dallas with all expenses paid in 2007. Well Bandit got mad at my husband Craig and he got real sick and we had to take him to the emergency vet on that Sunday. He had swallowed a rock that had gotten stuck between his large and small intestine. So he had to have surgery to have it removed. There was no way that we could leave him and let some strangers take care of him, so we missed the game.

He is almost nine years old and he thinks he is a lap dog to this day. He is very much loved and he has grown up with the grand kids and he loves the attention the kids or even the adults give him. Bandit is mine and my husbands best friend.