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Our dog, Bandit, meant the world to our family. Bandit was a smart, talented, obedient, rat terrier, and lived inside our home. His name was given because of the black patches around his eyes. He appeared to be wearing a mask around his eyes like, "Zorro." His small body was white with patches of black. Bandit's name fit him perfectly by his looks, actions, and reputation.

His actions gained him the reputation as being a sneaky dog thief. One incident proved this to be true. My youngest son was missing items, such as, his watch, small rubber ball, and other small items. One day I moved the sofa to vacuum. Surprisingly, there was this small stash of my son's missing items. Bandit had hidden the items in a pile behind the sofa. When I went to pick up the stash and return the belongings to my son, Bandit growled, but let me retrieve the items. We all laughed after finding his hiding place.

Bandit liked to dress up and had his own wardrobe. On his birthday, Bandit received a birthday party, presents, a ride in the car, and went inside a pet store to choose his gifts. During Christmas, Bandit wore his Santa hat and waited to open his gifts. We enjoyed watching him wrestle with the gift-wrap paper to uncover his presents.

He was a performer of many tricks, such as, rollover, crawl, sit, beg, stand, jump, dance, speak (bark), stand while moving backward, and fetch shoes. Bandit would grab an item dropped on the floor, such as, a pencil, lighter, paper, and bring it to you to take from his mouth. He liked to sing (howl) when someone played the harmonica or hummed a tune.

Our hearts were broken when Bandit passed away during a hurricane evacuation trip. There is a poem titled, "Our Dog Bandit," published by Famous Poets Society. Bandit's picture is above the poem. The book is named, "Famous Poems of the Twentieth Century." The poem is on page 210 and would make a great song in memory of Bandit.

There are many family dogs lost during hurricane evacuations. My heart and prayers go out to all those that lost their dog. The memories of that one special dog are always in our heart. Our dog, Bandit, was meant to be one of the greatest loves and losses in this world.

Learn more about this author, Cynthia Lynn.
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