Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

What’s Lost is Found

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Bandit is home!

Bandit is home!

I shared this on my personal Facebook page yesterday.  My sister’s dog, Bandit who went missing on the 12th of October has been found!!

October the 12th was a Sunday afternoon, on Monday my sister found out he’d been spotted shortly after he went missing, at a farm about 1/2 mile down the road.

My sister and brother-in-law did all the right things. They alerted all their neighbors as well as authorities.  They contacted local vet hospitals, they put up posters, they set food out by the farm and a pillowcase with their scent on it, they had volunteers helping to search, and of course, they walked the path to the farm every day.  But Bandit eluded them.

This past weekend my sister and BIL were down for a visit and my sister was fairly certain that Bandit was dead.  The farmer on the property Bandit was spotted on, told my sister the Coydogs had raised a ruckus both Sunday and Monday nights.  Typically the coydogs are only heard in their neck of the woods when they score a kill.  My sister and I parted, both with heavy hearts.

Then yesterday afternoon, almost five miles from where he went missing, Bandit was spotted again, this time by the grandson of the man who used to own the company my BIL works for.  When the grandson said he’d seen the dog, his grandfather said, “That’s Ron’s dog!” And promptly called my BIL who lit out of work like the hounds of hell were on his back.

Thankfully the people who spotted Bandit kept him in their sight so when my BIL arrived they could direct him.  When my BIL called to him, Bandit ran.   This is not surprising.  Most dogs who are lost get in the flight zone, all they can think of is escaping whatever it was that scared them. (If you are interested in learning more about how to find a lost dog, check out Mel’s posts at No Dog About It.)

Thankfully my BIL despite his emotional state had the sense to sit down.  Then he began speaking softly to Bandit.

“Bandit, want to go swimming?” (This dog LIVES for the water.)

Nothing.

He tried again using the names of their other dogs, “Bandit, want to go home and see Gordon and JD?” 

At those words Bandit launched himself at my brother-in-law.  He’d recognized something!

My brother-in-law took him immediately to the vet.  Bandit was in rough shape.  He’d lost weight, he had cuts and scratches and at some point he’d had an encounter with a porcupine.  

All told, he lost almost four pounds, had 16 quills removed and his sugar levels were high.  Thankfully the vet felt that the sugar levels were elevated due to stress. The quills were removed, he was given an antibiotic and a rabies shot and was sent home. 

My sister reports he jumped off the couch and greeted her at the door, following her around until she sat.  Then he promptly climbed into her lap where he sat for an hour and a half. 

I want to thank everyone who sent messages or reached out in some form when Bandit was missing, for all who shared his photo and said prayers, it is greatly appreciated.

If you have a lost dog, I want to offer you encouragement and tell you DO NOT GIVE UP!!  Dogs can be found after long periods of time.  They can cover great distances.  Little 18 pound Bandit covered almost five miles in 8 days. There is hope, and believe it or not, happy endings still exist.  It did for Bandit.

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  3. That has made my week. I am so so so so so so so pleased!! I have actual tears of joy. Welcome home Bandit, I am so pleased that you are home safe after your adventure!! And the happy news has completely overcome my embarrassment at taking over half of that post to figure out what on earth a BIL was – i thought it was something nasty that a doctor may need to look at ;0)!!

  4. I really was afraid to ask if there was any news about Bandit and I am really thrilled and so happy that he is home!! The perfect ending for a story that we all know unfortunately doesn’t always have one. But I’ve no doubt it has been a roller coaster of emotions and so many other things and the feelings of relief and gratitude must be overwhelming. And you are right, Bandit’s story gives hope to those who are still looking for their lost 4 legged family members and reminds us all to not give up.

  6. We were so excited to see this on FB yesterday! What a wonderful ending to such a scary story. I bet he will be getting so much loving it might almost kill him. Just great to hear for the poor pup and your sis and BIL.

  11. Thank you for this post. Wow – 5 miles is quite a distance for such a small dog! There has been a local yellow lab missing since August in our area…it just breaks my heart. People keep sighting him but aren’t able to catch him. This post gives me some hope that he can still be found.

  12. I missed it on FB yesterday, but saw it this morning when I was at work, and it made my day. I know of so many lost dogs through FB that are yet to be found, so this just made me cry. It sounds like your sister and brother in law did all the right things, and I’m so glad it worked out for them. And of course so glad that Bandit is OK in spite of the rough shape he was in.

  13. I thought that was SO wonderful when I saw it on your Facebook page yesterday, but now I’m all teary hearing the full story! Poor little thing!!! I’m SO glad they found him, and it’s so wonderful that your BIL knew the right tricks to reach Bandit. So smart to mention the names of Bandit’s buddies! That is something that would probably get Rita going as well. I’m sure he’s exhausted and so happy to be home! Hooray hooray hooray!!!

  14. Oh thank goodness! I’m so happy to hear that Bandit is home safe and (mostly) sound. Hope your sister is giving him lots and lots of snuggles and love and the effects of his porcupine run-in heal quickly!