An Unusual Unexpected Surprise

My daughter Emma received a message about an adoption approval. She and her fiancé Craig searched an online rescue and found Turbo. His black silky coat covered most of his body. A broad white stripe filled his chest. The caption said he was eight weeks old and a Border Collie/Lab mix. An animal rescue team found this pup on the streets of Texas. He shared a box with a litter of abandon puppies.

Craig wanted a boy dog, Emma didn’t. She set-up an appointment to see this cute little guy anyway.

Turbo traveled from Texas to northern Illinois. Emma got the call that he arrived and the appointment was a go.

They fell in love and filled out the paperwork. The staff told them that he received all the shots and neutered. Everything seemed in order, so they thought. Emma and Craig gave Turbo a new name. They called him Bandit.

My wife and I waited in anticipation for this new member of our family. Yes, he is my daughter’s pet, but he’s our grand puppy. We got the call that they were home and we rush right over. We thought he would be scared but oh no. We walked in and he jumped around with excitement. As I played with him, I noticed he didn’t look like a boy dog. Craig thought the same thing. Someone told them that you can’t always tell at that age. Who would make that mistake?

A couple of weeks go by before they take Bandit to their own veterinarian. Surprise! It’s true. Bandit is a girl. That’s not all. Bandit is not a Border Collie/ Lab mix. Somebody made a big mistake. They got the paperwork switched or something. None of that matters. Bandit has won the hearts of everyone she came into contact with. She loves all animals too. When she sees other dogs, she almost pulls my arm out of the socket. Most dogs see a rabbit and want to get it. Not Bandit. She wants to play with it.

Emma had a DNA test on Bandit. She wanted to make sure what breeds Bandit was. It turns out she’s 57% American Staffordshire Terrier (pit bull), 11% McNab, 10% German Shepard, 13% Basset Hound. Wow! Somebody got it wrong. My wife told my daughter that if they got a pit bull, she would never watch it. Well, that changed.

Bandit, who my daughter often calls Bandy loves ice cubes. You give her an ice cube and up she goes on her hind legs with front paws ready. She pounces and it shoots off. The chase begins. On and on this goes. She takes her treats in her mouth and tosses it. Once again, she pounces.

Tug-of-war shows how strong Bandy is. She pulls and pulls and shakes her head back and forth until you let go. Once, she pulled me right out of the chair. My daughter laughs at me. If we’re in a room with two or more people, Bandit will go up to each person and offer them her toy and a chance at tug-of-war. If you decline, she will persist. Everyone gets a turn. Once Emma and Craig went out and when they got home Bandit had pulled their ottoman clear across the room. Did I mention she loves tug-of-war?

I sat on the edge of my chair and before I knew it Bandit jumped behind me and gave me the best hug. She licked my face and made me laugh.

I heard dogs chased their tails. I may have even seen it on TV. I never saw it in person. Until Bandit chased her tail. Around and around, she’d go. She’d catch it and pause, then start up again. I never laughed so hard. Well, except when she pounced on the ice cube.

Bandit wasn’t what we were expecting, but she brought us so much joy. We can't imagine life without her. It breaks my heart to think of the puppies with no family. And the families with no joy of a rescue pet.

James Hughes