Bandit

[iluvmali]

To the dog that made me fall in love with the Basenji breed…

There were times I was so mad at you, so mad at what you'd done
I hated you once, I wanted you gone, now I wish you would come back.
I remember you when you were full of life, nothing ever slowed you down.
Caught a bird in mid flight, how proud you were.
Then darkness came, took away your sight, we loved you in your weakness
cared for you in your pain.
Then God took your pain away.
Across the rainbow bridge you fly, without any pain, no longer blind.
We're happy for you, Bandit.
You stole our hearts and we never got them back.

In Loving Memory of Demax Thunderbolt-Bandit April 1990-March 2006
Memorial Song: Africa by Toto

"...It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had ..."

[Duke]

Ohhh - How loving . . . thanks for a good cry. I new tears would flow with the first line. I love the Africa song - how beautiful.

[jys1011]

Oh Hannah this is so sweet…I'm actually tearing up here. This is the worse part of having a sweet companion like a B is that one day they do have to go.

[iluvmali]

Thanks, I cried while writing it heh… he was a very special dog to me. Right after he died I remembered looking into basenji breeders and I stopped at one breeder's website and the background music for the site was "Africa" by Toto and... I just sat there and cried. Heh, kinda like I am now...

God blessed us with such an awesome Basenji, and even though we had a lot of tough times with him growing up (normal basenji moments now that we look back on them) things getting chewed, beds destroyed, and things knocked off counters...he was always there when you needed him. A good dog, a handfull, but the best kind of handfull ever!!

-Hannah

[Duke]

@iluvmali:

A good dog, a handfull, but the best kind of handfull ever!!

-Hannah

Yes, I agree. Basenjis are like children - No matter what, we take care of them forever. All the good makes the bad disappear. :)

[JoeyQ]

Good reminder, Jill!! (We will still get our Bs together someday!) Wow! Bandit was 16?! Hope Joey is in our lives that long! You were blessed!

[red and white furever]

What a lovely tribute to Bandit - I got all sniffly reading it and will never be able to hear Africa the same way again. Hugs to you!

[iluvmali]

@red:

What a lovely tribute to Bandit - I got all sniffly reading it and will never be able to hear Africa the same way again. Hugs to you!

I bawl my eyes out every time I hear Africa, when it comes on the radio I have to turn it….

[MyDamian]

16, that was the age of Damian when he passed. Lots of love and a happy home can do that. Maybe it's just the breed, but they love you right to the end.