Thankful Thursday

 Thankful Thursday

Yesterday would have been Bandit's birthday! He would have turned 20 years old. He was the best pal Jeremy ever had and he touched all of our lives in a way that is hard to explain.  He was a funny lil dog, quirky, alert, smart and loyal. Boy how I Miss him nearly three years since we lost him.

A smart lil fellow, a rat terrier and a true friend. In last few years of his life, he was so loved and cared for. I often think, perhaps he was the runt of the litter. But truly, he was the very best of all the siblings he had. Jeremy bought him, with money he earned working after school and Saturdays helping a neighbor who managed a Grease Monkey. The man who had Bandit was a :rat terrier lover.  Jeremy will tell you this fellow was the best pal a guy could have. Thankful he was in our lives so long. 

He could be sound asleep, and he would hear Jeremy turn into the driveway and he was up and waiting at the door for him.

He had dental surgery several years ago and he was very loopey. But when he heard Jeremy come home he stood up, fell down, stood up again and begged me to carry him to his boy. It was hard to be without him once he left this earth. We cared for him to the end. He was dearly and truly loved.

A loyal friend you could never find. Rest well at the Rainbow Bridge my friend and know one day we will join you again. I hope your 20th birthday was a blast over there. 

Sometimes when life has gone wrong with you,
And the world seems a dreary place,
Has your dog ever silently crept to your feet,
His yearning eyes turned to your face—
Has he made you feel that he understands,
And all that he asks of you
Is to share your lot, be it good or ill,
With a chance to be loyal and true?
Are you branded a failure? He does not know—
A sinner? He does not care—
You're "master" to him—that's all that counts—
A word, and his day is fair.
Your birth and your station are nothing to him;
A palace and a hut are the same—
And his love is yours, in honor and peace,
And it's yours through disaster or shame.
Though others forget you, and pass you by,
He is ever your faithful friend—
Who is ready to give you the best that is his,
Unstintedly to the end.
~Esther B. Darling, "A Faithful Friend," 1914