So What Did You Do for Christmas, Lake Almanor, 2014

Christmas this year was celebrated alone with Sadie.  I thought I would go to a movie but I was just happy to sit by the fire and watch Christmas flicks, Christmas music and work on puzzles.

The Mormon Tabernacle Christmas specials from years past, of which I watched about four, were wonderful with all they have added to them.  The Hallmark, Up, and other Christmas shows are always great to watch.

I also have a lot more music from Joanie Hughes from high school and which I never tire listening to.  I haven't even downloaded all of the last songs she sent.

I also have Pandora and of course, the movies on Netflix.

As far as TV is concerned I record everything so I don't have to watch all those commercials.  They are getting longer and longer.

I did two puzzles, one was 500 pieces and easy.   The first 1000 puzzle of Grandma's Attic was quite challenging at the end abut the 1000 piece Snow White was really hard.  I did not finish it until Christmas Eve!!!

For food I mostly had Ham (left over from Branch Christmas Party),  Spinach Salad and Matrimonial Bars.  I had made Mom's Caramel Sauce  for the fruitcake Meagan sent but I forgot about the possible gluten in it and did have a bad reaction so used the warmed sauce on the Mat Bars topped with Cool Whip.  What a wonderful dessert!!

I even ended the year with playing Scrabble with myself--learning new words and I find it quite thought provoking.  I have also been listening to "Unbroken".  I had already read it last year but I wanted to read it again before seeing it, it is at the theater till the 8th.

Bandido

Early in November 1996 Richard and I were on a drive in Rancho Bernardo when we were attracted by a "Puppies for Sale" sign.  We watched the puppies for awhile and were especially attracted by a little Lhasa Apso/Maltese puppy who had a band of color across his eyes.  I began to call him "Bandit".  I wanted to get him but he cost so much!  We were in severe financial straits but Richard agreed we should get him.  It was very strange our wanting a puppy--completely out of character and unplanned.

One evening as Richard lay on the couch and I was sitting in my rocker with Bandido on my lap, Richard began to talk about our "Golden Anniversary" in 2009 and the fact that Bandido would be 13 years old then!

Three weeks later on a trip to Susanville Richard passed away and Bandido became my only companion for the next 16 years.  Richard had renamed "Bandit--Bandido", the Spanish version of the word Bandit.  Richard loved working with the Spanish people and wanted to go on another mission someday to the Spanish people.

One day when working in the San Diego Temple months later, I asked the Spanish lady working with me how I should be spelling "Bandido".  She explained that Bandido spelled with a d meant Bandit and Bandito spelled with a T meant Blesssed. 

So over the years he has been Bandit (the rascal) or Blessed depending how anyone would spell his name and how he was acting.  In the  picture above we are living in the apartment in James's Pacific Beach home.  He was always so adoring and adorable.

Later after moving to our Lake Almanor home he would wear a moutain kerchief or a raincoat on a cool day.  I called our mountain home "The Great Escape" relating to Bandido and my escaping from the city to the mountains.

Over the years Bandido has been a very faithful and loving companion.  When I worked in Disaster for several years he would stay with my daughter or son or my sister.  He had many who loved him and he them.  One time when I picked him up from my sister he was very confused as to his loyalty.  She treated him so well.

I loved this wise look.  He always seemed to know when I needed comforting and he would always let me know exactly what he wanted, too.

Bandido, a wonderful dog, companion and friend for over 16 years.  We love you, Bandido, Farewell and I hope you are reunited with Richard.

Bandido

Always Loved
1996-2012

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.  

There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; his eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together

in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands 

again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so 

long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Bandido 1996-2012

 

Many Faces of Bandido

 

Bandido and Some Friends Over the Years

Kelsi built a bond with Bandido when she was just a baby.

Jimmy cuddles Bandido, too.  He had lots of loving.

The boys wanted to carry him in their back pack.  Which is what I did sometimes when he got tired in his old age.  He also rode in my basket around Mission Bay and Beach.  I wish I had a picture of that.  He was under 2 then.

 

Mitch had the soft touch.

Sarah and her friends so wanted to be able to take Bandido on a walk.  He didn't want to move unless I was walking with him, too.  He could be very stubborn.

Baja Beige is what his groomer in Pacific Beach called him.  He really got dirty on this hike with Marjorie and I.

He had one great trip to the cabin in Silver Gate!

 

He liked walking on the beach, but did not want to go near the water.  Same with the lake.  Marjorie's dog would just jump in--not Bandido.

Kelsi gave Bandido lots of love.

Here with Melissa a few years ago--
they both have the curly hair. 

Better days, he looked so handsome.

 

He spent lots of time with the Valko family.

Keira's first time sitting in a dog cage I am sure.  She is not quite certain what his reaction will be.  But he was mellow.

I wish I had a picture of my sister Jeanne with Bandido, she cared for him very well on some of my SBA trips, as did Camber, James, Mike, Linda and Maria--wish I had more pix of him with his friends.

We Are Handicapped!

Bandido appears handicapped by his fears and can't decide which way or where to move.  I finally guide him back to the deck.  He touches it but backs away.  He cannot jump up on it anymore.

What started out as a nuisance on my eye has turned into an eyesore literally.  One upside about going to Quincy is that when I used Aisle 2 of the Safeway on the way to the restroom I passed the Pharm. section and a lady there helped me choose an eyedrop for my eye.  It is working!!!  But the light hurts my eye so I am a pirate impersonator for awhile.

The poor eye, everything I put on it to soothe it or stop the itching and burning, just made it worse.  It is redder than this looks and I have new wrinkles which will never go away.  One thing I learned in my reading is that salt tends to go to your eye bags and make them worse.  Does this mean I should not eat packaged popcorn anymore?????

Tragedy and Unexpected Plus

Bandido has been missing for almost 20 hours now.  Yesterday he got his hair cut and there was a lot of hair to cut off.  Plus she cut him shorter than I asked, something to do with all the sores on his body.  I wonder if he is in a lot of pain?  The only time he yelps is sometimes when I pick him up, not exactly sure what is bothering him.  She also changed his whole personality by cutting off most of his face hair and clipping his hair in triangles like a fox terrier.  I put him on his run leash and when I went to bring him in about 45 minutes later his collar was on the leash but no Bandido!!  I suppose he could have just slipped out with his hair so short, but why would he?  The leash wasn't caught on anything.  He usually just walks round and round until I come to get him.  My neighbor said there has been a wolf in the area but there was certainly no evidence of an attack of any kind.  My sister said maybe he was embarrassed how he looked.  Very strange.

After calling the Gate and they said they would look for him in their van, I walked the neighborhood and all walkers I asked to let me know if they saw him.  Without his collar no one can call me but people usually call the Gate if they find a lost dog.  Yesterday they said they had four calls about dogs--lost or found I am not sure.  I later drove all along my streets as well as on Peninsula.

Of course, there are so many empty houses this time of year that he could be anywhere and not necessarily seen, especially if he curls up under a deck.    If I am not called by tomorrow, I will have to think the worst.  The strange thing is that I have expected his death for so long that it is almost anticlimatic.  He has not been his normal self for a long, long time.  He can't see, hear, smell and so he usually just sleeps or stands waiting for something or walks in circles.  How could he have disappeared so fast when he walks so slow and why would no one have seen him.  It is very strange.

So far I have called two of my sisters from my Gmail.  The great plus is that we can all hear better than we can on a regular or cellular phone!!!  You are free of having the phone to your ear for one thing and then you can actually hear better!!  On Both Ends.  That is amazing.

Carole is going to open a Gmail account--then we can talk by video chat.  I hope they keep this free service for a long time. 

Carole's Dog

Carole told about her dog's experience at the cabin last week and it was so like Bandido's.

While they were away from the cabin her dog got out.  He has a lot of the problems like Bandido, he can't see or hear well.  Anyway they searched and searched for him but to no avail.
Much, much later a stranger found him laying at the edge of the creek water edge.  He appeared to be dead, just as Bandido did.

She said she nursed him and even had to use a dropper to get nourishment and water to him.  Amazingly he recovered.  That TLC has amazing recuperative powers.  He now seems better than ever.  Not unlike Bandido.  The power of love and care in a cold uncertain world.

Yesterday I expected the debris to still be in the lake.  Amazingly it was just on the edge of the lake.  Mother Nature really does know what to do.  I was the only one in the lake again, just a few children playing on the edge.   I feel so much better by going everyday, I just wish it would warm up, the smoke would go away and we would have a long Indian summer.

Live in the Mountains

Meagan gave me a sign that said, "If you are lucky enough to live in the moutains, you are lucky enough."  That was so true today.  The sun was shining, it was not too cold and the grounds were still covered with snow.  So beautiful, so peaceful.

Poor Bandido, though.  He missed the driveway twice.  Each time he walked passed it and then turned around and came back.  I was letting him lead us on his leash.  The third time he turned in at the right place.  He didn't know when to turn in at the deck either.  He certainly cannot be outside at all by himself.  Poor Bandido.

Today I have been scanning pictures and listening to music.  I can't believe how much I accomplish since I went off Facebook.  Life is just a lot simpler if you are not involved in everybody's else's life.  As my FEMA friend said, "If anybody wants to communicate with me, they know where I am."  Guess that is true.

I have been writing again in my San Diego Scene and reading a lot of old letters.  It was a good time when we used to write letters, I am so glad I have them.

Exhausted

Bandido and I are both recuperating from our exhausting ordeal, both of us walking far more than we normally do.  Him seeking home, me seeking him.  I know I didn't have any sleep Friday night and I am sure he didn't either as he wound his way down hill to the lakeside.

At least we are both sleeping a lot now and that is good.

It was interesting to go online and read of other traumatic experiences of people whose pets have disappeared, some eventually finding resolve and others none.  I can see why people seek others online for similar experiences so they receive some kind of understanding in their anxiety.  When a pet is lost or a loved one leaves, you have the same kind of guilty feeling.  What should I have done that I didn't.? Was I negligent?  Did I not show enough caring and love?

It has been a long time since Bandido has wanted to snuggle next to me like he used to--almost like an Alzheimer's patient, not knowing who he is or who you are, but I have been trying to get him to cuddle more since he came back.  Does it matter to him?  I am not sure?  His eyes are glazed, I know he sees the shadow of my outline but does he see me???

"Yesterday was just awful"

...from the musical "Annie".

Last night while it was still light Bandido was on the deck but not ready to come in.  When I went for him again he was gone.  As I have said before, Bandido has only gotten off the deck once in the past year and that is when the snow was as high as the deck...and yet here he was... gone.

I looked everywhere in the house.  Had I let him in and forgotten???  When Mike came home we looked again and again, even under the beds.  It was so dark it was hard to see in the yards but I checked back and front over and over again.  He was gone...but where?

At 2 am I still l hadn't been able to sleep and Mike was up, too.  He drove us around just in case Bandido had been hit by a car or was on the side of the road.  Nothing.

Bandido has 4 tags--one with my cell phone and his name, one with my house phone and his name, one with his rabies information and one with his Vet's name and number.  I thought if someone had taken him in out of the cold,  they would call in the morning.  At 9 AM I called the Security...no one had reported a found dog. 

I walked all the lots near my home.  I had read on the internet about how dogs go off to die by themselves.  I looked under all the decks.  I walked up and down the street and across the street.  Everytime the phone rang I thought it will either be good news or bad news but sooner or later he has to be seen and someone will call.  There are not too many in the LAAC this time of year.  Most are summer homes so it could be awhile.

But at about 4 pm the call came.  Mary at Security in a cheerful voice said I would find Bandido laying on the beach at such and such a number on Peninsula.  After I hung up I thought he must be dead or why would he just be laying there?  But she did sound cheerful.  I realized Mike had my car so asked my neighbor to drive me down.

When we got there my neighbor talked to the man of the house and I walked directly to the beach behind their house.  I could see him laying in a fluffy ball, not moving, and I started to cry.  But when I walked up to him I could see he was shaking like a cold leaf but when I wrapped him in my towel he cuddled up and perked up and got more perky as we neared home.

After a long drink and good food and some warm cuddling he was soon walking around acting very normal but inspecting everything and he looked very comforted to be home.  He keeps going back to eat and eat, he must have used a lot of energy last night.

When I later tried to take him for a walk or even use the run he did not want to.  He was either very tired or afraid, I am not sure which.  Since Bandido cannot see very well or hear very well it must have been very frightening for him to walk all the way from my house at the top of the peninsula down to the east shore of the peninsula.  We will never know why or how he did it...his left leg slips out from under him quite often and he walks in circles a lot.  No wonder he was so tired.  It is a lot further than I could have walked, that is for sure.  Mike thinks he was interacting with the raccoons...we will never know.

When we moved here 13 years ago.

At least for now, he has another lease on life and deserves a lot of cuddling, we better go see Dr. Bob and see what we can give him in comfort for his last days.   Hard to believe Richard and I picked him out of a litter 16 years ago in November, just before Richard died.  He has been a good, good friend to me.

Yea!! Maryanne to the Rescue!

I put out an email to see if anyone knew where the new dog groomer is in Chester and Maryanne came to the rescue.  She had remembered seeing the sign some place so on way to her work today she scoped out Chester till she found it and called me the telephone number and directions.  Thanks to Maryanne Bandido has a long overdue grooming appointment tomorrow.  I hope the groomer will not be too hard on him and just shave him all off instead of trying to make him look good.  His hair is very thick and a little mangy.

Poor Bandido

We all know Bandido  has poor eyesight.  Today he almost froze because of it.

I let him out on the back deck where I had shoveled a nice snow free area for him to go pee.  Since there was so much snow I did not hook him up to his leash for a run (slow walk) to the backyard.

While I was busy at the computer at the dining room table I soon wondered why he had not come back to the door to be let in.

Lo and behold he was nowhere to be seen, until I noticed a wandering trail of a paw marked tunnel in the snow that went round and round below the deck and then trailed off in to the side yard.  I ran to the front door and looked out to see if the trail led to the front of the house.  Not so.  I ran back and peered over the side of the deck and there was Bandido wandering around in the deep snow in the neighbor's yard.

All tuckered out after his snow trip.

  He had so many balls of snow stuck to him I had to put him in the bathtub and warm his legs with warm water and melt the snow. 

Poor thing, this is the first time in a year or so that he stepped off the deck by himself.   With the snow about the same heighth I am sure he just went the wrong way.  What if I had forgotten I let him out????  I shudder to think.  With his bad eyes and deaf ears and my bad memory,  we are a dangerous duo.

Bandido Adapts

Since Bandido has been having an incontinent problem, I have banned him from the bedrooms.  He has been perplexed as to where to sleep.

Michael put the big doggy cushion (which Bandido would never lay on) by the corner bookcase and after I would go to bed and Bandido would fall asleep somewhere--Michael would move him to the doggy bed. 

So here he is in the middle of the day, sleeping there with no help from Michael!!  I guess he has adapted...

What to Do With Bandido?

Yesterday Mary Anne and I went to the Reno Temple--oops, they were cleaning it when we got there--closed!!  So what do we do?

Head for the Dollar Store, of course,  where I found all kinds of things I absolutely needed.  Wish I had bought more of the Minute Maid Lemonade in a box!  It was really good.  I found training pads for Bandido there that were cheaper than the ones I bought at Pet Smart but first we have to see if he will use them.

The problem is that both my sister Carole's and my dog are old, and for some reason they have begun piddling on the rugs.  Now it is not that they don't get outside to piddle, they do, but for some reason they are confused.

I thought if I used the training pads like when he was a puppy he would go to that place when he needed to if no one was around to let him outside.

Well, today, he was using it all right, TO SLEEP On, like it was his own special spot.  So I am sure the problem has not been resolved.

We also headed for Wal Mart on the way home and bought plants.  I have my geraniums planted for the summer and even a rose bush.  So nice to have Michael here to help me, makes the job go so much faster.

So a good day, even if we didn't get to the Temple.  At least we had good intentions.

Blessed "Bandito"

If you spell Bandido with a d it means Bandit in Spanish and with a t it means Blessed. Today he was Bandito with a t. We had not had our morning walk because I had to go in for an early morning blood test. After we came back I hurried out to do some watering before the "no watering time" and I left the screen door open. Bandito took the opportunity to walk around the house and across the street to do his business. He likes to do it in the empty lot with lots of weeds on it.

I heard this piercing scream but thought it couldn't be him as he was in the house. I ran around to the front just as a green truck slowed down and then I saw Bandido in the middle of the road. My worst fears had been realized. The green truck man told me the dog had run out and he couldn't avoid the hit but he thought he was just nicked. What a nice man to come back and check on him! Bandido immediately got up and hobbled away as we approached him and the man said that was a good sign and told me to go get my leash. Nice to have a man in charge.

Dr. Bob. the Vet, confirmed nothing was broken but a couple of his sores had bled and Dr. Bob discovered he had eye infection and his mouth was bleeding. He was training a young man to be a Vet so was giving instruction while he treated him. He said he would probably be very sore tomorrow and that he was one lucky dog.

Lucky, Blessed, whatever, that was Bandido's day today. As you can see, he does not look too happy. For the examination, two kinds of pills, eye cream and a disinfectant. It only cost $74 which wasn't too bad considering the alternative. Too bad dogs don't get Medicare.

Bandido's Best Friend

Bandido and Kelsi 2010

Bandido is half Lahasa Apso so I took this test.

Who is in charge? Quiz for Apso Owners

1. Does your dog fail to get up and out of your way when you are on a collision course with him? yes

2. Does your dog try to go through the door first - ahead of you? yes

3. Does your dog resist giving up objects when you try to take them? yes

4. Does your dog pull you when he is on a leash? Sometimes

5. Does your dog ever growl at you?

6. Does your dog resist grooming or nail cutting? yes

7. Does your dog sleep in your bed? yes

8. Does your dog ignore you when you ask him to come? yes, tries to

9. Does your dog guard food dish or toys against you.

10. Does your dog snap at treats or try to take them away from you? yes

If you answered yes to more than three of these, you are not in charge, HE IS. You have to get control before you have a real problem on your hands. (Too late, he is 13 years old.) Dogs, especially Apsos respond to a power vacuum by asserting their own dominance. If you fail to teach the dog his place in society, he will assume control and teach you yours. (My neighbor told me this when I first moved here, because Bandido did not mind me.)

OK, I admit, Bandido runs this house.

But I will say this, he is very protective of me and follows me from room to room, even getting up in the middle of the night and dragging his tail to wherever I may be, computer room, kitchen, couch, etc. When I bathe, he sits as close to the tub as he can and when I am out of sight, he finds me.

Overall, I would say he is a great companion dog with an independent spirit. Goes well with mine.

My Dog Bandido, and Me

You know how they say pets look like their owners? I can certainly say we have aged together, wouldn't you say?

 

When he was younger!!!

ay \nd I look a little spacey, wouldn't you? No wonder he looks at me as if I am crazy sometimes. Of course, my arm isn't long enough to get a good self picture anyway...

Sleeping Bandido

I've never seen Bandido sleep in this position before...