| she-wolf |
 Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 2:50 am
Post subject: Bandit's Story |
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Bandit is a male Golden Retriever-Chow-Collie mix. I got him from my ex-fiance's sister. This woman's husband was my dog's abuser. She was only able to get him out of the abusive situation he was in after her husband got tired of the dog and didn't want him anymore.
My dog was beaten, emotionally abused, he had balls thrown at him, he was hit with sticks and other objects. Bandit learned to fear men because of the treatment he received at the hands of the monster who harmed him. I say that Bandit's abuser was a "monster" because I don't know how else to describe a creature that could cause such fear and suffering in another living being.
From what my ex told me at the time that i rescued Bandit, he would receive the worst treatment when his abuser was angry at his wife or one of the children. (this foul being also attempted on several occasions to smother the same children while they were sleeping. he was always interrupted before he could complete that crime.)
I believe that Bandit was approximately 2 years old when i rescued him. i've had him for almost 10 years now. you would never recognize the dog he is now, if all you knew of him was the dog he was when I rescued him. My parents, my friends and I have managed to teach him that the world is not an evil place. That not all people mean him harm. That not all MEN mean him harm. He plays with my best friend, a man he used to fear. He loves this man. Every male visitor that comes to the house, he greets them with enthusiasm and joy. He loved my dad, too. Dad was his buddy and when his buddy died Bandit became very depressed and stopped wanting to play or do many of the things he enjoys. It took him several months to come back to something like what we see as normal for him.
Dad was really the key to teaching Bandit that the world wasn't really out to get him. I think when Dad died, Bandit thought his world had vanished with him.
Bandit was terrified of everything and everyone. He wouldn't even eat the food I provided for almost the first month I had him. If he ate what i gave him, it was just barely enough to survive. He trusted nothing. He was fear aggressive and would bark angrily at anyone who came to the house.
I had to teach him how to play. No one had ever played with him. I had to teach him what a treat was and what a chew toy was.
He had a bad habit of chewing up anything that was around. If it could be chewed, he chewed it. It didn't matter if it was a plastic bucket or your new wicker chair. If it was there, he was gonna chew on it. I had to teach him what was good to chew and what was not.
It took almost a year for us to start seeing a difference in him. A year to start seeing that he was learning that the world really was an ok place to be. The defining moment was during the second winter after I rescued him. It had snowed quite a lot and he loves playing in the snow. My best friend loves being outside and playing in the snow too. That day right after it stopped snowing, my friend had come over to help us shovel snow. He and Bandit romped and played in the snow for over an hour. Bandit had never done that with my friend before. He'd never even shown an interest in it, but that day he'd wanted to play in the snow and he finally had someone who would play in the snow with him.
From that day on, i never doubted that Bandit would be ok with the world. I take him to our annual summer fair every year. He allows strange men to come pet him on his backside, now. He never would have allowed that, even 3 or 4 years ago. He still won't take treats from strangers. The only way he's ever taken a treat from someone he doesn't know is he knows that the chain of custody started with me or my mom, and even then he's somewhat skeptical of it.
I was raised to believe that it is never ok to harm an animal. I was also raised with the belief that those who do harm animals or even children are people who should not be trusted.
My experience with Bandit showed me first hand what animal abuse really is. It also set in my heart the desire to help other creatures when I can. To date I have rescued and rehabilitated 5 or 6 animals. I have only kept Bandit and one cat that I saved from our local shelter. The rest are happy in new homes and know the love that all animals deserve.
Sadly, the first of my rescues after Bandit returned to the hands of the great Creator last May. She lived a reasonable life, and I've raised 2 of the puppies from her final litter. One of those pups is now a Therapy Animal and the other is Bandit's little buddy.
Bandit and I worked together to teach both pups what being a dog is all about. Both pups are now over a year old and are as happy and well-adjusted as any other dog their age.
I believe that people who harm animals should face similar treatment after they are caught. It has been proven time and time again that people who abuse animals will eventually come to abuse humans.
This was certainly true in Bandit's case. Bandit was the first victim and soon the children became victims and probably the mother of the children also eventually became a victim. She adamantly denies that her husband abused her, but we're not sure how true that is because it's also well known that adult human abuse victims will deny they were being abused.
Animals have no voice of their own. They cannot speak out in terms most humans would understand about their abuse. It is the duty of humans to be good stewards of these innocent souls we take into our homes and give the title of "Pet."
If you see an animal being harmed or suspect an animal is being abused, it is your duty to give that soul a voice. Call Animal Control or your local animal cruelty prevention agency and report it. Keep reporting it until the situation is investigated. This is the only way to save more animals like Bandit from a life of fear and pain.
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| she-wolf |
Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 2:31 pm
Post subject: |
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you'd never know to look at Bandit now that he was mistreated at all. he is just a testament to the fact that all animals want from us is love, food and shelter. when they get that, it's amazing what they can do.
he even lets strangers come up behind him and scratch his back end. i never would have thought he'd allow that, he amazes me every day. even now, 10 years later, he's still surprising me with how much he's still learning about trusting people.
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