Bandit Comes Home!

Yesterday, all four of us woke up bright and early at 7 a.m. and drove down to Vancouver, Washington to pick up Bandit. We had been in communication with his breeder, Jamie, for about a month. Last Thursday we got the phone call from Jamie telling us that we could pick a puppy. Bandit was originally named Tetley because Tetley tea is Jamie's husband's favorite tea. We had whittled down a lengthy name list on the way down to Vancouver and finalized six on the short list, including Tetley. After arriving at Jamie's house and going over many things with her, and receiving a wonderful notebook full of all kinds of puppy help and knowledge, plus many things to make our trip home easier, we were off for home with our new family member. After getting to know him a little bit, the list was pared down to just two names: Bandit and Wolfie (short for Wolfgang). As we got closer to home we made a quick exit off to Bellevue to show Bandit to Uncle D, who was at Aunt C's house for their annual Greek-themed "Lamb Party." At this time we were still calling Bandit "Puppy." When we got outside Aunt C's house, we called Uncle D to come out front. Following him were Aunt C and cousins M and N. They asked his name, and when we told them of our two top choices, everyone yelled out, "Bandit!" So, extended family essentially helped us with our difficult decision. Thanks guys!

Bandit is smart as a whip!! Or maybe Jamie did some serious potty training with him during his 8-1/2 weeks under her care. He has not had one accident in the house! He slept on K's and my bed last from 9:30 pm to 4:00 am! When I saw him standing up at 4 looking at us, I immediately whisked him downstairs and outside. He immediately did his thing, and then it was back to our bed since it was so darned early and that's not how we roll here. He slept for another solid hour, then he had a low-key morning playtime. Bandit is eating and drinking so there are no concerns whatsoever in that regard either. He loves to play!! He has many toys already, and he even does a bit of retrieval! He does love his naps! We keep a crate open at all times downstairs for him, and when he's tired he goes inside without any prompting and is soon fast asleep. Sometimes, he snoozes in a little puppy bed we got for him that he's almost too big for already.