Bandit/Houdini: TOLT

~ Chocolaterunsjudy

I’m Thinking Out Loud about the shorter days, the benefits of someone cooking for me and the furkids — of course.

Did you catch what I did?
With my subject for the Weekly Wrap? There’s no place like home. It made sense — it was nice to finally get home and stay home after just about two weeks away.

I didn’t even think about it at the time, but it also made sense in the point of view of my parents. Their new home is not home. Not the dream home they lived in for 45 years and just left (even if they could no longer keep it up).

Maybe I need to live in a retirement place
My jeans felt a little tighter going down to my parents. Small wonder, what with running a half, refueling, and flying across the country.

By the time I left my parents, though, they were feeling really loose again. They don’t serve large portions there (and I did my standard bring food for breakfasts and lunches). Plus they tend to be lower in sodium and a sugar free dessert was always available (that sugar free chocolate mousse was good, y’all!).

So maybe maintaining my weight would be easier if I was being served at least one nutritious, portion controlled meal a day? Lately it seems that every time I visit my parents I lose weight. I used to have the opposite problem!

Being busy is the solution to SADD?
I swear I’ve been so busy the last couple of months that while I noticed how early it was getting dark, I didn’t have time to brood about it.

Life should get a little easier now that my parents are moved. There’s still a lot to do, though — we didn’t move everything; they were downsizing from a large house to a much smaller apartment. Maybe about the third the size of their house (not even counting the attic and basement).

And my father has become something of a hoarder/packrat. So there are just piles of paper that need to be gone through still. There’s a lot of work to do to get the house ready to sell/rent. There will be many more visits to my parents and much more work to do in their house.

I’m holding on to the hope that keeping busy and training for my March half *might* keep those winter pounds off. A girl can dream.

A funny Bandit story
Did you ever read Mr. Judy’s Stop, Chester, STOP post?

He re-enacted it last weekend with Bandit. So while I was down moving my parents, Mr. Judy was at home taking care of the furkids. And one day he was doing some yard work and managed to let Bandit escape.

The recall training? Nope, he was deaf and dumb. And he took off around our cul de sac (we live on a dead end), eventually escaping Mr. Judy altogether (and he’s not microchipped).

When Mr. Judy finally turned dejectedly back to the house, he found Bandit sitting by the gate to the backyard. He didn’t tell me any of this until I was home.

He’s staying (just not on the furniture)

Bandit update
I also told you in the weekly wrap that we had big news for Bandit. Wouldn’t you know that last weekend was the time the rescue Bandit is listed with contacted us to let us know they had someone interested in him? Finally? After 3 months?

We had just assumed by this point that we were stuck with him. And he really has come a long way. The frustrating part is getting him over the last little bit — letting him be free in the house more.

To let him on furniture or not? But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Mr. Judy’s immediate reaction was that we should at least meet with the woman. His exact words were: he makes you miserable. Which isn’t exactly true. He makes my life difficult. And he came into my life after a difficult time, not to mention not long after we got him my life got even more difficult with all the family drama.

But I could just tell Mr. Judy wanted to keep him. He wouldn’t admit it, but I could read between the lines. I didn’t really have much time to think about it while we were moving my parents.

When I came home on Sunday, and was sitting petting Bandit, Mr. Judy came in and said “so are we keeping him?”. There was a bit back and forth, but in the end, that was the decision we made.

I sure hope we don’t regret it. And I definitely hope that we are able to at least get to the point where he doesn’t have to be gated into rooms all the time. Some people live that way forever, but I’d really rather not. Part of my problem is that this is a problem I haven’t dealt with before: can we train him to stay off furniture even though Gizmo and Lola have full access? Will he be able to be on furniture and coexist peacefully with Gizmo and Lola?

We had actually trained Chester and Lola to stay off the recliner where I used to sit with the cats in the mornings (and still sit with Giz when we watch tv at night). It wasn’t until we moved here, in fact, that we started to allow them on the recliner. We also used to crate the dogs when we were feeding the cats, but eventually we trained them to stay out of the kitchen (most of the time) while we were feeding the cats.

Only time will tell.

Talk to me. Tell me in the comments:

Ever had to chase down a furkid?

Ever wish you had a chef preparing healthy meals for you?

How are you dealing with the shorter days?

I’m linking up with Amanda at Running with Spoons for her:

Thursdays are for thinking out loud

25 thoughts on “Bandit/Houdini: TOLT”

  1. Bandit is a lucky dog to have you guys. Malika has escaped a few times. Once she was out for 3 days. She stayed close but we think she was afraid of the feral cats that we feed so she wouldn’t come back to the house.

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    1. I have considered changing his name to Lucky. 🙂 Who knows, this other woman might have been even better for him — he wouldn’t have to have all the restrictions he has now?

      Simba escaped on more than one occasion; thankfully, never for very long. That had to have been so scary for you guys!

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  2. Not surprised. You guys seemed pretty attached to him despite your complaining. And he’s so cute.

    I would love to have someone prepare all my meals. That’s the best thing about NYC this week. 3 meals a day out.

    Yes. I hate the shorter days. You would too if you worked all day and could only run afterward. It gets dark earlier and earlier. 🙂

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      1. It’s tough having to always run in the dark. It limits where I can run. I need street lights.

        I better get used to it. I’ll be thus way until spring.

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      2. Plenty of street lights at UAlbany & they keep the sidewalks clear. Too bad I hate running there! Not to mention it’s a bit of a drive for me. But your work is almost right there.

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  4. I think this was meant to be…and can you imagine Bandit having to start over from scratch with a new family?
    I hate the shorter days, and winter in general. It’s dark when I go to work, and dark by the time I get home. It takes it’s toll on my mental health. I need to dust off my happy lamp, not that I think it actually works but hey-can’t hurt right?

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    1. That was actually part of my thought process — he’s already been through a lot. You can’t help but wonder if it might have been a better fit for him but I guess we’ll never know.

      I do have a little light box. I actually use it year round!

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  5. I am over here cracking up about Bandit and your hubby chasing him around. That is my moms new dog…he is cute as all get out but soooooo different than her other dog. I have had to chase him up and down the neighborhood…that little uscker is fast!!
    Her new dog is super hyper and way to much maintenance for my mom ;(. She keeps him caged too much (I think) and after a year and some change, he is still not trained in a way that makes him enjoyable.

    Yes, please to the chef…if only I could win the lottery!!

    My parents need to downside but they won’t agree on it and blame the other…lol! I actually want to buy them out so the kiddies, husband and I can move it 🙂

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    1. Could you ALL live there together?

      My parents would have never moved if we had not forced the issue, and one of the big problems with their house was that there is a flight of stairs to get in. No other way around it.

      Beyond that, though, it had really become too much for them to take care of (something they wouldn’t admit).

      I’m not sure Bandit would have run away from me for long, but so far I haven’t had to find out.

      He is definitely very different from Lola or Chester, through no fault of his own. He isn’t actually super hyper, but he does have a lot of energy. I just had to don my long down coat and go out into the sleety snow because it was fairly obvious he needed to go out but was balking about going out on his own.

      Maybe he could’ve held on a while, since I know he isn’t as bad about rain as Lola is. This is his first snow experience with us.

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      1. I don’t think my hubby would like to live with my parents.

        We have thought about renovating the house to maybe create an in law suite. The stairs are a big factor for my parents too but they wont admit that either…sigh.

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      2. Heck, *I* would go nuts living with my parents. No, my parents totally wouldn’t admit it was an issue and it totally was. They’re complaining about how much they have to walk now, hello!

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  6. I’ve been following your blog posts but with the anniversary/wedding/birthday/son’s visit I have not had time to respond. I had to on this one, if briefly. I know it is a huge decision but I cannot say I’m surprised. Despite all the difficulties, it’s obvious that this little guy has captured your and Mr. Judy’s hearts.
    I understand the frustration, if different from ours. Nelle is still sporadically urinating on the middle room bed (covered with a flannel-lined plastic table cloth) and bath mat (frequent laundry, Arm & Hammer must love it). Doors are closed, one of three litter boxes in the middle room. It’s a hassle but she’s ours and we’ve made a conscious decision to live with it. She’s a sweetheart. We cannot determine the trigger, so we take it as it plays.
    Good luck with Bandit. We can hope that in time the security of knowing he is home and loved with ease his issues.

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    1. Connie, no worries about not commenting. I soooooo understand.

      When Puss got elderly, she had a little mat in the bathroom she slept in at night. She’d use the litterbox in the day, but not at night. I had to wash stuff every.single.day.

      Thankfully that is not going on with Bandit. Only occasionally . . . I do hope that with time he will continue to blossom and become the dog he was meant to be.

      He’s actually a very sweet dog, and his issues were not really his fault — I think most stem from the change + lack of training.

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  7. One of our kitties is supposed to be indoors after being attacked twice within two weeks; apparently there is a predator cat that has singled out my little one and is preventing her from passing to safety when we call her. However, she sneaks out frequently and often 😞

    I’m glad you’re keeping your foster dog #teambandit

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  8. Lucky bandit! You have done so well with him, would a new owner be able to maintain that? Better for him to be with you though I appreciate that it might not be better for you. But it sounds like he’s really mrJudy’s dog….

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    1. Who knows, maybe a new owner would have been even better! We’ll never know now.

      Although I’d say he’s definitely more attached to me, but thankfully not with the laserlike focus that Chester had (basically no one existed for him if I were in the room).

      However, I’d say that Mr. Judy is probably more attached to him.

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  9. Wow, big news about Bandit ! Sorry, I am just catching up…. have been MIA for work and personal reasons !
    Sometimes difficult things make life interesting……

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