a Bandit in our lives

it's been over a week now and Bandit Buttersworth Dalessandro is officially part of our family. Or should I say pack, since we are now an official pack since there is a dog involved :0)

Last Tuesday, it was my first day back to work after our trip to Michigan and I was having a little case of vacation longing. I wasn't to thrilled about getting back to the office, but I knew the day would go by fast since I would be playing 3 days of catch up.

So as I am working away, about to get up for lunch, I receive a call from Jim. He says, "So I was telling the kids how they will never be able to get a dog if they don't keep their toys put away and that the dog would eat them so they have to get better at cleaning up. So we cleaned up the house and were about to walk over to Jewel for a few things." (Remember, we were on vacation for 5 days) "So we walk outside and get about 3 houses down and there is this dog sniffing around Jim (Shiloh's dad's) house. He has no leash, no tags and there are no people around. We knocked on every door and no one knows who he is. But he is a good looking dog. Clean, puppy like. Very friendly. Jim gave us a leash, so I guess we are not going to Jewel right now."

I can tell you when I heard that from Jim, I was so excited. How wonderful that Jim is concerned about this dog and he wants to find his home! I would appreciate that so much if someone took my dog under it's wing and made sure he got home. At the time, I was in no way thinking that this dog was homeless and it could even be my dog. We were only "talking" about getting a dog... no decisions had been made. Only lofty discussions about what if and when and maybe we could...

As the day went on, it became more evident to me that is dog didn't have a home, but I knew once I got home we would bring him to the vet to see if he was chipped. Lo and behold he wasn't and the cute little guy just seemed to weave himselve into our lives. He was good inside the house, appeared to be house broken and had such a calm demeanor. He ended up spending the first night in the house. He slept in the front room the whole night and hasn't left since.

I tthink this was a little divine intervention and a pleasent gift from God. It shows me that He always knows what we need and will provide for us no matter what.

This dog found us and I am so pleased to be called his owner.

Bandit has proven that he needs training, but he is a calm presence that has brought more love, laughter and joy to our lives and is teaching our family to become a bit more laid back and have more fun with each other.

Thank you for this gift.