Bandit

Bandit 

May 31, 2008 - August 8, 2021

We picked Bandit up to join our family on May 29, 2013.  His previous family described him as a gentle giant and he was the best four legged friend for both our 5 and 9 year old at that time.  He has become the youngest in our family and wrapped us all in his little giant paws.  Memories of the eight years with Bandit will always be cherished and treasured.

Bandit was a mixed Great Pyrenees and Australian Shepherd.  These two breeds according to Brain-Sharper are described as:

"The Very Devoted Great Pyrenees

As we said in the title, if you're looking for loyalty and devotion in a dog, then look no further than the Great Pyrenees. This dog is very friendly towards its family and very gentle with children, but will often be wary of other dogs and strangers who will likely want to pet this gentle giant. That being said, we've gotta warn you to watch out for that fur. They tend to shed, so a good brushing will often help keep it under control."

"The Originally American, Australian Shepherd

Despite their Aussie name, this breed developed mostly in the US. The Australian Shepherd is renowned for its good-natured, protective, and intelligent temperament, which makes them well-rounded to families with children or other dogs. Aussies are also one of the smartest dog breeds, with their climate flexibility and easy-to-train nature. However, they require physical maintenance due to their eye issues and shedding fur. In addition, they cannot be left alone for long due to their strong bond with their owners."

 We hang out on the porch or the garage the last few days since he can't get up the steps anymore.  As you can see in the pictures below, he still gave us his trademark smile up to the time he passed for that rainbow bridge.

Dr. Benson a vet at Countryside Animal Clinic diagnosed Bandit with Osteosarcoma on July 29, 2021.  We all spent the whole day of August 8, 2021 with him until Dr. Benson came at 4 pm.  The whole process was heart breaking for us but peaceful for Bandit.

    

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Dylan, R.D. (2020, June 23). 35+ Of The Most Peaceful Dog Breeds. Brain Shaper. Retrieved from https://brain-sharper.com/social/35-peaceful-dogs-tb/35/  

Covid-19 Vaccination

Update II:: Booster was/is recommended because of waning, so most of my coworkers and I got our booster shot.  I had mine on Friday, October 8, 2021 and I felt the same as my first and second shot.  Just tired and sore arm where the shot was given.

Update I:  I got my second dose on Monday, January 11, 2021 at 1400, went to work and started feeling soreness in my arm earlier at around 1700.  I basically had the same symptoms as I did the first dose, a little headache, more sore arms, some runny nose and more tired.  Having said that.   Everybody reacts differently after first and second dose. The number of symptoms and severity you feel might be different from mine as proven from talking with friends from work.  This is just how my body reacts.  

Here is a link to the CDC about the vaccine.  Here is a link to our local hospital about the importance of Covid vaccine.  Here is the link of the vacccine I got Pzifer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine.

The controversy for this vaccine is very high.  Predictably understandable though, since the virus itself is new and the vaccine has not been studied long enough for some people to feel comfortable with it.

As for me, my thoughts were, if I am to get a severe reaction to it, my body will react THE SAME way if I do it now or next year.  Our family has been vaccinated with all the vaccines approved and recommended so why shy away from it now.

So, when an email from our hospital mentioned about the availability and that we can sign up for it.  I took the first available one that is convenient for me.  See, I work right next door to the ER.  So if I end up reacting badly to the vaccine, my co-workers can easily just push by body to the ER.

I had my shot yesterday, Monday, December 21, 2020 at 1450.  They told us to stay at least 15 minutes after the shot to see how we feel.  The nurse who gave me my shot has a gentle hand and I did not feel a thing during the injection.  Then I went to work.  Did not feel any soreness until about 2200 when I started feeling something whenever I move my left arm or bump it.  I thought it was just because we were  not so busy by that time and my brain was concentrating on the shot. Got home about 2345 and felt the soreness more when I had to lift my arms to change.  I would feel the soreness every now and then during my sleep whenever I turned to my left and I would get woken up by it.

This morning, I woke up with my temperature a degree higher than when I got my shot.  My temperature was 96.2 during the shot and I woke up 97.5, with some throbbing headaches every so often.  The arm is still sore but very negligible, I already had my breakfast and walked our Bandit a few minutes too.  

I already had my second shot appointment booked for January.  The hubby said the second dose is going to be more sore according to Dr. Radio show which he is an avid listener to.

I will keep this updated of any changes.  Thank you for stopping by...

Solar Eclipse August 21, 2017

 Thank you to my hubby's aunt Sally for sending us these solar eclipse kit.  We were able to watch the  eclipse and observe the sun, the moon and the sounds around before, during and after the eclipse 2017

When the hubby was a child, they used a home made sun viewing device using the cereal box.  The right side is cut out and replaced with an aluminum foil with a pin whole.  The middle cut out is the viewing area.  Definitely a cool way to watch the phenomenon in different perspective.

Here's a link of the solar eclipse from NASA

 We did not get the complete totality.  I saw a complete total eclipse in the Philippines in March of 1988.  We watched the eclipse using negatives.  Being in the photography business, we had a lot of negatives to pass around those who happened to walk through our store that afternoon.

Mackinaw City/Cheboygan 2017

Cheboygan State Park -  We decided to camp here because this was the closest to Mackinaw City that still have opening when we were looking to a site.

We were here in Mackinaw City for the Rendevouz in Mackinaw City.

Vyn decided to join the Tittabawassee Fife and Drum Corp the school year 2016 to 2017.  He was in 7th grade then.  He was surprised to learn at the very first meeting that there were not very many kids who joined in the corp.  My thought is that kids these days have so many other commitments.

Aside from learning about the 18th century Marine Corp.  They also learned a lot about our different flags and its evolution to the current flag.

Draw bridge in Cheboygan.

We hiked along the beach.

The weekend was just gorgeous weather wise.

We visited Cheboygan Lighthouse.  We also visited the ruins of an old lighthouse.

Lake 4th of July 2017

The lake is a beautiful, peaceful place we go whenever we can.  On this 4th of July weekend.  It was serene.  Until the darkness comes and most of the neighbors started with their fireworks.  We love watching the show having fun watching it from around the lake and across the street.  The show started from Thursday until the Tuesday night which was the 4th.  It was spectacular , we enjoyed watching it.  Except for Bandit.  The poor dog don't like it at all.   He would pant and try to hide himself in any small room/area he could find.  

The OutLaw Music Festival 2017

The Joe Louis Arena is scheduled to be demolished, this would most likely be our last visit to the arena.

July 8 2017, The Outlaw Music Festival Tour 2017 in Michigan. We were early, were there at 0300 in the afternoon.

Micah Nelson

Lukas Nelson

Sheryl Crow

Bob Dylan

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.

Willie Nelson and the whole crew at the finale.

The concert finished at about 1030 and we left just a little after that.  With road constructions, we were home at about 1:00 that night.  Vyn said:  That concert lasted two days...

Glad that Bandit was able to control himself and not made a mess in the house.   It was the longest we left him alone in the house, missing his usual daily routine.


More pictures of Joe Louis Arena and the concert below: