A Dog After My Own Heart

Here is an article in the Lewiston Tribune that made us at Northwest Public Radio happy.

Kathy Hedberg:

In the end, Bandit's final thoughts were of Northwest Public Radio.
My 13-year-old German shorthair dog, who made an indelible impression on the lives of everyone around him by sitting in our midst and passing gas, didn't survive the summer.

He had so many tumors over his body that he looked like a gourd. His legs were getting arthritic. He was tired and fussy, and it was just time to go.
Bandit was a public radio fan. He'd been one ever since he was a pup and I'd leave him alone with the radio on to soothe his anxiety.

Bandit, as you may recall if you've read this column in the past, had a lot of issues. If he had been human he could have made a mental health counselor rich.
I always attributed that to his early life when he belonged to a guy who held up a convenience store here in Grangeville with a shotgun.

The guy went to jail and Bandit came to live with me.

I figured the classic music on public radio would be a good influence on him. He grew to love classical music. He barked along with Mozart, wagged his stub of a tail at Vivaldi and ran around the house with glee every time he heard Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

He also came under the influence of the public radio announcers who plead incessantly a couple of times a year for listeners to pledge their financial support.

If a dog listens to that enough times he's going to want to do something about it.

Bandit had long claws, with which he could push the buttons on the telephone. Apparently when I was gone he'd call up during pledge week and make a pledge.

I didn't find out about it until the bill came in the mail. And then what could I do?

"Sorry, I can't pay. My dog made this pledge."

People would have thought I was just trying to weasel out of it.

On the final day of his life I loaded him into the car and we took a drive up to the ski hill south of town. Bandit liked to ride in the car. We listened to Northwest Public Radio on the way.

Suddenly the announcer came on the air and said that the station was ending the year with a financial deficit. She asked listeners to please call in with their support.

I looked in the rearview mirror and I could tell Bandit was listening and trying to figure out how he could get to a phone.

I turned the car around and headed straight to the vet.

The end came gently and peacefully.

And now Bandit is in heaven where, I assume, they pipe in music from public radio.

What's more, he'll be with all his friends, and even get to meet the great classical composers in person. I am sure Bandit is sitting at the feet of Mozart right now, listening while he's playing the piano and contentedly passing gas.


Thank you Kathy for this wonderful story of Bandit. I am sure there are many other public radio dogs and cats out there. Do you have one? Tell me in the comments! And remember to support your local humane society and adopt a homeless pet!