My name is Bandit!

Meet our latest heartbreaker, Bandit. This classic red and white rough coat with hazel eyes is just a total gem. If you love an all-round nice Border Collie, you are in for a TREAT! Bandit is a well-adjusted, friendly, and agreeable lad, with all the sensitivity, desire to engage, and liveliness of the breed. He is hopelessly willing and optimistic…yet fate has dealt Bandit an unfair hand. Originally owned by some folks who left him and his father outside and neglected, a kind soul stepped in to help, and took the two of them in. However, she soon after ran into some kind of trouble, and so boarded the two dogs at the local vets…but she could never come back to claim them. They then went to a local rescue where Bandit quickly found a home with a family who owned a local shop. He was the store ambassador for years…but the shop closed, the couple divorced, and Bandit struggled with the changes of a new life in a small house with children and other animals where he got less exercise and stimulation than he was used to. His only outlet became obsessing over the family cat, which developed to the point where the two could not safely cohabitate….and so Bandit found himself, once again, without a family to call his own. He was welcomed back into the original rescue, but was definitely beginning to fall apart without enough stability in his life. An old friend of Bandit’s caught wind of what was going on, and soon after, Bandit landed safely with WBCR. Despite his bad luck, this sweet hopeful boy hasn’t lost his faith in people - he greets everyone with a big wag and a big smile and is quick to make new friends. He’s great company and very easy to be with…affectionate and attentive without being overwhelming or needy, Bandit just likes to be near his people and a part of whatever is going on. Although he was definitely a bit lost and confused when he first arrived – and who could blame him! - he is no complainer. He did his best to roll with the punches and is now, after a few months in foster care, totally back on his feet - he has finally been spotted wriggling around happily in the grass for no apparent reason. This nice fellow enjoys hiking and bike rides, is curious about everything, and is proving to be perfect company on farm chores, too. He likes to splash around in water, and finally has learned to swim this summer! His all time favorite, however, might be playing fetch - if you like to throw things Bandit is happy to bring them back again and again. Although he is good with other dogs and lives peaceably with three others in his foster home - where he made quick work of fitting in - he is not proving to be very playful with his fellow canines, so we think he’d be fine as an only dog, too. Bandit can be quite a herdy boy when other dogs are fetching – he really gets focused on fetchers and relentlessly dogs them - and although he has now learned to play his OWN game of fetch simultaneously with his fetchaholic foster sister, he definitely still needs a toy in his mouth to be sure he will not nip at her in his excitement! Meanwhile, Bandit is doing just fine with the cat in his foster home when they are both outdoors – it is only when they are inside that he fixates a little too much – so we think he could live with a family who have outdoor only/barn cats for sure. When supervised he is just fine around horses (he will chase them when unsupervised), this typical BC boy is also showing interest in sheep, and much to our delight, proved to have both instinct and talent on his initial herding test. We have had him on livestock a few more times, and he is making progress. We think a hobby herder would get a kick out of Bandit! While this optimistic boy is definitely up for any adventure, and is still plenty excitable and enthusiastic, he also has a great off switch and enjoys chilling out, too. Although he will definitely require a good dose of action daily to be happiest, he won’t need hours and hours of exercise – but he’d be up for it if you were! Yep, he’s a cutie, too, and with his smattering of red freckles and one tips backward, one tips to the side ears, Bandit is hard to resist. He came into rescue packing a few extra pounds which he lost in no time in his foster home. He is a very trim 45 pound boy now! At 9 years old, Bandit has learned lots of things and has all the necessary skills already to be easy to live with. He’s housetrained, cratetrained, walks nicely on a leash, rides well in the car, and is familiar with the basics. Like many BCs, Bandit is noise-sensitive and is quite afraid of thunder, gunshots, fireworks and the like, although manageably so (not so panicked that he can’t respond to you) but definitely needs adopters who will be able to keep him safe during noisy times. If you are looking for a dog who will not need a whole lot more training, Bandit would be a good choice – although he’d be up for learning anything else you might want to teach him, too! All in all, Bandit is a loving and very willing boy who is looking for a family to give his whole heart to. Given his temperament, he is suitable to a lot of different kinds of situations – he’s at home both in the town and the country – and we can see him happy as long as he can be full member of the family and be included in everything they do. This wonderfully sweet red boy deserves nothing less than a family who will cherish him forever, and whoever has the good fortune to take him home will find they have themselves a fantastic canine companion. If you are looking for a well-mannered Border Collie who is just right, Bandit may be the one for you.