Paralyzed Dog Adopted and Returned to the Shelter 4 Times Before Paralyzed Man Keeps Him for Good

Paralyzed Dog Adopted and Returned to the Shelter 4 Times Before Paralyzed Man Keeps Him for Good
(Illustration - Shutterstock)
2/22/2020
Updated:
2/22/2020

When Bandit arrived at the jail, he seemed to fit in perfectly. The sweet, disabled dog had been adopted and then returned to the shelter by four different families four different times since 2014. And over five years after his journey began, Bandit found a niche; and it was during his stay at Gwinnett County Jail that he met his kindred spirit.

Bandit was initially rescued by the Society of Humane Friends of Georgia from the county’s animal shelter, as per Today. The poor senior dog tested positive for heartworm and had to endure three months of painful treatment.

Tragically, Bandit had an allergic reaction to his first dose of heartworm treatment and was left permanently paralyzed in his hind legs as a result. He required help relieving his bladder and bowels and will require this level of assistance for the rest of his life.

Then the good-natured dog, disabled but still with a lot of love to give, was enrolled in the Gwinnett “Operation Second Chance” Jail Dogs Program at Gwinnett County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia.
“[W]ell-intentioned adopters found his special needs exceeded their ability to care for him,” a Gwinnett County spokesperson told CBS 46.

Bandit quickly bonded to his new handler, made new friends, and created a “great vibe” in the jail dogs dorm at Gwinnett, the program’s website said.

Deputy Shannon Volkodav told Today that dogs enrolled in the Gwinnett Jail Dogs Program sleep in cells with their inmate trainers. She emphasized the benefit that the program adds to those who participate in it.

“These inmates,” Volkodav shared, “it’s an opportunity for them to experience success in their own right.”

After a fundraising drive, the program managed to fit Bandit with a specially designed doggy wheelchair, allowing him to run and play with the other dogs in the program. “As you can see,” Jail Dogs staff exclaimed, “there is hope for every dog!”

Hope for a permanent home dwindled, however, until a couple, Darrell and Sue Rider, read about Bandit on social media and were drawn to adopting the sweet, deserving dog for at least one major reason: Darrell is in a wheelchair, too.

“[H]e’s me,” Darrell explained, as per 11 Alive. “If you look at his paralysis, waist down; same thing I have.”

The couple reached out to the Gwinnett Jail Dogs Program and corresponded with them for a month about Bandit’s care needs before deciding that they could offer him the perfect permanent home.

“Going through what I went through in my life, life wasn’t easy,” Darrell continued. “You just gotta continue to move forward. And what I heard about Bandit, the videos we saw, he has the same mindset I have.”

“This is something that would motivate Darrell,” Sue added, as per WCJB, “and it would help Bandit to know he’s not alone out there.” Bandit’s fifth adoption, the one that would take, was finalized on Jan. 22, 2020.
Bandit would be “understood and well cared for” with the Riders, Jail Dogs volunteer Lori Cronin told The Dodo. “He meant so much to all of us at the detention center,” she said.
While Bandit’s most recent handler, Brandon Tredo, expressed great sadness at Bandit’s departure, per 11 Alive, all the friends at the jail knew that he was heading to the perfect home.
Darrell and Sue post regular updates of their new canine companion and his three furry brothers and sisters. “Want to share my day out in Helen, GA with my mom and dad,” reads a Facebook post from Jan. 25, written from Bandit’s perspective. “Had a great time, but now I am wiped out.”
The Riders told The Dodo that Bandit has settled in perfectly. “We as his family couldn’t be happier to have Bandit in our lives,” they said.

Bandit served his “time” and eventually earned the best “life sentence” of all—the perfect forever home with a family that loves him exactly the way he is.