Banner was my first baby, my first love. When I was 15, we said goodbye to our sheltie, Duffy. The house was so empty without a furry friend, so against my father's will, I went to Samantha, Alabama and came home with Banner.
Banner was 4 months old, and it turned out he was Hagan's (my brother's cocker spaniel) half brother, born a day apart! We couldn't believe nobody had adopted him sooner, but I always said God was saving him for me.
Now, I think all dogs are precious. They all have cute personalities, and they all bring us so much love and so much joy. But I believe Banner was exceptionally cute! My mom remembers when I walked in the door with him, and he pranced in like he ran the roost, which he did from that moment on.
Banner used to take old soft drink boxes (the big rectangular ones) and would run around the house with them on his head. Those were some of his favorite toys. He'd run around shaking them and ripping them to shreds. Of course it was a pain to pick up, but they made him so happy that we let him do it. One of his many nicknames was Mr. Boxhead.
He acted so tough, but he was really a softie at heart. One day my dad came home with a couple of boxes of Omaha Steaks and put them in the kitchen. Banner stood at the end of the kitchen and growled and barked at those big, scary boxes. He'd also run to the top of the stairs every time the doorbell rang and cautiously barked at whomever may be at the door from there.
Sometimes Banner's lip would get tucked under making it look crooked, usually when he was particularly frisky (or had what we called "the devilman" in him), playing with his toys and his humans, or chasing bugs. The Crooked-Mouth Bug Chaser loved chasing bugs! He didn't even care if my (at the time) 90-something year old grandmother was sitting there. He jumped right on top of her to get a bug!
Banner loved sitting on the footrest of my dad's recliner and warm my dad's feet with his head. We no longer called it the footrest, but rather the dogrest. One day the recliner was being replaced with a new one. They brought the new one in and the old one out to the street, but had to take the new one back because of a malfunction, leaving no recliner at all in the house. We couldn't find Banner anywhere. We called for him and called for him, and finally found him in the old recliner on the curb!!! What a sight for any passerbyers!
However, Banner's biggest trademark was his singing. Banner sang one song and one song only. He sang it loud and proud. No matter where in the house he was, as soon as he heard the first second of Faith Hill's "This Kiss" he'd come flying to the radio and sing his little heart out. He especially loved the chorus when his floppy ears would fly back and his chin up and belted it out. Hagan also joined in the choir practice, but never really knew why they were singing. One time, Mom was in the Taco Casa drive thru with The Boys in the car and "This Kiss" came on the radio. Banner began singing his song, and Mom got several funny looks from people walking by, not quite sure what was going on.
Banner had terrible ears. About 4 years ago, they started getting badly infected which then spread to his mouth. Mom and our wonderful veterinarian, Dr. Shamblin, fought the infection hard. Banner eventually lost his hearing, thus never singing again, but he was a fighter. Unfortunately, it became a losing battle. The infection would start to come back before he even finished his antibiotics, and steroids weren't helping. It was time.
Mike and I drove into Tuscaloosa, and Banner, Mom, Daddy and I drove to the vet. It was the toughest thing I've had to do, but I'm very thankful I was able to be there and hold him and scratch his puppy butt as he went.
Our furry friends bring us so much joy and give us so much love, but they just don't live long enough. Banner gave his almost 14 years here a good run! Sometimes I forget that he's gone and think he's at my parent's house and then I remember. He especially loved Christmas time! His enthusiasm was that of a child's at Christmas. Every Christmas Santa would bring him and Hagan each new toy monkeys. Where Hagan would have his ripped apart in mere seconds to get to the squeaker, Banner's was fully in tact. They usually stayed that way until the next Christmas, unless Hagan got a hold of Banner's too. Banner did not rip his to shreds, just rocked them to sleep. He'd lay down with his monkey in between his two front paws, put his monkey in his mouth and rock back and forth until he finally fell asleep just like that. What a sweetie!
I miss him dearly and will love him always.
I found this while unpacking my Christmas decorations.
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