Today is a very good day for our injured friend Bandit. This morning she was reunited with her sisters to roam free after being indoors recovering from a dog attack.

 I saw the whole thing after checking my surveillance camera videos. Bandit was keeping watch while the other ducks foraged. Bandit is the one who takes care of the flock. She saw the neighbors dogs coming and quacked to alert the others to run. She let the other ducks go first and followed up at the back. She ended up being the one to get bit by the dogs as she tried to let the others get to safety. 

# I've been singing Jerry Reed's "The Bandit" To Her Everyday Because It Reminds Me Of Her
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqO4nuO4vl0
> It's my favorite song from the movie Smokey and the Bandit. It suits my duck who is the hero of the flock but a bit too reckless.

# The Luckiest Duck Ever
![IMG_8729.JPG](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmcb5fweNaeWdcBsgwRpjLcKd22ZH7NbbuaBHf5GwrHncF/IMG_8729.JPG)

My neighbor's dogs got into our yard on Saturday and almost killed three of my ducks. Two were injured: Smokey and Bandit my Black Swedish Ducks. Smokey recovered after a day of rest. She was limping so I think she hurt one of her legs running away. Bandit got bit on her back and underneath near her leg. She was bleeding and couldn't open her wings or walk when I found her. 

The vet gave me a grim sounding prognosis for Bandit and said the bites were pretty bad and ducks often don't make it through traumatic experiences because they can't handle the stress. Basically, being too stressed out is too much for a ducks heart to take. The vet told me to basically be prepared for it to go either way.

I dedicated myself to caring for Bandit and getting her through this. I put her in a nice comfy plastic container in the bedroom and monitored her. I gave her pain medication and antibiotics to prevent infection. She couldn't stand up so keeping her in the box kept her from trying.

She really wouldn't eat much the first few days. I sensed being isolated was stressing her out so I started giving her short visits in a box to see the other ducks. When she saw her sisters, Sammy, Smokey, and Reese there was lots of quacking and excitement. I could tell not being able to walk and be with the other ducks started to stress her out so I limited visits to 15 minutes. After the first visit I finally got her to eat some Cheerios which was her first good meal in days. I also set her up with a container  of water inside the box she could take a bath in which also helped perk her up. I think she just needed to feel like a duck again.

# Reunited and It Feels So Good
![IMG_8728.JPG](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmR1dqqoKVZkTgJaPn439Vkh2H2QUHZtxUzFdduKAq3Znx/IMG_8728.JPG)

Today I let her roam out in the yard for the first time freely. She and the other ducks were so happy. Bandit gets most of her diet from foraging so she finally got to eat bugs, plants, and food she enjoys. She's limping on one foot and having a hard time getting around. It rained and at one point I could tell she couldn't dry herself off and seemed really tired out. She's still not out of the woods and can't bend and preen herself. She's back in the house for the night and will come indoors at night until she's fully better and done with her antibiotics. I can't have her getting wet and freezing while she's still weak. 

But today was a good day and some good signs. I hope today's romp doesn't set her back. She's really mad at me for bringing her in the house and bit me a few times so at least I know she's got strength and energy back. The best medicine so far is being with her sisters because she eats better with them around. Tomorrow she'll get another visit with the other ducks and I'll keep watching her progress to see when she can go home to her duck house for good.

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