San Diego, CA - Usually our stories on this web site are about Bandit helping to raise money for a charity, or cheering the sick in hospitals and hospice centers. His tireless work has been featured on television, web sites and in magazines around the world.

Sadly, now it’s Bandit who needs the well-wishes of others.  On Thursday, May 22^nd, Bandit was rushed to a local animal hospital after seeing his vet. What started as a seemingly simple infection in his eye suddenly took a serious turn for the worse. The infection, thought to be under control, had become extremely aggressive. Doctors tried valiantly to treat the infection, but the damage was already too great and, despite their best efforts, they had to remove Bandit’s right eye.  

As you might expect, this devastated Mark Shaffer, Bandit’s owner. I asked for permission to write this article to inform Bandit’s fans of the tragedy. Mark agreed to let me do so; knowing Bandit’s many fans would want to know what has happened.

Bandit will recover, but he will have to adjust to living with just one eye. “He’s a tough little guy, though,” Shaffer told me by phone. “He’s gonna have an extended recovery from this. In addition to vision, Dogs also rely somewhat on their eyesight for balance as do humans. But both adjust to the loss of one eye.”

Shaffer added that he and Bandit expect to resume their work with the community, once Bandit has recovered. “We’ll put this tragedy behind us and maybe in the end, Bandit will be able to inspire even more people that we can all overcome these setbacks and move forward.”

Special note from the writer: Like most medical emergencies, this has been a costly. Until now, Mark has never spoken about this publicly, but I think the public should know that he and Bandit have never accepted a dime for all their work with the community. For some 5 years, Bandit’s (and Mark’s) work has been simply acts of kindness with nothing expected in return. It is my hope the community that Bandit has served with such dedication will rally ‘round him as he recovers from his illness. Cards and e-mails will go a long way towards boosting the spirits of both Bandit and Mark. If you would like to send a get-well message to Bandit, here’s the e-mail address: Bandit@banditthebikerdog.com.

If anyone would like to help defray the medical costs this has thrust on Mark and Bandit, I’m sure that would also be gratefully accepted and appreciated by Mark. He can be reached at the e-mail address Mark@banditthebikerdog.com.

Any donations, of any amount can be sent directly through paypal account  execfit@adnc.com

For all those who have been sending Bandit well-wishing e-mail and have contributed to help offset his medical costs, Mark & Bandit cannot thank you enough.