Riley was so tiny when I got her that I didn't dare leave her in the yard. There was no way I could make sure that she wouldn't escape or get lost. So every day that I left for work she was caged in a part of the house. She would whine and cry and chew everything up and have so much crazy energy when I got home. When she finally reached 10 pounds I was relieved that I could leave her at home in the yard full time.
By the way, if you don't know, Riley was named after my all time favorite coach, Riley Wallace. She was fierce, loud, and sassy just like him too. The name was perfect for her, she was just like my beloved coach.
Riley ended up mating with her boyfriend Buddy and in an amazing twist of fate was due to give birth on October 26th and being a first time doggy grandma I of course elected to stay home. Staying home from work wasn't the problem, the problem was was that the University of Hawaii football team was going to be playing rival Fresno State and I needed to see the game. If you were at the game or watched it on tv, you know what happened. In case you didn't, read about it here:
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2001/Oct/27/sp/sp01a.html
Long story short, Riley gave birth to 4 puppies during the game. She chewed off too much of the placenta on the runt and we almost lost him but we did some resuscitation and he made it. I had never been so stressed in my entire life. If you have never seen a dog give birth, you are lucky. We only had one litter of pupies and that's because it was crazy stressful! Anyway, the runt dog that made it was named Rolo after star of the game Nick Rolovich. Riley had 4 puppies in the litter, 2 girls and 2 boys, and only the name Rolo stuck.
Shortly after Riley gave birth I moved out of my house and neither she nor Buddy came with me. It was a very sad time for me and eventually Riley and her puppies came with me and her boyfriend Buddy stayed at the old house. Those were dark times and there were many nights when Riley would sleep around my head as I cried. She went everywhere I went, slept with me, sat at my feet at all times. She was my best friend.
Later, when I recovered from crazy and was pregnant with Dannika, Riley would sleep next to my tummy where Dannika was, and when Dannika was born she was always so attached to her. When I became a human mom, I became a bad dog mom, it was just so hard to balance being a mom to kids and dogs. But that didn't stop Riley from loving me. I was still her favorite human, she still demanded my attention, she still loved me like no other. And I still spoiled her with treats any time she barked for them.
Yesterday, at the age of 17, we had to put Riley down. She was no longer eating and was struggling to walk. I just couldn't do it myself so my Dad took her for me. Its been hard not seeing her every morning, greeting me at the door with hungry eyes and barking for a treat. Its been weird to come home today and not see her to tell her hi. And as weird as it is that she's not there physically, I don't at all feel like she's gone. I still feel her with me, can still see her cute little face with eager eyes, her wagging tail, her high pitched bark. I am sure eventually it will hit me that she's gone, and the kids have already asked if we can get another dog. It may seem crazy to get one, but I honestly want my kids to experience the love that I had for Riley, and the love that she had for me. And so I don't know if there will be another dog in our family any time soon, but all I do know that my Riley girl will always be in my heart and I am thankful for her love that got me through so many tough times. I know she is running around in heaven looking down on me and still loving and protecting me like she always has.
I love you Riley, play with Goldie, Koa, and Buddy <3
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