We said goodbye to our fur baby Riley on February 15th, 2022. She was a terrier mix, our pound puppy. She was only 11 years old (approximately 60 in human years); born circa January 1st, 2011. They think she was about 3 months old when we brought her home. We had finally decided to adopt a rescue dog. We visited the Pikes Peak Humane Society in Colorado Springs. I saw her and said, how about that little scruffy one? So, we arranged to meet her. She rubbed sideways on the ground (we were like, what is she doing…sideways rubbins we named it and were told it was most likely a submissive gesture due to abuse) and then immediately climbed onto my husband and gave her (future) trademark kisses, tail wagging frantically the whole time, bouncing around the room. When I picked her up after she was spayed, they told me she wagged her tail, even when the thermometer was in her butt. LOL. My husband said, SOLD!! She saved him. He was in a very dark place that I couldn’t help him out of. As a tiny puppy (barely 9 lbs.), she had so much energy! She was so cute, she had an adorable and expressive face. Our little bread loaf. She was sassy but never mean. She was so loving and friendly, goofy, trustworthy, faithful, loyal and a little jelly. She was our cuddle buddy. Her favorite spot was right in your lap, inconveniently in between your legs. She was great at jumping but terrible at digging and she’d bite too hard; she had long legs, a long-crooked tail and huge bat ears. At one point, one ear stood up and the other flopped over. She loved walks, wading in water but not swimming, playing with 2 toys at a time (one in her mouth and one at her feet), biting hands and limbs under the bedding, crazy runnin’ aka zoomies, playing with her gal pal Chaco (a mutt 3X her size), destuffing toys, waking my husband every morning (and occasionally night) with stinky kisses all over his head, easy hikes and camps, belly rubs turned hog tie game, strangers and their grocery bags, investigating, burying bones in the furniture and any and all FOOD (off limits or not). She burped like a frat boy after a keg stand. She once embarrassingly motor boated a waitress, we were mortified. LOL. She would grunt and growl, and we’d hear the occasional “BRF!” but she was never a huge barker unless she heard a doorbell or knocker, then it was on, and she sounded like Dino. She was smart! We trained her to ring bells on the door when she needed to go outside (we didn’t have a yard for her yet). Her tricks included: sit, shake, beg, dance, spin left, spin right, lay down, crawl and roll over. And we taught her to use a double doggie door at her 3rd home. She loved people and dogs until she got older, then she didn’t like other dogs as much, especially young ones that got up in her business, LOL. In her senior days she would point to her treats in the kitchen, she’d show us where they’re at…look at her treats, look at us, look at her treats, look at us, and on. She had been diagnosed with cancer on June 25th, 2020. With surgery to remove one tumor, a clean diet, exercise, and immunity supplements that helped slow the remaining growth, we were lucky to get another year and a half with her. We noticed trouble and took her in, the cancer had spread. They estimated she had weeks left. We knew she was struggling, hurting. We didn’t want her to suffer. We assumed it was coming eventually but that didn’t make it hurt less. We relieved her of her pain and took it onto ourselves. Our hearts are broken, we are devastated but we are so happy that she was ours. Words cannot express how much we will miss her and how much she was loved. Our child has paws. We wish that we had more time with her, she was here for us through thick and thin. Dr. Shelbie Snow was very kind, patient and compassionate. And we appreciate her support and gentleness during this incredibly difficult time. Thank you, Caring Pathways. You are all Saints.
