Bye Bye Riley

Oct 7th was a very sad say for our family. We had to say goodbye to Riley today. Riley has been such an important part of our family, and we will all miss her very very much.


Riley had been coughing a lot since we came back from our trip to Seattle. Uncle Steve thought it was just kennel cough and we had been treating her with antibiotics. All of the sudden it started getting worse and Riley was having a really hard time breathing.

Emily came with me to take Riley to the vet where he gave us the bad news. Riley had cancer in her lungs and she wouldn't be able to get better. So DaShell and Daddy left work and came up to hang out with Riley for the afternoon. We played with her on the lawn, rubbed her and told her how much we loved her. We knew she was ready to go to heaven because there was a three-legged kitty who kept coming over and getting close the Riley and she didn't even try to chase her. Riley would normally have loved that :)

You always loved Riley very much. You loved to kiss her, sit on her back, and she let you do anything she wanted to her. Even when you were a tiney baby, she would let you pull and tug on her and she would never react. You said her name so cute "oh wiley". I hope I can hear that in my head forever.

Here is a special poem that your Aunt Emily gave us the night we lost Riley.

"They will not go quietly, the dogs who've shared our lives. ...In subtle ways they let us know
their spirit still survives. Old habits still make us think we hear a barking at the door. Or step back when we drop a tasty morsel on the floor. Our feet still go around the place the food dish used to be, And, sometimes, coming home at night, we miss them terribly. And although time may bring new friends and a new food dish to fill, That one place in our hearts belongs to them... and always will"

Jennifer brought you a special Baby Riley doggy to play with the night we said goodbye to Riley. When mommy first saw her she cried becuase it looked so much like Riley, but now I love to snuggle that puppy too. Coming home will never be the same becuase I always got you excited to leave wherever we were by saying "you wanna go home and see Riley"...

There have been lots of tears for Riley since she left, but we feel so lucky to have had her be a part of our family for opver 10 years. She is such a sweet doggy and we know she is having lots of fun in heaven.


Love you Riley!!