February 2016
I had forgotten this blog. Riley went to another home, with kids and other dogs. He ran away from there twice, the last time no one ever found him. I suspect he crossed that Rainbow Bridge and is chewing some one's shoe and smiling.
Thanks
Melissa
Friday, February 19, 2016
Friday, April 6, 2007
Foster Care
When Riley first came into our home he was to be here only a few days, until he was delivered as a Christmas gift that is. Well today is April 6th. He's still here. Whenever someone says "oh what a cute dog!" or " I wish we could have a dog like him" My response is "you can!!!" Well a couple of weeks ago someone told me to call her before I just dropped him off on some unsuspecting kind family.
We have been busy and now that he has acclimated himself to being our outdoor dog, we spend less and less time with him. He never comes inside anymore and my walks with him are few and far between. Good intentions have all flown out the window and I find myself back into old habits. So Riley suffers. I let my friend know that if she seriously wanted him, he was hers. She has 2 kids, other dogs and lives in the country. Her hubby said no to the offer at first, but when their son reminded his dad that "I never got a dog after my last one died" the deal was sealed.
Now next week when they are out of school for spring break Riley will hopefully find his "forever home". My daughter wonders how I can possibly give him away. It's not going to be easy. He has become are part of my life. I look forward to his laughing expressions and I have enjoyed seeing him play in the yard after so many weeks of being afraid. But this was never to be a permanent deal. I guess it's kinda like being a foster parent. You love the child, nurture the child, and see it's every need, but in the end you hope that God will send a couple who need that child as much as the child needs them. Foster care for a dog is ok, a child would be really hard!
So if this works out and next week Riley goes to live in a loving home where he can play with other dogs and little girls and growing boys and sniff the woods for rabbits all day long, then we done good. He did not live out his final days in a 6 by 6 concrete pen, but instead got a second chance! That's a good thing.
We have been busy and now that he has acclimated himself to being our outdoor dog, we spend less and less time with him. He never comes inside anymore and my walks with him are few and far between. Good intentions have all flown out the window and I find myself back into old habits. So Riley suffers. I let my friend know that if she seriously wanted him, he was hers. She has 2 kids, other dogs and lives in the country. Her hubby said no to the offer at first, but when their son reminded his dad that "I never got a dog after my last one died" the deal was sealed.
Now next week when they are out of school for spring break Riley will hopefully find his "forever home". My daughter wonders how I can possibly give him away. It's not going to be easy. He has become are part of my life. I look forward to his laughing expressions and I have enjoyed seeing him play in the yard after so many weeks of being afraid. But this was never to be a permanent deal. I guess it's kinda like being a foster parent. You love the child, nurture the child, and see it's every need, but in the end you hope that God will send a couple who need that child as much as the child needs them. Foster care for a dog is ok, a child would be really hard!
So if this works out and next week Riley goes to live in a loving home where he can play with other dogs and little girls and growing boys and sniff the woods for rabbits all day long, then we done good. He did not live out his final days in a 6 by 6 concrete pen, but instead got a second chance! That's a good thing.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
The World Is Three Dimensional
If you know me, you know I am a klutz! I have fallen on so many occasions and broken various bones in my ankles, feet, wrists and hands. Walking is scary, really scary for me to attempt. I live with person who is much taller and his stride is much longer. To walk with him at any pace is a workout. But then I fall. Usually I trip over the sidewalk cracks, or a buildup of asphalt. My inattentiveness has caused me to actually miss steps and walk right off into space. I have a bum knee to prove it. So I don't enjoy walking.
Now we have this dog. He needs to walk. I have been walking him. Yesterday I tripped over the dog! He had stopped right in front of me while I was trying to talk to a kid by the street. I didn't fall! But all this walking is waking up a few sore muscles and some arthritic joints that I have been babying for the past year. (my last fall and fracture was 4-08-06) But in order to be less "trifling" and more active, I am walking again. Slowly and on level terrain, but nevertheless moving. On those days the dog's new name is Treadmill!
Now we have this dog. He needs to walk. I have been walking him. Yesterday I tripped over the dog! He had stopped right in front of me while I was trying to talk to a kid by the street. I didn't fall! But all this walking is waking up a few sore muscles and some arthritic joints that I have been babying for the past year. (my last fall and fracture was 4-08-06) But in order to be less "trifling" and more active, I am walking again. Slowly and on level terrain, but nevertheless moving. On those days the dog's new name is Treadmill!
Monday, March 26, 2007
Spring Puppy
Spring Time!!! Our weather has been consistently inconsistent and we are intermittently busy at work. One slight difference is that Riley has been reassigned as an at home worker. His presence here was an issue with a customer who was terrified of dogs in general. NOT GOOD! Plus his personal hygiene has been questionable. NOT GOOD!
At home my rope became much shorter as he continued to forget the porch was not his potty. So we removed him to the back yard. Yes, the yard he is petrified of...that yard. (see earlier blogs, too much to explain) I have moved his food dishes to various places within the "safe zone" and he has been coaxed to venture out far enough to grab a bite and run back to the comfort of a doorway. Now after a week of this maneuver he is actually playing in the backyard!!! yippee!!!
My doorstep is clean and the yard is a happy place for Riley. But as one bad habit disappears another comes to visit. He barks as every leaf, person and dog within his visual and auditory range. Day and night! So now he goes into lock down in the garage at night so we can't hear him. We can only hope the neighbors can't hear him either.
Dilemma though...I actually have someone willing to take him if we REALLY do not want him. After all this effort and heartache can I really give him up? Some people who live with me cannot see where there is any room for doubt. I'm thinking on it.
Happy Monday!
At home my rope became much shorter as he continued to forget the porch was not his potty. So we removed him to the back yard. Yes, the yard he is petrified of...that yard. (see earlier blogs, too much to explain) I have moved his food dishes to various places within the "safe zone" and he has been coaxed to venture out far enough to grab a bite and run back to the comfort of a doorway. Now after a week of this maneuver he is actually playing in the backyard!!! yippee!!!
My doorstep is clean and the yard is a happy place for Riley. But as one bad habit disappears another comes to visit. He barks as every leaf, person and dog within his visual and auditory range. Day and night! So now he goes into lock down in the garage at night so we can't hear him. We can only hope the neighbors can't hear him either.
Dilemma though...I actually have someone willing to take him if we REALLY do not want him. After all this effort and heartache can I really give him up? Some people who live with me cannot see where there is any room for doubt. I'm thinking on it.
Happy Monday!
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Doggy Day (and night) Care
As the 49th anniversary of my birth draws nearer I find myself more and more forgetful. It has taken me quite a bit of my morning just to remember how to log on to this site! I feel so dumb! Am I as smart as a 5th grader? nope!
Is there anyone out there who cares whether or not I keep this blog going?
The dog is really getting on my nerves. Guilt is all that is keeping me from dumping him at some unsuspecting home with other animals in the yard. Cruel isn't it? Well he has peed on my kitchen floor, pooped on my sidewalk, refuses to go out into our rather spacious yard and uses my flower beds and ivy boxes as restrooms. He won't eat food/treats from your hand, he will only accept if they are on the floor/ground. NOT in his dish either! He will not eat dog food from a round bowl. it must be in a large open container and once the bottom has been uncovered he will not longer eat, but bark rabidly at the now exposed area. This mean having to load large amounts of dog food into a 9*13 glad ware plastic dish and he only eats about 1/2 or you can feed him on a paper plate which will blow across the yard when he is outside. Thus the dish. If there is an ant in his field of vision he goes berserk. He has a constant odor that is not BAD, but is more doggy that I like and I feel like a creep to be so picky. If you scold him he hides in the large boxwoods by the house. You can find him by locating the trembling shrub! But the most worrisome is that he leaks. Just a drop of urine when he is up and about, but his bed is almost always wet in the AM!!! HELP! Depends for dogs anyone?
But he's ours and we have to keep him because he loves us and we kinda have some affection torward him. His new name is Mr. Manners!
So if this blog disappears, it doesn't necessarily mean Riley is also gone, but that I am too busy nursing his neurosis and physical ailments to blog!
Is there anyone out there who cares whether or not I keep this blog going?
The dog is really getting on my nerves. Guilt is all that is keeping me from dumping him at some unsuspecting home with other animals in the yard. Cruel isn't it? Well he has peed on my kitchen floor, pooped on my sidewalk, refuses to go out into our rather spacious yard and uses my flower beds and ivy boxes as restrooms. He won't eat food/treats from your hand, he will only accept if they are on the floor/ground. NOT in his dish either! He will not eat dog food from a round bowl. it must be in a large open container and once the bottom has been uncovered he will not longer eat, but bark rabidly at the now exposed area. This mean having to load large amounts of dog food into a 9*13 glad ware plastic dish and he only eats about 1/2 or you can feed him on a paper plate which will blow across the yard when he is outside. Thus the dish. If there is an ant in his field of vision he goes berserk. He has a constant odor that is not BAD, but is more doggy that I like and I feel like a creep to be so picky. If you scold him he hides in the large boxwoods by the house. You can find him by locating the trembling shrub! But the most worrisome is that he leaks. Just a drop of urine when he is up and about, but his bed is almost always wet in the AM!!! HELP! Depends for dogs anyone?
But he's ours and we have to keep him because he loves us and we kinda have some affection torward him. His new name is Mr. Manners!
So if this blog disappears, it doesn't necessarily mean Riley is also gone, but that I am too busy nursing his neurosis and physical ailments to blog!
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Still Here!
(originally blogged 1-24-07,m but never finished!) I can't believe it's been so long since I updated this thing. Like daughter, like mother! Riley's still handing in there! We have survived ear treatment and he is back at his job as greeter. He is also chief of security here, as well as floor warmer. Today we woke to a temperature of 10 degrees! COLD!!! He has learned to eliminate quickly and get back in the house. As we approach our 7 week anniversary as a family I wanted to look back at how he has changed.
He is definitely ours. The few times he has left the yard, he has returned on his own. Dunno where he went or what he did, but he comes home.
He is acclimating to indoor life. While it may seem silly to others, it bothered me that Riley was NOT under my feet in the kitchen. With Pete I knew that if i dropped something it was immediately licked up. Nothing was safe at his level which can be a good thing since his level was kinda low. Now Riley has discovered the world of kitchen accidents. When a morsel hits the floor he jumps, startled, then slowly investigates the strange item. A tentative sniff, a lick and usually the item is history. Some foods take a second or third evaluation, but eventually if it's on the floor, its eaten!
He thinks he's a lap dog! BUT he's not! 37 pounds of fur is not pleasant in my lap!
Now newer news as of 2-14-07
Happy Valentines Day!
We are still a happy family of three! Last night DH gave me my Valentine. He bathed the dog! Yippee he really needed it and since I haven't felt to spiffy lately it was nice not to have to deal with him.
Every day he amuses us in one way or another. The latest is his need to bark. He barks at ants, food, empty food plates, food bowls, people eating and heaven forbid he sees another dog! He is a happy fella and is easy to please. We will be away this weekend for the first time since he came to live with us. Already I am having seperation anxiety. But he will be dog sat at home by my DN and should be well tended. Now we're off to have dinner then snooze in our chairs while Riley snores along in perfect harmony!
He is definitely ours. The few times he has left the yard, he has returned on his own. Dunno where he went or what he did, but he comes home.
He is acclimating to indoor life. While it may seem silly to others, it bothered me that Riley was NOT under my feet in the kitchen. With Pete I knew that if i dropped something it was immediately licked up. Nothing was safe at his level which can be a good thing since his level was kinda low. Now Riley has discovered the world of kitchen accidents. When a morsel hits the floor he jumps, startled, then slowly investigates the strange item. A tentative sniff, a lick and usually the item is history. Some foods take a second or third evaluation, but eventually if it's on the floor, its eaten!
He thinks he's a lap dog! BUT he's not! 37 pounds of fur is not pleasant in my lap!
Now newer news as of 2-14-07
Happy Valentines Day!
We are still a happy family of three! Last night DH gave me my Valentine. He bathed the dog! Yippee he really needed it and since I haven't felt to spiffy lately it was nice not to have to deal with him.
Every day he amuses us in one way or another. The latest is his need to bark. He barks at ants, food, empty food plates, food bowls, people eating and heaven forbid he sees another dog! He is a happy fella and is easy to please. We will be away this weekend for the first time since he came to live with us. Already I am having seperation anxiety. But he will be dog sat at home by my DN and should be well tended. Now we're off to have dinner then snooze in our chairs while Riley snores along in perfect harmony!
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
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