Puppy Love

Tuesday was a pretty special day at the Walker house. There was singing, there were treats, there was a homemade "cake". Why all the festiveness? Well, because it was Riley's "adoption day" celebration!
It has been two years since Riley joined our family. What started out as "just a visit" to the pound ended with our bringing home the best dog you will ever find.
I have always had pets. As a kid, we were never without a dog, along with the usual "accessory" pets like hamsters, rabbits, birds, etc. We even had a few cats thrown in the mix at one time or another, but I always considered myself a dog person overall. When Mason was three and Camryn was one we decided to get a dog of our own. I had been looking online at a pet rescue's website and had taken a strong liking to a young hound mix named Cheyenne. She had rust colored fur with a big white splotch on her forehead and a friendly look about her. When I heard she would be available for adoption at an upcoming event, I told Brad I wanted to go "meet" her in person, which we did and ended up bringing her home with us. She was a sweet, sweet girl and a quick learner, but at not quite a year old she was still a baby and with a three year old and a one year old, who was really like a six month old, we needed another baby like we needed another baby. After four months of trying to ignore her digging up the yard and knocking Mason over when she got excited we made the painful decision to return her to the rescue we had adopted her from. It was sad, but definitely the right choice. I dropped her off vowing never to hold a leash in my hand again until we were certain it was the right time.
Fast forward four years, another baby and a new location. Mason was now seven, Cams five (but really more like two) and Nat three. Our family was complete as far as members with two legs, but something was definitely missing. Mason had been begging for another dog since we returned Cheyenne. We tried to pacify her with a cat, which ended with another unsuccessful pet experience, this time no fault of the cats, but rather our own lack of judgement in thinking it would be okay to bring an animal under ten pounds within reach of Camryn. Eight of Fruit Loop Candy Princess's lives were spent within a year at our home before we decided with only one life left, she would be much better off in the hands of someone else, literally. After that we invested in a small fish tank that saw it's fair share of casualties, from the first batch of fish that all croaked in forty-eight hours to the two snails we drove an hour and a half to get only to add them to the tank full of new fish and have them infect each and every one of them with some deadly bacteria before they kicked the bucket themselves. Then there was the mouse....yes I said mouse. What can I say, I felt guilty that my daughter couldn't have a "real" pet because her sister tried to "kill them with kindness". "Tiny" was black and white and, well, tiny. I didn't want anything to do with him and only touched him when I absolutely had to. I would have Mason sit  in the bathtub when she wanted to play with him to ensure he wouldn't escape. She loved him and let him run around all over her. Three weeks after the Easter Bunny left him in a basket on our doorstep, I was out shopping when I got a call from Mason sobbing into the phone saying "Tiny's dead!!!" I honest to God thought she was pulling a joke on me with her Dad and said "Ha ha". Brad got on the phone and said "What is wrong with you? Mason's pet is dead and you're laughing about it?" Woops. Turns out she went to get him out of his cage and he was belly up in his toilet paper roll. Ewwww, it gives me heeby-jeebies just thinking about it. So then came the hermit crabs. Harry, Tom and Johnny (I liked to call him Junny because he had the Mexican flag painted on his shell...don't ask me why, that's how we bought him). I didn't care for these pets either, I mean come on, they were crabs! And crabs pinch! But Mason loved them. She kept them in a container in her room and took them out to "play" with them all the time. We would hold hermit crab races on the lanai every weekend, crowning which ever one made it the length of the porch first the winner. It took about two hours for one to make it all the way around, but you know, slow and steady..... But then one day the pest control guy came for our quarterly treatment, which included a spraydown of the lanai. That Saturday we held our weekly race and after two hours had passed and nobody was even close to the finish line we checked to see what the problem was and well, pesticides and hermit crabs don't play well together. RIP Juhnny.
So came the day we decided to think about a dog again. The local shelter was overflowing with potential pups so we piled the kids in the car, repeating over and over we were "only looking!" As soon as we entered the holding area barks and howls echoed through the room. There was the Catahoula Hound with one blue eye and one brown eye who stood up on her back legs and barked and whined for us to pet her. There was the ten year old mini pinscher who jumped up and down on all fours like he was a bouncy ball. Mason and I about peed our pants watching him he was so funny, but wayyyyyy too energetic for our needs. And then there was Jobie, a huge black and white mutt who looked as if she had lab somewhere in her, quietly following our every move with her sad, dark eyes. She never barked or whined or begged, just sat there watching us through the links. I passed her over thinking she was way too big and not particularly crazy about her markings. The man who worked there came over and asked were there any dogs we'd like to take out back and play with. I immediately pointed out the Catahoula with the beautiful eyes and Brad pointed to Jobie. "I don't like that one" I said, but he had his mind made up that he wanted to see what she was about so the man opened her cage and leashed her up. We took her out to a large fenced in area and let her run around. I thought Camryn was going to go into convulsions right then and there, she was so excited to have a dog in her presence. Jobie ran the perimeter of the fence, happy to be out of her pen. All three girls ran towards her and cornered her, which made me very nervous as I knew nothing of the huge creature. She crouched down and hung her head as the girls rubbed her and patted her. Brad was right there with them, ready to take action if the dog got aggressive. But she didn't, at all. The caretaker said "That's a good dog right there. I almost took her home myself, but I already have a lab and my wife would kill me!" I explained to him about Camryn and that we needed a dog that was mild mannered, loving and most importantly durable! He assured us that Jobie was the dog for us and that if we didn't adopt her we would be missing out on the chance of a lifetime because dogs like this don't come around often. "She's the perfect dog for your situation. I don't make anything off you adopting a dog today, so I'm not telling you this for my benefit. But from what you've told me and knowing your special needs, I am positive this is your dog." He seemed very sure. We noticed a raised area of hair around her neck and he explained that more than likely that was a result of her being chained up. They had found her running loose, so she probably escaped. A couple of her bottom teeth were broken off, which was unusual for a dog her age and she was missing the tip of her ear, maybe it had been bitten off in a dogfight. She had already had a litter of pups, maybe two, but she was no more than three years old. She had definitely had a hard start in life and her eyes told that she needed love, and lots of it. The girls were smitten and truth be told, I had grown fond of her in the hour we spent playing fetch and running her around. I pulled the man aside and told him we would be back in an hour. Brad and I took the girls to his moms telling them we had to run errands. Mason and Nat begged us to go back to the Humane Society and get Jobie. I told them we were only looking and that we needed to be sure they were responsible enough for a dog, so once we saw them completing their chores everyday we would think about going back and getting her. I am so bad. "Be back in a couple hours!" we told them and pulled out of Nanny's driveway to go pick up our new baby. The man walked Jobie out into the lobby and as soon as she saw us she ran towards us, like she had been waiting for our return. We filled out the paperwork, paid our hundred dollars and drove her home. Brad went to get the kids and I put the dog in the bathroom. When the kids got home they were so bummed that they still didn't have a dog. They really liked Jobie and they had hoped we could have adopted her. I told Mason "I know you wanted Jobie, but you have to show us you can be responsible first. I want you to go clean your bathroom as a start." She hung her head and turned the knob on the bathroom door. She only got it halfway open before Jobie burst through and ran out. "She's here! You got her???? Oh Mommy, Daddy, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!" The girls were ecstatic and Brad and I were so happy to see them jumping around in pure joy.
It's been two years since we decided to make Jobie part of our family and I believe with all my heart this dog was meant to be with us. She needed love and we had plenty of love to give, by way of three little girls. She was perfect in every way, except that crazy name, which we promptly changed to Riley. She has captured all of our hearts and filled a void in Mason that was yearning for a pet she could love and cuddle and would survive the bug guy's visits. For Nat it was like getting a dog and pony all in one, given that the day we brought Riley home she weighed in at ninety-five pounds. Turns out she's part American Bulldog and part German Pointer, which explains her size ( and spots!)  And for Camryn, well, I honestly don't remember what she talked about before we got Riley. Every answer to every question you ask Camryn has something to do with "Ry-Ry". "Cam, what's your name?" Her answer, "Ry-Ry". "Cam, what did you do at school today?" Her answer "I wanna pet RyRy". "Cam, how old are you?" Her answer, "What color is Ry-Ry? She is black and white." When she gets off the bus in the afternoon, her first words are "I wanna see Ry-Ry." When she wakes up in the morning her first words are "I wanna see Ry-Ry." While the other girls are watching t.v. or playing, Cam is on the floor, up in the dogs face, saying "Awwwwww, I wanna give her cube-cubes. How many paws does she have? She has two paws." It's not all a love fest, don't get me wrong. Which is where Riley being the best dog in the world comes in. I cannot count how many times in a day Riley is assaulted by Camryn, either having her jowels pulled or her skin pinched. Camryn squeezes her ears, sticks things in her nostrils and eyes and sits on her. If Camryn is upset she will whack Riley as she passes by and has grabbed her face so tight the dog has "cried" out. I always punish Camryn when she hurts the dog and talk to her about nice touches, but it hasn't seemed to kick in yet. Riley continues to go where Camryn is and not once has she ever so much as growled at Camryn. She is so gentle with that child, so understanding it seems, just looking at us with her dark eyes as if to say " I know she's special, it's ok." Although I have always had dogs and felt an affection for them, I have never really "loved" a dog, until Riley.
So Happy Adoption Day Riley! We may have walked into the Humane Society with the idea of rescuing you, but you my friend have rescued us with your unconditional love and affection and we are so happy you chose us to be your family. We love you Ry-Ry. Good dog :)