The Dog We Found and Named Riley
He will lie down just about anywhere
Six months ago, in the middle of the day, I received a call from my fiancée. There was a sense of urgency and stress in her tone. In the background I could hear the sound of traffic passing by. I figured she must have been in an accident but that was not the case. I proceeded to calm her down so i could get to the bottom of what was happening. She told me she was in the middle of Venice Blvd on the median holding onto a dog that had been running in traffic. She asked me, "What should I do?". I had no idea, all I could think of was to call animal control or a shelter. Luckily, a kind woman stopped and helped the two of them to the closest veterinarian center to see if they could locate the owner of the animal. They had no such luck. The woman who stopped to help said she would take the dog and hold onto him for a couple of days while we looked around for his owners.
We took it upon ourselves to put up signs, call and report a missing dog at all surrounding animal shelters but we had no success. During our efforts the dog escaped the woman’s custody and ended up in a pound down in Carson. Damn escape artist.
Up until this point, everything I knew about the dog came from anecdotes and a grainy photo taken with an iPhone. He was an old dog, probably 10 years of age, black with grey markings and had a head resembling a lab. I figured thats what he was, and for the most part, I was correct. I reluctantly agreed to go down to the pound, every conversation in the week had to do with this amazing rescue and escape story.
I’ll be the first to tell you that I do not like animal shelters. They are loud, they smell, and there are a bunch of poor animals that will be killed if they don’t find a home. It is very depressing. So if you want a dog go adopt one, don’t buy one.
The moment I saw the dog, I knew no one would adopt him. He was old, had arthritis in his back legs, was severely emaciated because he had been on the streets for who knows how long before Korena found him and his bark was pathetic. We later found out he sounded the way he did because those who owned him previously, removed his vocal cords. In any case, most people want a dog that can be active, chase a ball, run around a field, roughhouse with their owners, and have an animal that can be trained. This dog did not appear to have any of these qualities.
Something inside of me clicked, perhaps it was the bleeding heart of my significant other or my jewish guilt but we ended up adopting this poor old boy. We gave him a second chance, a new life and a new name, Harold C. Riley. It’s an old man’s name but I will never call him Harold. His name is Riley and that’s what he goes by. However, his name tag reads H.C. Riley.
The first couple of weeks were rough. He had a bad case of kennel cough and none of us thought he would make it but we had faith and a nurturing spirit. A local vet took mercy on us and looked at him for free and gave us antibiotics to treat his symptoms. He would still not eat for a couple of days and this made us all nervous.
The night we brought Riley home. Emaciated and hanging on, he survived and gave us love...in his own way.
Over time Riley regained his strength and zeal for life. Everyday we found out something new and amazing about his personality. Smart, loyal, obedient, comical, quiet and best of all…trainable. He loves small dogs, human food, and is the kindest most chill dog I have ever met. He really reminds me of my old cat Nermal. Perhaps this is one of the many reasons why I have come to love him so much. He spends his days sleeping but loves to go on long walks and run around the dog park and wait patiently for my food scraps. This old dog won’t learn any new tricks but he will obey commands and he respects his owners. He is also adorably handsome.
If you had asked me 8 months ago if I wanted a dog I would have said “no, not at all” but then again I never really sought out having a dog. This one just came into our lives and I have to say I couldn’t be happier. I truly love this old guy and hope that our good deed is seen by the powers that be and that they grant us at least a couple more years of happiness with him. Long live the Riley!
Hanging out in Santa Monica
Springing him from the "joint"
Vet Time. Not so happy.
Waiting for us while grabbing a bite to eat
Contemplating eating the cat but to afraid to.
