Good-Bye My Friend

January 11, 2013 • Leave a Comment

It is with a sad and heavy heart that I must announce the passing of our beloved and amazing pup, Riley. He left us at 5:30pm on December 28^th 2012 and headed to that magical kingdom in the sky with fluffy beds, endless treats, massive rawhide bones and acres of land to run free. Korena and I have been dealing with our loss in our own time and I have now felt compelled to let everyone know.

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For all of those that had the pleasure of meeting Riley, you will know that he was a gentle soul that enjoyed the remainder of his life under our guardianship. He was a king amongst dogs, his fur was amazingly soft, he never barked or shed fur, his mastery of the "sad dog stare" was legendary, and his loyalty and love of his masters was devout. He was often found at the foot of our bed or by our side when out on the town. We gave him nothing but the best for almost 2 years. He maintained a strong spirit and enjoyed the affection of others. He had a particular fascination with small dogs, enjoyed deli cut sandwich meat, window-shopping---especially if it was on the the Venice boardwalk --- and sleeping. He also did well to and take out his frustrations on rolls of toilet paper when left alone for too long and steal food from unsuspecting humans when the opportunity presented itself. My friend Jeremy knows of this too well, he had 2 corn dogs devoured right under his nose on two separate occasions when he wasn't paying attention, it was a riot. The joke between Korena and I was that if there were not a ton of people around then Riley was never really at ease. It explains why he felt so safe in our apartment and in his final moments.

Riley "best dog" pup pet awesome love animal dog Rileys last day 31

Riley came into our lives though a confluence of random events, which you can read about here, but inevitably he succumbed to a yearlong battle with intestinal lymphoma, a very rare type of cancer that kills very quickly. However Riley had other plans, he had two people that loved him and gave him the premiums in life. I think he was determined to stick around. He out lived all of his doctors expectations and was strong and proud up until the end, he bordered on stubborn, just like his guardians. Being with him at the end and making the decision to help him end his suffering was single handedly one of the more difficult decisions I have made in the last decade. He meant more to me than I thought. I figured he was just an old dog I was taking care of on behalf of Korena but he became so much more to me. Eventually he told me in his own way that it was his time. As with a decision like this, you think you are prepared to deal with it or are ready to take such a particular action but the level of emotional and physical confliction is indescribable. I've never had to make a decision like this as Riley was my first pet as an adult. I believe that only those that have lost a loved one or helped one move on can truly understand the feeling. I can say that I’ve never cried so deeply for the amount of time that I did. However, the act of bearing my soul was more therapeutic and cathartic than I can describe. No one can say crying is a sign of weakness. Through it all, what helped get through it was having caring people around to let me tell my stories of the old man which helped me move on. Many thanks go out to Jeremy , Hali, Triniko, Dan, Stevie, and Sara N.

While his time with us was brief, his impact and influence will be immeasurable. There will never quite be another dog like him, he was that awesome. He was my 2 year old medium sized puppy, even though he was around 13 years old. I will never forget him and I will always miss him. Long live the Riley.

Riley "best dog" pup pet awesome love animal dog Rileys last day 30

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Good ol' Riley chillin while we eat.

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