With Love

Thank you all so much for your outpouring of love for our girl Riley! All the texts, emails, phone calls, flowers are so much appreciated. She was so special, never knew a stranger, and never forgot anyone she met.

There were so many idiosyncrasies that made her who she was. The last few days I've been thinking about them and she was quite the crazy girl. Here are some of my favorites

• She attacked anything with noise or that moved. The sweeper, mop, broom...we always had to put her outside or lock her up when vacuuming. 
• She barked at every person and dog walking by our house but welcomed strangers in.
• When she pooped in the house, she would give herself away by scratching her legs
• When she ran off the deck, she had to run the perimeter of the fence. There is now a permanent path in the yard
• If I gave her a liver treat (soft) she would eat it automatically, but if I gave her something crunchy or a "cookie" she would take it and enjoy it in her bed
• She attacked Simba every time he tried to go outside- he would only go if she wasn't around and lately, she would hide under the window and jump him as he was going to the yard
• She was my DQ and Tim Hortons partner- always looking for their treats
• Every time we got in the car to go someplace, she would put her front paws on the center consul and lick my nose-always
• Her toy of choice was a stick
• She would sit on the deck for hours and watch over her domain for any intruders in the yard
•  When Nick left for the gym in the morning and she would get in bed with me, he would have to leave the covers unfolded because that's what she liked to sleep on
• At one point, she would only eat a carrot if it had vegetable dip on it
• She was a professional mouse catcher
• Every night she would curl up next to me in the leather chair
• She had a bucket full of toys and always, always wanted the one on the bottom
• She snored
• Nick and I called her "the warden" 
• She absolutely hated her harness and would hide when we got ready to go on a walk
• She burped after every meal
• After getting a bath, she would run around the house at 100 mph and rub all over her bed
• Her beard would always end up smelling like garbage
• We would buy her a new toy, and it would be destroyed in 5 minutes

I could go on and on and on...there were a million little things that made her special and unforgettable. The house was quiet when she was visiting my parents, but now, its like there is a stillness. I know we will never know another dog like Rye- one who could play for hours on end, who loved being outside, who was back to doing the same pain in the ass thing you just corrected her for, and the one who love love loved everyone she ever met. 

Forgot to add this the other day...

we toasted to our Irish girl