Riley Speaks

Last Sunday, after we got home from Gilda's house, my mom wanted to do some gardening. So, she tied me on the outside chain. Apparently she didn't want me to help. My mom went into the garage to get her stuff. She left me outside ALL ALONE for 15 seconds. Woof!

Then she didn't come back fast enough, so after about 15 more seconds...Woof!

That got her attention. Then she finally came back outside. She gardened for a while, and then her and I played with my new tennis ball sausage thing.

Special Days

The "S" days I've decided are very special dog days, just for me!

Although, I must admit they do start out strange. Mommy doesn't take me for my early morning walks. Sis doesn't eagerly greet me at 6:45 a.m. Well, at least I get fed at my normal time in the morning.

Then the days get really special :) For example:

Saturday Sept 9: My special family came to see me at the Waukesha Humane Society. Then they played with me for a long time.

Sunday Sept 10: My special family came to see me at the Humane Society, then they took me to my new home.

Saturday Sept 16: We went to the Elmbrook Wag Walk.

Sunday Sept 17: It was Dad's Birthday.

Saturday Sept 23: The was the Lab Rescue Laps for Labs. This was really fun. I went with Mom and Sis. There were lots of dogs that looked like me, and some that looked like me, but were brown or black. And, there were two little dogs that wanted to look like me, but never, never would. Someone mentioned they were "other breeds." Those 2 other dogs didn't know anything about labby kisses or labby leans. Who let those other dogs in anyway??? On the way home from the lab walk, we stopped by a place called Petlicious Bakery. I liked the bakerman, he gave me treats:)

Sunday Sept 24: I got to ride in Daddy's car for the first time. We went to Gilda's house. Gilda is a Golden Retriever Puppy. Something about she is my cousin. I understood it really well, because Gilda's family gave me a really fun toy. They gave me a Kong tennis ball thingy that is shaped like a sausage. Thanks Gilda, Cyndi, Mark and Wendy!!! Gilda was little, but someone said she might get bigger than me some day...

See what I mean about the "S" days? Some people call them Saturday and Sunday. I just call them special.

Papa Ron, Papa Ron...Guess What??? I am a VIP too! Except my VIP stands for Very Important Pet. That's what the bakerman at Petlicious said. I even have a card to prove I am a VIP. And, the bakerman gives really good treats.

I met a VIP this week. That stands for Very Important Papa. Papa Ron that is. Papa Ron is my grandpa. Or at least that's what was explained to me. I don't know, it probably would have made more sense to me if he would have brought treats.

Note to Papa Ron: The next time my mom says don't bother stopping for treats, SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT SHE IS TALKING ABOUT!!!! DON'T LISTEN TO HER!!! Apparently, my mom thought we had plenty.

Papa Ron came all the way from Door County, just to see me. And, he stayed overnight. And, he petted me lots. And he took me for a walk with mom. And, I gave him a "labby lean." And, I gave him lots of "labby kisses." And, I wagged my tail lots. And, I showed him my one trick of balancing food on my nose, and then catching it.

In case you aren't familiar with a labby lean, if I want you to pet me, I sort of just lean in to you, so you can pet me easier. Just so you know Papa Ron, I only give labby leans to people I like.

Now, about those labby kisses, I'm not so sure Papa Ron really liked ALL the labby kisses I was trying to give him. I was just trying to be friendly.

While we were walking, just Papa Ron, mom and me, Papa Ron mentioned something about Donna. I just don't understand exactly who she is. Papa Ron said she would have fun walking with me. I bet SHE would bring me treats!

And then, in the morning Papa Ron put me in my crate and left. What's up with that??? I've got my Kong tennis ball, I want to play with you. You're going to be bored at your meeting today. It would have been much more fun for you to stay at my house today.

Oh well. I can take a hint. But come again soon Papa Ron. Real soon, OK?

Well, today has been a long day. I went to the bathroom early today, which means I couldn't hold it as late. Big mistake... as you can guess that lead to an unpleasant mess in my crate. As they say.... You gotta do what what you gotta do. Anyways since I don't have to clean it up, who cares. Well... Unless you're including mommy. The good thing out of this is that I got a belly wash. It was similar to a belly rub, but with water. I know, I know you are all very jealous. Oh well, I will try not to do it again.

Well a few minutes after they took me out, they told me that I won a raffle at the walk thing on Saturday. Apparently I won a seat belt. Pet Lane is the place I won it from.

Gotto go; gotta go for a walk and well . . . maybe go too.

Hello Hello!!! Guess what today is... Daddy's Birthday!! Even though it is his birthday, I still woke him up earlier then he would have liked, but that is his problem. When I woke him up I wanted to give him lots and lots of labby kisses but he wouldn't let me. I don't know why though.

Anyway, once Stacy woke up, we decided to let daddy open his presents. He opened my card first. It said just wondering, your age is that in human years or dog years? I put a treat in with the card but he must be on a diet or something, cause he gave it back to me. If it were my b-day I would have loved to get a treat, but daddy didn't like that. So then he opened the woof popcorn, apparently he does not like chicken flavored popcorn (Maybe he likes beef better). Then he opened the picture frame I got him. It had a bone on it engraved with the word spoiled. OF cousre... there was a picture of me in the middle. The last thing he opened from me was the Chuck-It. I know I like to retrieve things from far away. Daddy just couldn't get that far his own, so I thought I would give him a little assistance.

After that he opened the other gifts from mommy and sis. Who would actually want a Best Buy gift card or some books about Wisconsin. Theres no food or tennis balls so whats the point. If it was as cute as me that would be different, but they weren't as cute as me so basicly they were dumb. No offense to mommy and sis' who picked out the presents!

It's My First Blog!


Hi my name is Riley. I joined this household last Sunday, September 10th. Because the members of this family are techno geeks; I am required to maintain a blog. I guess the whole blog thing started with Stacy’s cousin – Brittany. The worst part of it is that she never writes in hers and I’m sure I will be expected to keep up with mine. I get that idea after listening to my new parents keep riding Stacy to keep up with her homework. I don’t know how she handles it!

I am quite proud of myself. I conned these people so bad. Somehow they thought I was four years old. Ha – I am eight. Of course they found out once they fell in love with me. Oh well. The funny part is that my new dad had specifically wanted a female lab mix, under 50 pounds and one-to-three years old. At least he got the lab mix.

I should start to introduce all the characters. And I should say thank you to HAWS, I was there for a short period of time, and everyone there treated me very nicely. My new sister, mom and dad even had a dog trainer, Beth, come and look at me. I was on my very best behavior with Beth.

The first night in my new home was a little scary, too many new things to figure out.

My new dad was disappointed in me because I could not accurately predict that Flight for Life was coming overhead. OK, for the record, my name is Riley. Not Radar O’Reilly. I do not predict inbound choppers. It’s not in my contract.

And, what’s with the weather here. It rained from Sunday until Wednesday. It almost reminded me of being in one of the hurricanes last fall on the shores of Alabama. That is another story, but my former owner had to move back to Waukesha County after he lost his job from the hurricane devastating the area. Then he got a job up here, and he couldn’t spend too much time with me, because he was just gone. Unfortunately, his family wasn’t able to watch me, so I ran away. I ended up at HAWS, and then my former owner gave me up, so that I could have a family again. I know he really misses me. I heard them talking about it at HAWS.

I’m still conning people, by the way. They “think” I need obedience school, so we’re already starting that with Beth. Ha, Ha – I just go for the treats. I know everything about dog obedience.

And speaking of conning people. I’m sitting in doggie heaven right now. I was never supposed to be in the office at my new house, according to my new dad. Yep, you guessed it. That only lasted until 3:00 on Monday, my second day here. I can come and go as I feel necessary into the office. My new dad is a softy. By Monday night, I figured out the right amount of a sad-eye look to get my sleeping accommodations changed from my crate to bedside. The icing on the cake, I make my dad take me out about 5 a.m. (including weekends).

There are a few toys here. Not too many. I am quite fond of a large tennis ball. Its my favorite toy here. I love to play catch with it. OK, so I don’t exactly catch it, but I can chase it down pretty well, and I bring it back nice. What can I say, I am a retriever after all.

I went to my first public appearance today. It was the Wag Walk for the Elmbrook Humane Society. I got to see Miss Beth today, along with her dogs Ollie and Lavender. We had fun today. I met about 2 million dogs. I helped myself to many tennis balls. Oh, and I got lots and lots of treats. Did you know I really like treats? I also got petted by about everyone there. Most people seemed surprised when my new mom told them I had only been with my new family for 6 days. Maybe that’s because my new family and I just fit together nice!