Posts Tagged ‘Riggs’

 Written by a dear friend who wanted to post something to honor her family’s beloved friend.

RIGGS AND US:  THE LOCAL”MARLEY AND ME”

I’ll never forget the day we went to pick up our beautiful new puppy.  I never had a dog of my own before, and although Mike had, this was our gift to each other.  It was something we were doing together.  We weren’t even engaged yet, so the responsibility of having her was the beginning of us.  All the other little puppies were barely walking, hardscrabble little blond beings who were tripping over each other and making tiny fools of themselves.  And then there was Riggs, walking, marching, running ahead of the pack.  She was always the fastest dog around.

Riggs, although never an affectionate dog, had an uncanny ability to win people’s hearts.  She made you feel like you were the center of all her attention.  She would run, furiously wag her tail and jump up, slamming her sidebody into your leg or anything else she could make contact with.  She was all about the thrill of an adventure and our joy of watching her took us on countless excursions both near and far.  On hiking trails, her favorite activities were body slamming into strangers, swimming and peeing in bodies of water, searching for food and always finding her way away from us.  At the dog park, she would shimmy up to the other dogs, tease them with her cute blondness, then take off in a scorching run when she had acquired their attention.  And then there was her smile.  That dog had a smile.

During her 13 years, Riggs destroyed untold amounts of our possessions.  There was the time she sucked on our resin lawn furniture until it looked like someone had taken a blow torch to it.  Or when she pulled all the stuffing out of our cushions so it looked like it had snowed.  Or when she smelled something she had to have and dug a hole through the carpet and padding to the subfloor of our rented house.  Or the countless socks, shirts, plastic toys (ripped apart until the “squeakie” was obtained), stuffed animals who lost their battle with her teeth and acid saliva. 

When our kids were born, as often happens, Riggs took the back seat.  She did it in stride, never malicious to the kids but somehow hopeful that she would one day again have her throne.  She had a particular fondness for Barbie feet and Littlest Pet shop.  We continued hiking with her, bringing her on trips and throwing her her beloved frisbee.  But she never regained her position of prominence pre-children.  Mike and I feel guilty about that but know that it was inevitable.  She got some attention by constantly jumping over the fence and visiting all our neighbors, in search of new types of food, making new friends and making us crazy. By doing so, we met lots of new neighbors, had trips to the vet ER and lots of interesting new poo to clean up (the remains of snacks provided by her new pals). 

Over the last couple years, she began to move more slowly, bark less, jump less and get out of the yard less.  Her preferred place to be was in our front yard, watching passersby and feeling like she was part of the action.  She was always there, no matter what life brought us.  She was always home, even when she greeted us less and less.  When she began losing weight, we thought she was going through one of her spells again, where she ate slug bait or some plastic thing that stopped her from eating.  She withdrew from us physically and emotionally and looked sad.  It was hard to see her this way.  So, this past week, Mike and I said a tearful goodbye to our puppy.  It was the end of an era for us. Mike and I know Riggs has marked the first part of our lives together and that her life is a reflection of ours and that our memories are reflected in her.  Because she was always there.

Rest in peace, Riggs.  You were an unforgettable dog.  In heaven, you can run fast again.