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Riley's Page

I’ve been amiss by not writing Riley’s page so it’s about time I did so, huh?  Sorry about that!

From six months, I looked for just the ‘right’ Chihuahua to adopt as a buddy for Peanut… It had to be a neutered male, small in size (6 pounds or less), a Chihuahua (of course!) and not a dominant male in nature… I really wanted a bandit-faced Chihuahua with long hair, but as small Chihuahuas are still the ‘flavor of the month’, you seldom find just the ‘perfect’ dog in rescue… The best you can hope for is one that comes close to what fits your lifestyle and wishes…

Size and nature were my top priorities because I’m a very big believer in the power of the pack and the pack mentality… Our “pack” or crew was so totally well balanced, there wasn’t anything I wanted to do that would upset the harmony we had all worked so hard to achieve…

Riley was the fifth Chihuahua I’d gone to look at… I don’t believe in buying or breeding a dog as there are so many dogs going without homes now… However, each time I went to look at one at our local rescues, they’d be a bit too big.......

I was pretty discouraged by the time March rolled around… Chihuahuas are known to be a bit ‘clannish’ by nature… Peanut would play with BooBooDog, but because she was half of BooBooDog’s size, it really was an uneven event each time… So when I did go to see Riley, I didn’t expect he’d work out… But just in case, I took Peanut with me anyway when I saw Riley posted on a local rescue's PetFinder list...

I knew from his description he was a fear biter, "man-hater" and not adoptable to anyone who had children (not an issue for us)… Being a fear biter really didn’t put me off either… Peanut was a MAJOR fear biter when I adopted her and it just took me longer to gain her confidence and trust than it does most dogs…

What I wasn’t prepared for, was Riley’s immediate attachment to my daughter, Desiree, who (until that time) felt she was a ‘cat person’ and not a ‘dog person’… This was a major surprise to me – and has become a major source of pleasure to me as well…

Although Riley is well aware I’m the ‘alpha’ around here, he has a very special and unique bond with Desiree… He’s taught her she has the same affinity towards dogs that I do… She’s learned how to discipline a dog and participates in training him as well…

And in other funny ways, he’s preparing her for all the things a parent encounters because most days, having Riley around is like having a toddler or small child… Any piece of paper is fair game to him… After chewing up Desiree’s Internet cable, she learned to start picking up behind herself… Shoes are favorite’s of Riley’s and it’s pretty common for me to be walking around my house looking for one of my flip flops (he seems to really enjoy MY shoes for some reason!)… Forget to close the closet door behind you and you’re just asking to be a one-shoed person for quite some time until you find the other one…

Riley’s our toy pupper… He has a whole toy box full now… Throughout the day I pick toys up around the house and he’ll follow behind me, picking out what I just put away…

Desiree calls Riley a ‘goober’… I’m not so sure she knows it actually means ‘peanut’ but it’s her shortened version of ‘goofy bugger’ because of the silly things he does all the time… He’ll cause you at least one laugh or giggle a day… Seriously!  His latest antic is to ‘stash’ his cookies someplace around the house… It could be hiding a cookie in the grass and pushing the blades over it (like that really hides it, right?) or one of his favorite places – in the crack of my recliner between the armrest and the seat, pushing a blankee over it with his nose… What a goober he is!

You’re liable to find him anywhere and everywhere!... There’s no telling what he can get into… He’s one of the most curious puppers I’ve ever known…

Throw a few blankees on the futon and he's there... Bring your laundry in from the garage in a laundry basket and he's got to investigate it - drop something by accident and he's off with it with you hurrying behind him to claim it before he stashes it somewhere! (smile)...

Yep, Riley's also one of those unique and one-of-a-kind special rescue puppers... And yet another rescue success story... Just goes to show you with patience, a little bit of love and the willingness to give a homeless dog a home, you can indeed create magic!

Typical "Riley" attitude:

!) Investigating the new 'Chihuahua penthouse' I created after observing how much both Riley and Peanut liked looking out the front window:

2) Peanut's in charge (of course, did we think anything differently???)

and

3) "Well, we'll just let her think she's in charge, ya know?  Works for me!"

Update:  Well, we know that Riley is a puppy mill puppy but I'm not sure any of us were really prepared for just how hard of case Riley would turn out to be!  After a year of hard work, he no longer twirls round and round and ROUND non-stop... On occasion, a stress trigger will cause a few twirls, but we know (now) what triggers them and do our utmost to remove them from his environment.

He's mastered the harness, lead and walks like a fine horse in traces... He no longer acts aggressively towards other dogs during a walk either!... Riley goes to the dog park and has finally learned humans (especially men) are not the enemy, nor are the dogs there either.  I give the bulk of the credit to Desiree, for without her love, dedication, hard work and commitment, we might not have been able to bring this little guy 'back' at all.

From 'charge-attack-bite-bark-retreat' as soon as Paul entered the room over a year ago, Riley now sits patiently on the footstool each night by Paul's recliner, waiting for a taste or tiny tidbit of whatever Paul is eating... Few men would have worked this hard at rehabilitating a dog that had bitten him numerous times, and usually breaking skin!  My hats off to Paul!  BRAVO!

Riley still has issues (at times) when strangers come into the house, and I still request a female vet tech... He can go to the groomers to have his nails trimmed and not every time will he urinate and/or release his anal glands... I consider all of these things great progress - while it might not sound like that to some...

He really enjoys going with Desiree in her car, and loves walking around on the college campus with her... He's even been known to go up to strangers on these journeys and for a little peanut butt that was destined for the cold, steel euthanasia table, that's unbelievable magic!

It's not that he's not smart... It's the effects of the puppy mill environment along with the six months he spent with his first owner, then the shelter time, that caused what we had to deal with... It's not Riley, but his fear of these various things that he must overcome for progress to be made... He readily learned various obedience commands and is more than willing to 'try'... Just takes a tremendous amount of courage for him to overcome all these fears...

Riley's learned what toys are for and is seldom found far from his yellow birdie toy... He empties out the toy box throughout the day, and is always in a 'tug-of-war' with one of them and Louie... He absolutely LOVES chasing balls and has even learned to bring them back to you!

I know when Desiree finally graduates from college as a teacher, Riley will move on with her into her new life, but in the meantime, Desiree has used MANY of the things she's learned in her child development classes with Riley... She says he's taught her patience, so I consider this a 'win-win' situation all the around!