Riley, my good boy
My dog Riley is a yellow lab and almost 13 years old. He has lung cancer and a tumor in his shoulder. Almost every night for the past couple years, Riley would follow me down to my room. I’d lay out a blanket or towel on my floor and he’d sleep on it right beside my bed. It always made him happy because it was like I was laying out his own special bed for him.
But because of Riley’s current condition, the past month he’s been very immobile and lifeless. Standing up and walking is a struggle for him now even on his antibiotics. I’d come home from work and my smiling, happy boy would just lay there. Unable to truly express how excited he was that I came home. Instead of following me down the stairs, he’d stand at the top of the steps whimpering and crying. He’d do it until he was too tired to stand anymore then collapse onto the floor and sleep in the same spot. Hearing him so upset he couldn’t be with me was heartbreaking. Not being able to do the one thing that was routine for him.
Tonight was no different. I sat in bed reading until I couldn’t take his crying anymore. I walked toward the bottom of the stairs and he got louder. When I got up there I held his head and told him it was ok and what a good boy he was and that I loved him. That always seemed to calm him down a little, or at least get him to start wagging his tail again. And it did. It made me feel a little better.
I used the bathroom and went back to my room to keep reading. Like clockwork, his crying started again as I opened the book. After a few pages in, his whimpering became sparse and then was reduced to silence. After a few more pages, I realized I didn’t hear the sound of him hitting the floor. Nor the sound of his paws walking to a different part of the house. Confused and concerned, I quickly shut my book and sat up to get out of bed. But there he was. Panting and walking towards my bed with the biggest smile on his face. Immediately passing out on the blanket on my floor that was left from the last night he was down here. Tears of pure happiness rolled down my cheeks as he continued to look up at me, smiling, like “I did it! I’m down here on my special bed and I made it!” All I could do was sit on the floor with him and keep telling him what a good boy he was and that I loved him over and over again until he fell asleep.
Riley is the first pet I’ve ever had. For over 10 years now, Riley has been there for me. Riley has always known when I wasn’t myself and could tell when I was sad. I remember the first night he started sleeping in my room. I was upset about a breakup and my Dad was away for a few days. My Mom offered to have me sleep over her house so I could talk to her and so I wouldn’t have to be alone. On the way to her house, she called me, drunk, saying I can’t come over anymore and that it wasn’t a good night. I lost it.
Crying and on the verge of a complete meltdown, I turned around and sped back to an empty home. A complete total mess. Walking in the door, I threw my overnight bag on the floor and headed downstairs to my room. Crying my eyes out on my bed, I started to hear my door creak open and then light footsteps down my stairs. Riley peeked his head into my room and looked at me right in the eyes. Without hesitation he walked over to me and laid his head on the side of my bed. He started to nudge my hand and then licked it, all the while still looking up at me. He stood there until I stopped crying to make sure I was alright. Ever since then he would follow me down to my room, and I think it’s because he remembers that one night.
I know Riley won’t be here much longer, but he will always hold a special place in my heart. He will always be one of the few who truly know how much I can suffer emotionally. He will always be there happy to greet me when I come home from work. He will always be there, even when he’s gone. He will always be my good boy.
