“Life of Riley”

I woke up Tuesday morning, a little tired after my quick trip to Colorado & Wyoming, and eager to read something over breakfast.  I reached for the article my mom sent me last week (Yes, an actual clipping from my hometown newspaper in Southern Pines, NC, not just a link to a website!).  Jim Dodson, a local writer and coincidentally, a longtime Maine resident, shared a wonderful essay with the town’s readers about his sweet golden retriever, Riley.

As a devoted dog lover and dog photographer, I’ve read my fair share of dog memoirs.  Most of these stories have either left me in tears or have had me crying along the way.  I knew Jim’s essay would have a similar bittersweetness to it, but I dove right in anyway.  I quickly realized, however, that this story was different… Maybe it was the fact that I had actually seen Riley walking around my hometown with Jim, or perhaps it was the story of how Riley loved the Maine winters that my own dog cherishes so much, or even the fact that Riley followed Jim everywhere (like another black lab I know), but bits and pieces of Jim & Riley’s existence seemed so similar and so relevant to our own situation with Orvis.  Unlike with the other dog memoirs, I could visualize Riley’s story so clearly – they were set in my own past and present.

The last column of Jim’s essay left me teary-eyed and unable to finish my bagel from Scratch.  After a moment, I looked down at Orvis who was watching this bizarre, dramatic scene unfold before his eyes.  Not having the will to finish the article quite yet, I knelt down to hug his neck and scratch his ears.  I finally read the last paragraph and after doing so, I let out a big sigh, knowing that each of Jim’s lines rang true.

“A dog has no concerns about death, I realized at that very moment, and maybe that’s a useful lesson for all of us – to live as fully and joyously as we can every moment, to have as few regrets about anything as possible, to dive into frog ponds or steal the Christmas ham if that’s what makes you happy.”

When you have a moment, please read the story of Riley found HERE.

Here’s a shot of Orvis as happy as happy can be after a game of long game of fetch.