Riley
Thank you for giving us this experience. We’ll be back soon for another sweetie! Yesterday morning was such a sad time for us as we had to say goodbye to our sweet pup, Riley. There was no other choice as he was suffering so much, but we are still heartbroken. Here's his story: When we adopted Riley from Midwest Animal Rescue Services (MARS) in MN in 2014, the staff and his foster of 5 months told us: • He is very food-motivated. • He's a little shy, but very sweet. • He was picked up from the streets in Missouri. They did not tell us: • He was the best dog EVER: totally loving, laid back, • That he was food-OBSESSED (LOL). • That he would frequently remind us of the need for a belly rub by showing his WHOLE belly! • That he would run our house by his schedule, which was created by anything you did ONCE...it became part of the schedule. • That he would never bark at other animals, just always at people he didn't know. • That he would rarely bark at all. • That he would never bother anything that wasn't his or given to him...really! NEVER chewed on anything in our house or bothered a plate of food unless you gave it to him. • That his favorite place in the whole world would be on the boat with his people. Didn't care much for water or being in it, but was obsessed with going on the boat. We had to spell the word to avoid unneeded excitement and he could smell sunscreen from behind two doors. • That we would love him so hard and miss him so much. Run, play, and eat lots of cheese and peanut butter, sweet boy...you gave us more than we could ever give you.

Riley
While associated with MARS for two years, I fostered 1 cat and 22 dogs. Riley was the worst. He was called Tobey back then – a 2-year old Norwegian Elkhound. He was such a naughty boy, who bounced around between caretakers who quickly grew intolerant of his antics. He came to my house because I had a reputation of taking difficult dogs. I had no kids or other pets to distract from the rehabilitation process. Riley had been rejected by no less than 5 residences/facilities before he got to me. He chewed stuff, chased cats, barked, jumped up on people, ran away, got into dog fights, dug holes, pulled on the leash, etc. Add to that his brute strength and uncooperativeness and he was simply unbearable. Within a week, I looked into his eyes and he returned the favor with a gaze that seemed almost human, that I realized that he was going to stay with me forever. It took time, but he became a great dog. He was gentle with people, kids, dogs and cats…he didn’t chew, bark, chase, pull or fight. He did still run out of the yard whenever he had the chance, but would always come home 20 minutes later, huffing and puffing. Riley gave great hugs (by that I mean that he let me hug him) and would have made a terrific support animal if given the job. He would stand still and “brace” to help an older person get out of their chair. The kids in our family adored him and he would let them climb all over him. He was easy to take on a walk or a trip to the lake. He preferred to wade in the water, but didn’t swim. Riley made sure that the critters and the deer knew that he had the area covered. He was also (thankfully) a great mouser. He made a good snuggle buddy, although he was over 70 pounds. And he never failed to greet me at the door with a smile and a wag – hanging on my every word. During the 10 years I was lucky enough to share my life with him, he still made a habit of gazing into my eyes. He died of cancer at age 12 – I miss him every day. Katie T.

RosieMae
I wanted to let you know that my poor little Rosie Mae is in heaven now. She and I were only together a for a short time, but she gave me so much joy. At the time I needed some help, she came around. I helped her and she helped me. Unfortunately, she just wasn’t a healthy girl, and I had to make the hard decision yesterday to let her go and not endure pain anymore. She will always be in my heart. My first little girl dog and definitely my little sweetheart. Such love for her. She is going to be missed so much.