Contributions to the tribute of Riley Malinoski

T

Thursday, December 15, 2022

So many Riley stories. The one I always come back to is known as “the bloody crime scene incident” . I was watching Riley while the Ciesla clan was on vacation. And to be fair- Riley was a super easy dog to watch. 3-4 visits a day no special needs other than making sure ALL food was locked away in John’s super secure Riley proof pantry. Squeeze in a walk to the park and Riley loved you forever. So on a normal visit I gave him his after dinner greenie, a pat on the head and said “I’ll see you in a few hours for bedtime”. When I returned there was an enormous - like the size of a large pizza- blood stain on the carpet. I went into panic mode. “What have I done?” “Cassie will never forgive me!” “Cassie will never marry Scott now!” LOL I tipped him over and began the most thorough inspection and rub down of every part of his body looking for an injury or blood. To be honest- I think he loved it. ❤️ I found nothing. No sign of injury. I went looking for more blood. In Cassie’s room it looked like a murder scene from CSI. Blood everywhere!!! All over the bed- sheets and comforter. On the floor. Terrified, I called to report the disaster. Oddly enough- the whole family really didn't seem fazed at all. Since there appeared to be no injury, they said it was probably just “Riley being Riley”! Phew!! I did wash the bedding, but it took Denise and her super powered carpet cleaner to remove the stains. Riley was perfectly content the rest of the week and Cassie did marry my Scottie. ❤️ For all his shenanigans- smelliest gas ever, stealth circling of the dinner table, loving a good poop snack, and always finding a way to open even the most secure trash can- he was really such a gentle giant. Not a mean bone in his large body! And so smart! He outsmarted Scott numerous times, drawing him away from the dinner table so he could circle back and steal his food. Hahaha. Love and miss you Riley. Say hello to my Thurman and Yogi. We will all meet again some day. MomMom Mal ❤️

T

Thom Mason lit a candle

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

I am a TOTAL Dog person. Riley and I had an interesting relationship. When I first arrived in HIS home, he seemed aloof to the fact of my presence. WHHHHAAT!? "THIS doesn't happen with me and dogs" I told myself. But... I wasn't his "person"...I wasn't Cassie, his BeLoved, his EVERYTHING. Cassie was a-mazing with Riley in showing him Love, affection, patience and care. "She babied him", I thought. And she truly did, but why not? The World was his, to explore, to romp in, to eat WHATEVER he wanted. AND HE DID! From succulent morsels, to treats, to sticks of butter, entire loaves of bread, garbage raids, to whatever was for dinner that he could scope and snatch from the kitchen island. He was the perfect height to lift his nose to the 36" counter height and decide if it was worth the leap for a tasty payoff. As he SO OFTEN DID! And the echo of "R-I-L-E-Y!!!!" still rings in my ears. (That was from multiple Family members, at different times, to a full on chorus of All chiming in. His big brown eyes would look up at you when he was scolded as he lay on the livingroom floor, trying to find a place to hide his almost 100lb self. Something he tried to do. He learned the talent of ringing the bell on the back door with his nose to alert us he needed to be let out to do his business. That was the reason, maybe 50% of the time once he got the hang of it, knowing he could control his humans and get what he wanted. The other 50% was to explore his domain, chase wild turkeys, or squirrels, and dine on deer poop, hence his moniker of "Poopie Bear". He tried my patience many, many times with the false ring of the bell. I will say this about Riley; he loved life, he grabbed every moment he could with puppy enthusiasm and unbounding energy. I was not at my best during the year and a half I lived with Riley, and he sensed it. We were housemates, I was isolating. Riley would lay outside my door, and then, often, lie in bed with me, when HE wanted to. Something I craved, but only got sparingly. He was jealous of Gumbo who, when he would visit Rileys claimed domain (the entire house), (once Gumbo's) Riley would be remanded to the floor and Gumbo would have his spot on the Murphy bed. That was until Riley quietly demanded equal rights and stepped all over me to sprawl across the bed, me and Gumbo. It was a snuggle party of Puppy Love. My Heaven. Ahhh, but the gift Riley taught me was patience, and determination. He would patiently(most times) wait for food to drop, to find his window of opportunity to snag what he wanted, or to be finally let outside after multiple nose nudges on the bells to alert me HE WANTED OUT! NOW! I will say - he Lived "The Life of Riley", and taught me how to do the same in His World. Ya left paw prints on my heart, Riley Bear! Till we play again... Uncle Thom

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