Ria
Release Dog

My Life

by Ria

Borrowing from the classics…To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) on September 29, 1999.  It was a very special day that I was born, along with my six brothers and sisters.  I was the second pup of this litter to enter the world.  My name is Ria (pronounced REE-a) and I am one of the “R” litter.  My mother is Lorraine and my father is Therrio. 

From the beginning I was a beautiful golden girl from California.  I don’t remember much of my first several weeks except that my fur mom and my breeder-caretaker Violet Dougherty took good care of me.  I enjoyed playing with my siblings and growing bigger and stronger.  Then suddenly there was a whirlwind of events and my one sister Rodie and I were jetted to the East Coast.  That happened around December 1, 1999.  Rodie went home with her puppy raiser on Long Island, and I was fostered by Susan Winters, who is on the CCI Northeast Board.  I really enjoyed my time with Ms. Winters.  She was very good to me and taught me stuff even at that tender young age of eight weeks.

Then, on December 18, 1999, my current puppy raisers (hereafter in this tome to be referred to as Mom and Dad) came to CCI Northeast to get me.  It was love at first sight all around!  I was an eighteen pound furball.  I looked like a little bear with a pudgy little face and legs.  Everyone thought I’d get really big because I had big feet then, and to this day I still have big feet although I’m not overly big.  We returned to my new home near Philadelphia, in Ambler, Pennsylvania.

I quickly became the focal point of household activities.  It broke Mom and Dad’s hearts to leave me alone the next day for two hours while they went to church.  I just slept while they were gone.  The following day was a Monday, and Mom and I went to work.  We brought in a nice crate for me and we shared a great office where I had lots of room to play, eat, sleep and receive visitors.  And they came in droves.  At times Mom had to send them away because I needed rest, and she also needed to get some work done.   Every day we’d drive into work (picture attached of going home after a hard day).  Many was the day that Mom would scoop me into her arms and pace frantically while we waited for the elevator to take us to the first floor where we’d go to the parking lot for a break.  We work in a 26-story building in downtown Philadelphia, so I’m very accustomed to city noises.  

When we’d get home, Dad and I would play outside.  We had a lot of snow my first winter.  Several times the snowfall would be deeper than my legs were high.  It is great fun to romp through the snow and bury one’s nose in the fluffy white stuff.  Winter is a great time of the year.  Enclosed in this website is a picture of me playing in the snow last winter.

Mom and Dad both make up songs about me.  Dad’s are thoroughly original, but Mom incorporates familiar tunes or words.  In the beginning she borrowed from The Sound of Music and would sing to me, “How do I solve a problem like MY RIA?”  Sometimes now she’ll sing it to me and we’ll get a good laugh out of it, because even though I wasn’t a problem then, I’m even less of a problem now. 

We started training classes with our friends the Levy family.  Kerinne was then raising her second pup Cagney, who is a handsome golden retriever.   Kerinne and her mom helped us all a great deal, as Mom and Dad didn’t know the ropes of puppy raising.  It was like having private tutoring, and we all enjoyed it a great deal. 

Each day has been so much fun.  I enjoy going to work.  People at work say that seeing me makes their day.  I do seem to bring a lot of smiles to everyone.  I am very calm and enjoy letting people pet me.  It is funny to hear people’s comments.  Everyone thinks I like them because I can smell their cat or dog scent on their clothes or shoes.  In fact, I just like people.  Enclosed in this website is a picture of me at work, waiting for Mom to call it a day. 

I stay in contact via email with my brother Russ.  He lives in Ohio, having just moved there from Indiana.  His “mom” is a college professor so I tell him he’s my BCOC (Big Canine on Campus).  I love to hear from Russ.  He’s one of my heroes. 

I go almost everywhere with Mom and Dad.  We go to church every week, and I have become everyone’s favorite.  Enclosed in this website is a photo of me in my Easter bonnet.  We all tell the story of our church pastor, who was visiting with Dad during the summer.  During the summer we are away a lot of weekends because we go up north to “the Lake”.  Our pastor asked Dad about my training progress, and then mused, “I really miss seeing Ria in church on Sundays.”  Then after a bit of a pause, he continued, “And you and Susan too.” 

This summer I attended a big event in Philadelphia.  That’s where the Republican National Convention was held, and I attended several parties and other happenings.  There is a separate interview of me that occurred after the Convention.  It is posted on this website.  Enclosed in this website is a picture of me at one of the events – it was my campaign poster picture.  I think that if I were on the ballot, the outcome of the election might have been different.  Wherever I went, I heard a lot of chanting “RIA for PRESIDENT”!!!!

We spent a lot of time at our lake this summer.  I swam at every opportunity, and Dad added a ramp to the swimming platform so that I could get on and off the ramp without any help.  I loved to dive off the end of the dock and swam and swam and swam until Mom or Dad would call me out of the water.  I also went canoeing.  One of my neighbor friends up there was another golden retriever named Roxie.  Roxie is one of my best friends.  Enclosed in this website are pictures of me swimming, on my raft, and in my canoe.

I also spent time with my step-sister Sally the cat.  She has grown accustomed to me being in the house but won’t really miss me when I go off to college.  I’ve also enclosed a picture in this website of Sally and me at the lake.  One thing we both agree on is that the lake is the bestest place in the world. 

Unfortunately we had to leave the lake at the end of the season.  Enclosed on this website is a picture of me at the end of the dock, just before we took it out of the water.  I will miss being at the lake next summer while I’m away in college. 

Dad and I go for short runs every day.  He sings out a cadence while we run.  It goes like this:   “Hey, Little Girl Ria.  Hey, Little Girl Ria.  Hey, Little Girl Ria.  We love you very much.”  It keeps us in step.  Dad learned cadences when he was in the Marines.  The words to the cadences they used in the Marines weren’t as pleasant as his composition. 

In addition to running with Dad, I go to the company fitness center every day with Mom.  In November I was named the Member of the Month.  That usually means that you get to answer a questionnaire and receive a certificate.  Not me!  They did a full bulletin-board spread on me, complete with pictures of me working out on the various pieces of equipment, getting refreshed at the water cooler, doing aerobics, and then stretching out after my workout.  I’ve also been in the company newspaper too many times to count.  

I have to add another story that is very funny.  Dad has a cargo van for work, with two seats in the front and storage/cargo space in the back.  So when we’re all traveling together, Mom always grabs the passenger seat so I have no choice but to sit on the floor.  But I watch carefully for a seat to open up and then I jump onto it.   One time we were traveling up this busy road and were the first ones to stop at a red light.  Dad jumped out of the driver’s seat to go to the cargo area door on the right side of the van to adjust something that was squeaking, so I jumped up into the driver’s seat.   While I was there and Dad was out of sight, a car came to a stop beside us in the left hand lane.  The people in that car looked up to see me in the driver’s seat.  They were pretty impressed by how talented I am.  Actually, they were probably looking around for the candid camera!  

I will add to this story of my life, particularly when it gets closer to my time to go to college on Long Island on February 24, 2001.  I look forward to joining the sorority Beta Sigma Delta (Beautiful Service Dogs).  My parents pray that I’ll do well there.  You pray with them. 

All for now!

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