Riley & the Adirondack chair

March 10, 2015
2015-02-18 11.48.31

Not a cigar, it’s a dried salmon roll. It came in his monthly BarkBox.

I take a lot of crap about being overly-attached to this cutie pie. Some people think I’m pathological about it, but of course, I don’t buy it. I love my dog. Period.

The other day we were at “nose class” with Riley–he’s learning to find things by scent. I was talking with the trainers about some attachment issues I’d noticed, and one asked me, “are you the one he’s most closely bonded to?”  The other trainer –who has worked with us and Riley for a couple years–spoke without hesitation before I could get my response out: “oh yeah, and vice versa.”

Then, looking at M, she quickly added, “I didn’t mean you’re more closely bonded to him than you are to M.”

I laughed. And didn’t say a word. Maybe I am and maybe I’m not.

Later, I opened an email from an advertiser and saw this:

$_57Riley likes to sit on our patio chairs and even at almost eight years of age jumps up on them in one quick bound.  But this chair would be just his size. So I sent the link to M. and asked if he thought Riley would like one.

I was expecting him to say “Are you kidding me? He already HAS chairs, our patio chairs!”

But this was his response:

Yes–I think he would like it–it’s only 13 inches high so he could use the chair well into middle age–also  it’s  indoor/outdoor so he can use it without having to do the big leap into  the patio chairs.

Me?

Overly attached?

Uh-huh.  Looks like I’m not the only one.

Riley in Adirchair

(I ordered it.)  Happy eighth birthday, Riley. Yes, today. And as it turned out, he’s been diagnosed with a wonky knee cap and should not jump up any more. (My husband is brilliant. And prescient.)

32 comments on “Riley & the Adirondack chair
  1. ryder ziebarth says:

    Happy Birthday, Riley!
    We hope you are going for a nice long walk today-maybe two hours or something….then maybe your mom will buy you a wild salmon lunch like ours does and let you eat the entire $14.00 portion all by ourselves (Mom says she doesn’t really like it anyway.)
    Or maybe she’ll take you to Petsmart and let you run around without a leash in the toy aisle so you can pick out your own toy and carry it to the counter( we love to do that, even through we have about every toy there is.)
    Anyway, have a great day, and we love your new present!
    With love, ear scratches and belly tickles from,
    Georgie, Petal and Atti, all from the end of their king bed that they let Mommy and Daddy share. xxxooo

  2. Sheryl says:

    Go ahead and stay attached to that cutie. They don’t stay with us together, and deserve all our love!

  3. Glad to see that you are tightly bound to Riley! A happy b’day!

  4. K. Lee Banks says:

    Happy Birthday to your cutie Riley! I can fully understand attachment to our fur babies and pampering them! We have two pups (2 1/2- and 1-year-olds – but they’ll always be “pups”) and six cats!

  5. Riley is adorable and I think getting him his own chair is a great idea, especially with his wonky knee. It gives him his very own special spot. Our furry friends get us wrapped right around their little paw!

  6. T.O. Weller says:

    Happy birthday to Riley from George.

    My mommy is typing this for me. I have to say, I saw the picture … what an awesome chair!!! I’ve added it to my growing birthday wish list. I’m a little small and I have trouble jumping up high enough, so that would be perfect!

    Please reassure your mommy … we are with them to share love and affection. That’s what we’re all about. How sad would it be if we weren’t attached?!?

  7. Diane says:

    Okay, your husby’s a little scary with that presience thing. But what a perfect gift for your little guy! He’ll love it forever!

  8. Adorable chair (and doggy!). My dogs are too big for such a thing, but my husband has made them triple decker beds out of three dogs beds stacked. Yeah, he’s WAY too attached (to one of the dogs, especially). There’s nothing wrong with being too attached to pups. Or cats. Or pets of any sort (well, except snakes, I think).

  9. What a cute dog! And an even cuter chair. That is something that I would definitely buy for my dog if I had one 🙂

  10. Kungphoo says:

    I get made fun of all the time for being obsessed with my cat so I definitely understand completely!

  11. Lana says:

    Happy Birthday, Riley! He looks so proud and adorable sitting on his new chair. As far as I’m concerned, our pets deserve all the love we have!

  12. Oh yes. Everyone says I’M the one sooo attached to our cats, but, really, it’s their human Daddy, who actually makes them fresh cooked meats and calls the cat sitter every four hours when we’re out of town. Ya gotta love a man who loves cats!

  13. Ruth Curran says:

    Happy birthday Riley! I think you should get matching chairs — all three of you!

  14. Helene Cohen Bludman says:

    Buy one’s dog expensive accessories? But of course! I feel the same about my Duncan (the over-attachment) but hey, it is what it is. Happy birthday, Riley!

  15. Don’t feel bad on being attached to your pooch they are part of the family and give us so much joy buy him the chair =) I will buy one too for my Bella

  16. Awww! How could anyone resist buying him a chair? Look at that adorable face! Glad you got him one. He looks so cute in it! I treat my cats the same way. They are the princesses of our household! LOL 🙂

  17. Awesome looking patio chair! I wonder if they make it in a giant size to fit my Newfie 🙂

  18. Carolann says:

    That is the cutest chair ever! Happy Birthday to Riley! I was like that with my Neo. I’m currently searching for a pooch these days. It’s so hard though because I still adore my Neo. I know he is still with me in spirit!

  19. Amy B says:

    Loved this post, Carol!
    I would have gotten it too! Happy Birthday, dear Riley!
    I think that life is too short to hold back. Just enjoy having your dog around while you can. These are moments we look back on 🙂
    Amy

  20. paula schuck says:

    I love this cute furniture too! I think it’s completely adorable and he looks like a king sitting there. Happy Birthday Riley!!

  21. That is just the cutest little chair! Having paid nearly more for an orthopedic dog bed than we may have for our kid’s beds, I can totally see why you ordered it! What we won’t do for our pets!

  22. Andi says:

    As the owner of a cat with a wonky knee who also had Achilles tendon surgery on her good leg last year – I would totally buy something like this!

  23. Britney says:

    This is so cute! I love that style and this looks so fun!

  24. Happy birthday to your cute dog! He is really adorable!! We used to own a dashhound when I was young and I used to be very attached to this dog..

  25. What a well loved dog. We have a 15 yr old dog and thankfully she doesn’t try to jump any more.

  26. The things we do for our pets! Happy Birthday Riley!

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