Thankful Thursday

I came here with the intention of writing a post about our dog Rio — he died Sunday night. Then I realized it was Thankful Thursday and that I haven’t participated in quite awhile. So I decided to be thankful for Rio.

• I’m thankful Rio was with my husband during some very troubling times before he and I met. He got Rio when Rio was 6 weeks old. When Duck and I started dating, Rio had just turned 1 year old.
• Rio taught me not to leave my dirty clothes laying around. He bought me several pairs of panties for many Christmases.
• Rio also taught me that Valentine’s Day really does suck. My first V-day with Duck: I thought I’d surprise Duck at work by bringing Rio to see him at his office. Only thing is, I got lost on the college campus. Rio and I walked around and around and all the buildings looked the same. I took Rio back to the house. He knew something wasn’t right. Here he’d gone for a ride and all I’d talked about was Duck. I opened my door as Rio came and stood on my lap. I foolishly thought he was going to jump down. Nope. He gave me a V-day kiss — well, a kiss with teeth. His head was in front of my face and yeah, he bit my lip. I couldn’t even get a kiss from Duck for a few days.
• I learned from Rio that dogs really can be as hard-headed as their owners. Rio never backed down from anything. He bit my hands several times when I wasn’t looking. I’d reach down to pick up a ball or toy he was playing with to throw for him, but he didn’t want me to have it. We developed an understanding after the fifth or sixth time. Yes, it took me that long to give up and let Rio have his way. I can be hard-headed too ya know.
• I’ve been at home for the last 7 years or so and we’d developed a system. Whenever he wanted to go outside to pee, he’d come into my office beside me and jump up on my leg. Not so much jumping the last year or so as he’d gotten older. Whenever he was ready to come back in, he’d come to the back door and paw it. I’d hear him scratching and let him in. So basically our understanding was that I was his slave
• One thing I need to learn from Rio is to meet Duck at the back door, excited, whenever he comes home.
• I’m most thankful that we were home when Rio passed, and that Duck was with him, petting him when it happened. Rio wasn’t in any pain and went quietly — all answered prayers.

While Rio was mostly Duck’s dog, he was a big part of my life too. The house seems empty without him, but I’m most thankful that he’s not hurting any more. Tomorrow is our 11th wedding anniversary. It’s weird not having Rio around — he, afterall, has been part of Duck’s life longer than I have so far. That’s a long time!

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