I apologize for not updating this a little sooner but it's been a busy week. Yes, Ryan and his fellow Bonners got back safely to school last Sunday. They drove straight through and drove the whole way in a storm so it was really good to hear that they were back. They had a very good week and got a lot of work done on each of their work sites. Ryan moved back into his "broom closet" ( dorm room) on Monday and started classes on Tuesday. He is coming home tomorrow to get the rest of his stuff for school. It will be nice to see him again.

This is a picture of Riley and his friend Kobe. Kobe is one of Robin's 3 dogs. Kobe spent the day with us on Monday. He is such a great puppy. He is only about 8 months old but he is very well behaved and oh so sweet. Riley immediately told him whose house it was as soon as Kobe came in but from then on the two of them pretty much ignored each other. Both of them were happy as long as they were somewhere near, touching, or on me. I really loved having Kobe here. I think Riley was ok with it as long as he could still have his Mom.

Riley has had a pretty good week. We have been able to walk a few days and that is always a wonderful thing. Today it seemed that Riley had a little "pep in his step". He really is so much happier when he is able to go outside and go for a walk.

We went on a new Pet Therapy visit this week. We went to St. Anne's Villa in Florham Park. It is a home for older nuns all of whom are Sisters of Charity. It was a very rewarding visit for me but it was also a bit difficult. Most of the sisters are in wheelchairs or bedridden. Since they can't reach Riley and Riley can't reach them I had to pick him up and hold him as we visited each room. But I'm not complaining because the Sisters were all so nice and very appreciative.

I can't believe how fast the month of January is going. That's fine with me because we are getting closer to Spring. I hope the weather doesn't get any colder. I hope everyone is well.

Back to Work

Riley was well enough this week to go "back to work" and resume doing some Pet Therapy visits. We went to Greystone on Thursday and yesterday morning we went to the Crossroads school in Westfield which is a school for autistic kids. Riley did very well with both visits and seemed to really enjoy the petting, hugs, kisses and lots of attention that he received. Riley returned all the love to the patients and the kids. It was so good to see Riley being able to do this again. I don't know for how long we will be able to go in visits so we will go as long as Riley feels well enough .
Ryan and the other 30+ kids will be starting their trip back to New Jersey sometime today. They have not left yet (it's noon time now) and hope they get on the road soon. The weather does not look good for their trip. It looks like they will hit alot of rain all the way home. Hopefully it will be just rain and no no snow or ice. I will feel so much better when they are back at school sometime tomorrow. Classes start on Tuesday so they will not have much time to regroup, catch up on sleep and whatever else. Ryan will have logged alot of miles since he got home on Dec 9th. he made the long trip to Florida and then this longer trip. i am sure he won't want to be doing too much driving for a while.
Glad it's warming up. It looks like a great day for a walk.

They arrived!!!

Not exactly what I would like to see coming to help me but here is "Ryan the builder" being funny. The 30+ kids arived safely in New Orleans last night around midnight. It was about 22 hours drive time. They had good weather albeit cold, but no storms thank goodness. They are up early today and are out touring the city and tomorrow they start working. Great experience to say the least. I miss him already, but know he is doing what he is meant to do.
Riley is not venturing out in this cold only to do what he absolutely must do, and he does it very quickly. Otherwise he is cuddled up next to me. My parents have ice in Florida and it is almost as cold there as it is here.
Stay warm!!!! will check in again soon.

Bye Ryan

Well Ryan left about 9:15 am. I have stopped crying which is a good thing. As you can see Riley had to help Ryan with a few last minute packing details. Neither Riley or I was a happy camper as Ryan's car left the driveway and drove away. Ryan is on his way to New Orleans to help in the rebuilding effort. He is going with the Bonners which is what they did last year. Actually if you look back in the blog, I have a few entries about Ryan's trip last year. They had a very bad trip coming home due to an ice storm in TN. It is about a 24 hour trip. There are about 30 kids going in 4 vans. Ryan is considered a "chaperone" this year, since he is all of 19 and a sophomore. Basically what this means is he will be doing much of the for his van. Luckily we only had a dusting of snow overnight so his trip to school should be ok. They are going to Philly for the afternoon to do God knows what and then they will be leaving for N.O. sometime around 5pm. The plan is to drive to North Carolina tonight, stay over and do the second leg of the trip tomorrow. Very poor planning in my opinion but that is how it was planned for them.

Please keep Ryan and all of the kids in your prayers for a safe trip going and coming. They are supposed to return sometime on Sunday January 17th. Ryan will stay down at school and move back into his dorm on the 18th and classes start on the 19th.

Ryan was really excited about going back to New Orleans. He had a great experience last year and is hoping for the same this year.

Riley is laying here next to me and doesn't really want to move. he knew something was up when he saw the sleeping bags and duffel bag etc. Riley will really miss Ryan almost as much as I do. Riley gave him big sloppy kisses before he left. i thought he was going to try to get rolled up in Ryan's sleeping bag but we caught him in time.

I will keep you posted on Ryan''s trip.

Riley's Happy New Year

I know that we all celebrated New Year a few days ago, but today is Riley's New Year's Day. Riley was operated on one year ago today Jan 5, 2009. So today is really the start of Riley's New Year. We are leaving 2009 behind and looking forward to many happy, good, healthy days ahead. Riley had alot of obstacles to overcome in the past year but he has persevered and he is doing well. He will have many challenges to face in the future but for today he is doing well and is a happy dog. We just went out for a walk around the block. Boy was it cold!!!!! The amazing thing was, Riley ran for a good part of our walk. I think he was so excited to be outside and in fresh air, so several times he just took off and ran. "Run" is a relative term for Riley since he really can't run all out like before but he sure gives it his best try. It was just awesome to see him so happy.

Today Riley wants to send his best wishes to all of his canine friends and their owners so here it goes: Happy New Year to his Cavalier friends, Charlie, Darby, Reggie, Murphy D. and Joanna's Murphy. To all his other good friends: Sophie, Leo, Brasco, The Catesby Cavaliers, Max Johnny, Tillie, Ginger, Bruno and Heidi, Honey, Monk, and Kobe, Rosie, Rags, Channing, and Freddy ( not a real dog). To his relatives at the Rainbow Bridge: Pokey, Cindy, Shroeder and Shannon run free and we will all be together one day. So from Riley to all his doggy friends wishing you nice weather for long walks, green grass for pee, a bag of delicious treats, belly rubs on demand, lots of hugs, a few scraps from the table, not too many baths, a few new friends to play with, and happy good days with your families.

Love,

Riley