How the Terrorist Wound Up In Pink Tights

Ok, I'm going to tell you what happened to Riley Marie the little "Terrorist". A week ago on Sunday me, her and Pete the Pit were walking down our driveway which is steep as we live on the side of a hill with lots of acreage around us. The dogs took off running. I had never seen her run so fast as she's always been weak in the hind quarters however, this time she ran so fast that she tore the ACL's in both of her back legs. It was terrible as her back legs just quit working.

On Monday, we located a vet who in short explained that Riley's past set her up for what happened because more than likely as a puppy she was injured, probably by someone pulling her by her legs. Due to the weakness in her legs or "knees" as the vet called them they could either do surgery or put her down. The latter was not an option.

She underwent surgery on both "knees" and they gave her implants, repaired the damage, old and new and removed some arthritic spurs...she's only about 2 1/2.

So I went to pick her up at the vet and between the drugs and her feeling of abandonment, she looked at me with a stare that had to have said, "quit the baby talk voice, where's Ken?" and I knew then she was going to be alright. She seemed vaguely happy to see me but man when Ken got home here is what happened, she rolled over on her back, pink tights in the air, "bikini cut" flashing and let him know he was her pack leader! The photo says it all.

Riley Marie the Terrorist

Pete is my dog and then there is Riley Marie the terrorist, she is Ken's dog. Riley is a terrier mix of some sort. We own a well pump business and she's Ken's constant companion and "pump assistant". She goes everywhere with him and they both come home looking like they just got off another dirty job. Riley and Ken don't care if they get dirty and they both like going to work to get dirty. On the other hand, Pete and I love our comforts. Pete love his fireplace, his bed and blankets, the swamp cooler, the shade in the summer and of course his cookies. Riley would rather roll in cow poop and eat something dead.

Riley is famous and she's had her picture in our local paper for the way she sits in the pump truck. She sits in the front seat of the pump rig with her "elbow" on the door, her legs spread and her belly jiggling as they go down the road. She looks old but she's only two.
She is known to Ken's customers as the dog with the happy wiggle butt and a few have asked if they could have her. We think Riley is one of the cutest dogs around other people have told to Ken; "that's one ugly dog". He laughs and said that he thinks she's beautiful. When we got her from the pound Ken asked why I named her Riley Marie; "because people will think she's ugly and she needs a beautiful name". Now he understands why.

We call Riley, Pete's little sister but its obvious she's not. It just a dog owner's way of personifying their pets and they're right! What is also true is that "Ri-girl" is a terrorist. She drives Pete to distraction, bites his back legs to get him to play, taunts him with her rope, takes up the whole seat in the truck, growls at him if he gets near the cookie she doesn't want and then crawls in bed with him if something scares her. Pete just puts up with it because he can out run her but then last Sunday Miss Riley Marie ran faster than her little legs could carry her and she had a terrible mishap, but I'll write about that later............