The Life of Riley

Prior to babies Willow and Riley truly had the life that any dog would envy. They wore Coach collars, went to doggy daycare on a regular basis, ate gourmet treats, had frequent baths that included yummy smelling shampoos and even had fancy doggy sweaters. But, with each passing day after the birth of Harper and Collier their lives have moved closer to that of street dogs than the fancy lap dogs they originally aspired to be.

I remember my mom always saying that Willow had the "Life of Riley" -a phrase made popular by a show with the same name in the 1950s which according to wikipedia suggests "an ideal life of prosperity and contentment, possibly living on someone else's money, time or work." (Now you all know how Riley got his name). These days, you can almost see the dogs daydreaming of those long forgotten days rather than the one they are being forced to live.

Willow, the alpha dog, who has been pushed down on the food chain, is constantly miffed by the kid's presence. In her own way, she rolls her eyes at their very existence. She shares a love/hate relationship with them - the love part deriving from any bit of food that she can snatch from their hands or that falls to the floor and the hate part being almost everything else. Harper and Willow fight like a true brother and sister. They growl at each other, fight over toys and cringe at each other's existence. In rare moments they are able to show a small amount of love for each other but those times are few and far between. This weekend they were having one of their "feuds" when Harper came running to me and said "Mommy I really don't like Willow" - I simply said "Honey that's okay, I think the feeling is mutual."

This experience has been so troubling for Riley that he is experiencing an identity crisis - he truly thinks he is a CAT! I swear the dog does not act like a dog. He can launch from floor to the top of any piece of furniture in once quick leap, he stretches with an arched back and outstretched toenails, he claws at your legs like you are a scratching pole, he paces in the narrow window sills looking for mice or other critters on the other side of the window and he yawns with an outstretched tongue that mimics his feline counterparts. We are just waiting for him to start hissing :). Just so you know that I'm not exaggerating, I am including a picture of him in the kitchen window.



With all their weirdness, the dogs are still loved the same even if they don't get the same level of royal treatment. But, I am happy to report that this weekend the dogs did come close to "old times" when they ended up with the best spot in the house to sleep. After a night of playing musical beds with the kids, the dogs woke up early Sunday morning to having the entire KING size bed all to themselves and they were stretched out as if they knew this was a special moment. For a split second I'm sure they were hoping (or dreaming) Matt and I were the only one's in the house and those loud, two legged short creatures were a foggy hallucination. It was almost "the life of Riley" once again..... but only until the kids woke up.