On January 28th, we lost the best dog ever. Riley was a 15 year old Norwegian Elkhound, and spent all 15 of those years being the sweetest, most friendly dog we’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. He just loved everybody!!
It’s never easy to lose a fur baby, and even worse when you’re on the road. Since we are full-time RVers we had to take him to a veterinarian that we had never met before and had no idea who they were. We are in Gulf Shores, Alabama. I have to say, the vet we chose couldn’t have been kinder to us in our time of need. From the initial phone call, to the very end, they were nothing but amazingly patient, helpful, informative, and kind.
Three years ago when Riley was 12, we had a very large cancerous tumor removed from his abdomen. We don’t know if it’s the cancer that came back or something else. The very kind vet left the choice up to us whether we wanted to have x-rays and testing done to see what was going on. But he assured us that just by the description of Riley’s symptoms, it wouldn’t be anything good. Looking back I’m guessing he was having strokes, just by the symptoms he displayed.
We got Riley as a pup – just 8 weeks old. He has always been a camping dog. He’s been everywhere with us in our camper – from the beaches of Florida to the mountains of Colorado, from north to south and east to west. Riley loved to be petted by anyone and everyone, and we would always tease that “his milkshake brought all the girls to the yard.” LOL
We were here for the BIG SNOW of 2025 on the Gulf Coast, so Riley did get one last chance to do his favorite thing – roll in the snow and eat as much of it as he could!! It was just a few days after that that he went downhill fast, and we knew it was time…
Riley will be forever missed! I’m sure he is romping in the snow over The Rainbow Bridge as we speak. But we really won’t miss the shedding!! I always said he would be the perfect dog if only he didn’t shed. He certainly made up for it with his sweet sweet personality!! Rest in peace, Riley Bear. You were soooooooo loved!
