Riley Jack

In August, while on our trip to Aunt Rachel's college graduation, Kyra started talking to me about getting a new kitten. She said she wanted a black kitten for her birthday and she would most likely name it Boo, since her birthday is so close to halloween. She was convinced that Tiger needed a friend, but I wasn't so sure I was ready for a kitten tearing around the house. Aunt Rachel told her that if she took care of her existing pets every day (food, water, litter box, etc.), that would show me that she is responsible and willing to care for a new kitten. Love ya Rach! So, that's exactly what Kyra did. Every day she gave food and water to Tasha (husky), Tiger (cat), and Patrick (hamster).

But, as time went on, she shifted to wanting a puppy instead. She began researching different breeds and decided on a golden retriever. I thought a puppy would be a better choice than a kitten, because Tasha could really use a play mate. Plus, a golden retriever would make a better running partner for me. Tasha can run, but if a stranger were to approach us, she'd just lick them to death. A think a golden would be more protective and also have more endurance. So, we started looking into options. I found a few breeders in our general area and started making inquiries. Most had puppies, but they wouldn't be able to go to homes until Thanksgiving. One breeder had puppies that would be ready for homes at Thanksgiving, but also had 3 puppies remaining from two older litters, and could be adopted now. I thought Kyra wanted a baby puppy and would be willing to wait a month, but I was wrong. We went to the breeder today to look at the puppies. There were so many; a new litter had been born just a few days ago. The little ones were too young to handle, but the three older ones (just shy of 4 months) were eager to play. They were bigger than I realized; guessing 25 pounds. Kyra spent a good bit of time with the older ones and her heart was won-over by the "green collar" puppy. The breeder said he was a very sweet puppy and thought he would be a perfect match. I have a business trip next week, and am running my first marathon in Greenville next weekend, so there was no way we could take him home today. The breeder was ok with us putting a deposit down, our buying him today, and she would just keep him until the 28th. He was too cute and Kyra was too happy, so I couldn't resist. Kyra named him Riley, I filled out the paperwork and wrote a check. After saying goodbye for now, we left and stopped by a local pet store to purchase a collar and name tag for him. They had Jackolantern name tags, so we decided his middle name would be Jack. Riley Jack will be Kyra's 10th birthday present. How fun!