Our Darling Ripley

I’m going to tell you the story of the day you came to live with us – to be our our precious baby girl. Yes, I know, we’ve told you this story many times, but we’re going to do it again.

Your mom had suddenly thought that perhaps she wanted to get a dog. So we began stopping at Petco to check out the rescue dogs and pups out front to be adopted. I was amazed that she wanted a dog and thought it was a fad. But this little desire went on for a month or more! We would stop and look, but there was nothing that said, Yes! That one! Until one day there was one that made us say, Yes! We want her! That was you, baby girl!

To be honest your mom was looking at a chubby little yellow lab pup first, but I saw you right away. You were a bit off to the side and rather shy while all the other pups were putting on there best show to be adopted. The chubby lab was already spoken for and I turned your mom’s attention to you.

“Oh, how precious,” she said.

“Doesn’t she look like the dog you had you were little?” I said.

“Bunt,” she said with a sigh of love for her long ago companion.

And you do! Spotted ears and everything.

The way she held you in her lap in the car taking you to your new home was like she had eggs cupped in her hands, and I drove accordingly. Oh, but the way you looked up into her face the whole way home. And the happiness on her face? I’ll never forget that in my whole life.

You saw your very own yard with wobbly wonder. So little and round and pink you were, nestled in leaves of grass (as Walt would say) nearly as tall as you.  

Inside we took turns holding you and inspecting you. We were moms!

You could fall asleep within a minute of just having been playing. Your big head lolling to the side as you just tipped over.

Redman was your first toy and you loved chewing on the stuffed toy, then falling asleep on him.

Your mom got up every three hours, every single night to take you out to pee or poop. I’ve never seen anyone so dedicated to house training. But, you and I know how she is: detail oriented, dedicated and not the least bit lazy. She was great and it worked! You were great too, baby.

We would soon find out that you were really quiet unbelievably smart and beyond well behaved.

Okay, let’s back up a minute. How did you get the name Ripley? I’m sure we talked about a few different names, but I don’t remember them. I put out a request for suggestions to my siblings and my sister-in-law, Isabelle, said, how about Riley?

Good name, but it reminded me of one of my favorite names – Ripley. That’s a badass name! Sigourney Weaver’s name in the Alien movies. I went in the other room to ask your mom what she thought of Ripley. “Yes! Ripley’s Believe it or Not, we got a dog!” So there you have it. Your name came from… depends who you ask.

You remember you had your own room, right? Okay, it was really our utility room with a baby gate I got at Target. You slept there every night with Redman and papers on the floor in case you had an accident (which you never did). Before we went to bed I would put you in your baby gated room and sit on the floor with you while you sleepily waddled around or pranced around in your last bits of mischief as the stars came out though the window above us. Once you started that little puppy snore I would do my best to stand up quietly and step over the gate silently, without hitting it. The times I did make a noise you suddenly woke up startled and whined. Sometimes I didn’t make a peep, made it almost to our room, and I would hear you start whining. I gladly went back and we would start all over again.

Your mom told you – because we always spoke to you as if you perfectly understood us and why not – that when you were six months old you’ll be big enough to sleep in our room.

The first night you slept in our room, in your own little bed, was because you continued to whine and stand up on the gate insisting to be with us. And yes, that was on the occasion of your six-month birthday! How did you know that day was your birthday? And you remembered Mom’s promise? We’re still amazed at that. That’s when we may have had the first thought that you actually understood everything we were saying.

We love you, our darling Ripley… so much.

Your moms