Riley Fosse

Isn't Riley looking sharp with his new haircut? It's as if we bought him some new traveling clothes for the move.

Riley is great to rough house with because he is a big, substantial dog. While it is fun to play fetch with him, and he can now catch a frisbee, what I really like is to wrastle with him for his dog toys. He could, of course, do some damage to me with that maw of giant teeth he has, but he's smart enough to know when he is bitting down on a toy and its time to yank and thrash around trying to pry it away from me and when he's grabbed a piece of me.

I have never been a fan of stuffed animals (pretty much dust mite storage bags), but Reily has really helped me understand how much fun a stuffed animal can be.

If someone is outside and I tell Riley to stop barking, he will go take his frustrations out on a stuffed animal -- really show it whose boss.

This is Riley's current favorite. Katie gave it to him when he first arrived at our house. Isn't she sweet? No, not that mangy old cat, Katie. Katie is sweet.

Riley also likes to join me for personal scripture study. He pretty much places his head on top of my scriptures until I give him a really good morning scratching. I wish I could start my day each morning with a real good back scratch or a massage. Wouldn't you? Then he rolls up next to me and sleeps while I finish my scripture study. It is pretty much a morning ritual now. (It's also why I am Riley's favorite.)