For those of you that knew our dog Riley, you know that he was quite energetic and seemed to be going nonstop all the time. I often took him to an open space area near our house in Rocklin to run and frolic. We had a system down; when and where he was off the leash and when and where he was put back on the leash. We had done this routine at least 40 times over the last year.
On the evening of April 24th, our household changed forever. We were stopped at our usual spot where I put Riley’s leash back on and something (unknown) caught his eye and he ran out into the nearby street. The rest is history. I have learned a very hard lesson in responsibility. I thought we had an established routine down. I thought I left a margin of safety. I thought he’d grow old with us. Obviously, I thought wrong.
For you pet owners and parents out there, please let this be a reminder of what can happen when you least expect it. Please error on the side of caution to minimize the chances of something terrible happening to someone you love. The picture above is the very last picture I took of Riley Dog. It was taken at Bassi Falls on April 20, 2002. Our family loved him very much and he will be forever missed. -Rob Elsemore
