February 15 - 27, 1999

Cindy called again, saying that they had the baby. He would be neutered and ready to be picked up Saturday. "To give you a little history, he came from the Sacramento Shelter, he was there for a good two weeks. How he got there is unclear, however, when I drove up there last Tuesday to pick him up what I saw was a depressed mature boxer that wouldn't as much as pick up his head from the cement floor when spoken to. He was in a corner of an outdoor run with three other dogs. He was lying down with his head between his front legs staring into space. The kennel attendant brought him to the lobby and it wasn't until he got outside into the real world that he came alive. I picked him up into the back of a pick up, loaded him into a crate and away we went. When we arrived in San Jose, we stopped by the vet, picked up a heartworm test and came home. I tried four times to draw blood. Due to his dehydration I was not able to hit the vein. Next we took a bath (he was covered in urine from the other dogs); got defleaed and then he went home with Amy and Duane. I just love these older guys, they're so easy and they appreciate everything - it makes all the hard work worth while!"

On Saturday morning, February 27, 1999, Michael asked me what was the baby's name. I informed him, that no mention had ever been made of any name. He told me about the dream he had. In the dream, the baby's name was Riley. Around 9:10 am, the whole Swenetta Family drove down the peninsula. We took Chelsea and Zoe, not just for the ride, but the final decision as to rather we were to be a Foster Home, was up to them, even though they have never met a Boxer they did not like. We then went east to Milpitas where we were to pick up this precious baby. When we got there, we meet one of the courageous workers for BABR Amy. We were informed that due to an emergency at the vet's, the neutering had not been done, but should be done by the time we got there.

We followed her to the vet's, our babies in the camper. Enjoying the adventure. When we got to the vet's, due to another emergency, the baby still hadn't been neutered. We were asked if we would like to see him.

This precious, emaciated baby that had already been sedated immediately stole our hearts. He had several calluses from sleeping on cement.

Because of his pathetic condition, Riley stopped breathing twice prior to commencement of the neutering operation. Thus, the neutering has been postponed until we can get him back to his robust BOXER self.

Riley was then placed into his crate in our camper. Chelsea and Zoe were now very buzzed up, who was this stranger being put into their truck? We started back to THE CITY. As we journeyed, we kept looking back to see how THE GIRLS were reacting. Their tails were going faster than we were traveling. Soon Riley awoke. He stuck his head out of the crate. THE GIRLS started licking him - their tails going even faster than before. A sudden stop in traffic, and Riley was out of his crate. Now the first real test - THE GIRLS were kidney beaning! Riley was warbling due to the anesthesia. I called Riley! To my surprise, he came immediately. I gave him a treat. He started to climb through the cab window. We both said down - he got down!

Three bags of treats later (yes, Chelsea and Zoe got some too), we were home. Here we found out more about Riley. He knew the basic commands - even in his semi-sedated condition. Sit. Stay. Come.

Sunday, after Riley came out of his anesthesia stupor, we realized that Riley did not just walk. He walked as if he were in the show ring. Someone had put not just money (cropped ears and the silkiest coat) into Riley; they had put a lot of time and energy into him.

Besides the heart breaking conditions shown above, some of the other Riley conditions included: a very dry nose one could use as sandpaper, nipples that descended as if it were a female that recently had a litter and gums that not only grew over his front teeth, but had formed two masses on his upper jaw - one on each side..

Despite all this, Riley still had LOVE for mankind! He can't get enough love'n! He does and accepts everything with a look in his eyes that tell you.... THANK YOU!

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 For information on adopting other rescued boxers: Bay Area Boxer Rescue