Riley, male

From: Orest.Dachniwsky@BNSF.COM
Subject: [KBL] Merry Kerry Rescue - Riley
Date: February 20, 2008 8:44:51 AM PST

"Big Blaze" arrived full of energy and as healthy as could be. We have
renamed him "Riley", a good proper Irish name in honor of his heritage.
Riley came our of the crate full of love and affection at the airport and
curled up in my daughter's lap for the ride home. He was good natured and
extremely friendly from the start, although we found that he was actually
being a bit shy the first day or two. He has opened up and is full of life.
We are not sure who is getting tired out first, Riley or the kids.

On more mundane facts, Riley is doing well on the house breaking, and seems
to have caught on to the routine fairly quickly, only one accident in the
last 4 days. The other day he actually grabbed his leash and took it to the
door with him. He loves walks and jogs with us often. In terms of
socialization with other animals we are very fortunate, he loves to play
with the other dogs in the neighborhood and has shown no aggression. His
only adverse encounter was with a cat, and that was more on the part of the
cat than Riley. They looked each other up and down, the cat hissed and ran
away. Riley stood his ground and was not agitated at all.

We took him to the vet and were a little concerned that he had lost a pound
since the Foundation had him examined but, he has picked up his eating and
is growing fast. On the bad side, he was found to have ear mites that are
being treated and he seems fine. He is going to a groomer today and should
look spectacular; his coat has started to turn a beautiful slate blue.

On the training front, he has learned to sit, lie down, stay and play fetch
(albeit not perfectly yet). When we walk or jog with him, he heels right
away and does not try to pull away. We are surprised on how easy he is to
train, he seems to know most of this already.

In sum, Riley is as close to a perfect dog as we could expect. He is well
behaved, learns quickly and is everyone's friend. He loves to curl up with
us in front of the television, play in the backyard, and be a part of the
family.

We will give you more updates and hopefully include a few pictures.