Goodbye to My Riley Hanover Kimble

This has been an extremely hard week and not like worked sucked or I didn't get enough sleep; my family's last golden retriever, Riley passed away.

At the end, you think of the beginning; my first memories of my sweet boy were of Riley walking out from under a porch with his siblings in the summer of 2004. We were on a farm in the middle of nowhere looking at puppies for the first time after our first, beloved golden, Franky passed away suddenly and took with him our hearts. I picked up Riley and he cuddled into my arms, melting my heart instantly. He had such soulful eyes. His little tail just drooped downwards, so sadly. Meanwhile, my parents had met Max and were won over with his sweetness. I told them to hold Riley and tell me we weren't bringing him home and that's how we ended up with two puppies.

Once the puppies were old enough, we brought them home. Potty training those two took forever. I thought Riley would never be house-trained. He was so stubborn. He'd hide under my parent's bed, then growl and nip if you tried to bring him out.

Our Riley was a giant from the start. He had the biggest paws that he did eventually grow into. He was a giant of a dog and had the heart to match.He did have so many health issues in recent years; an enlarged heart, many food allergies, cancer, paralysis, a tie-back issue, etc. In the end, he wasn't getting enough oxygen and we couldn't let me struggle for breathe.

Here's what I shared on Facebook about my baby:
Our sweet Riley Hanover Kimble passed away about 1:07pm at home, Monday. He was so gentle, sweet, had the most beautiful eyes, had the biggest bark, and had the biggest paws ever. Our hearts ache, but we know you’re running with Max. We send all our love to heaven with you.

Here are some of our beautiful boy's photos:

Max & Riley together

Riley the Christmas after Max passed

Christmas break after Max passed

Christmas time; missing Max

After Max passed, Riley got to go on errands with mom. Ran into them one day.

2016-Riley's vet visit where we learned of his enlarged heart

Family outing

Riley always loved a good nap

Riley visiting Grandma

Riley at the tree lighting. Everyone wanted to pet him.

Riley Hanover Kimble
May 28, 2004-June 17, 2019
Forever in our hearts

Riley, Part 1

Last summer, I wrote about when my family got our sweet puppies, Max and Riley almost 12 years ago. Last fall, I also wrote about Max's cancer and his passing.

The holidays and every day are still hard without all his enthusiasm and love. We are continually grateful to still have our sweet Riley.

Riley has also taken Max's passing hard. They spent every day of their lives side by side. Riley often seems lost without Max as the leader. We've worked to keep him happy and give him extra attention and love.

He's seemed more unsettled in the last month; he wakes up startled, he's up often in the night, and he just looks miserable. We definitely wish dogs could talk. My mom got him into to his vet and there we learned the cause of his issues. Riley's heart is massively enlarged. In fact, his vet had never seen a heart so enlarged. It's also not beating correctly. We were devastated to learn of Riley's serious heart issues and were told he could die at any minute. It's been so hard to process everything that happened with Max that I can't even begin to think about Riley going down that road too. So, we've made him an appointment at K-State's Veterinary Center, with their heart specialists for next week. We are praying, they can help our Riley and that he won't suffer. :(

Riley on Christmas Day.

Saying Goodbye to Max

Late summer, I wrote about my family's dog, Max's fight with cancer here. Late August we saw Max struggling more and my parent's took him back to K-State Vet Med, one of the top vet med school's in the country. We found out his liver was shutting down due to the cancer and he had 3-4 weeks left. That hit hard. We started him on 24/7 pain meds.

The good thing about knowing Max had cancer was that we got to shower him with love every day. We cherished every moment with him. Though the vet gave him 3-4 weeks, no one told Max that and he continued to fight with everything he had. How he fought so long, I'll never know. Despite his pain, he still greeted me every day with a wagging tail. He enjoyed time outside in the golden sunlight of fall and being petted.

The beginning of the semester is very hectic for me at work. By mid-September we felt that time with Max was drawing to a close, so I went to work every day and spent every night at my parent's to get more time in with Max and try to help out a little. About two weeks ago, I came home to my parent's and Max didn't seem excited to see me like normal. I attributed it to him being sick, but was still sad. He must've know that I missed his attention, because that next morning he busted into my room and laid next to my bed so I could pet him. Though I was now up much earlier than planned, I was so grateful he sought me out and came to spend time with me. In a nutshell, that's Max; always giving love.

He struggled moving and over time didn't have the strength for his beloved walks. So, my parents chauffeured him around the yard for one last walk. Max was so excited as was Max's brother, Riley.

Max

Max was a happy puppy. His tail was always wagging. My dad joked that he had a "happy ending" because of his ever-wagging tail. Though considerably smaller than his brother, Riley, Max took charge as the alpha male. Despite that, he's always been eager to please. He is also a mama's boy. When mom has been away from home, he'd go on a hunger strike. When he comes in from outside, he searches the house until finding mom. He needs constant love. He loves riding in my dad's truck and seeing how many toys/"babies" he can fit in his mouth.

The last couple rough, Kansas winters have been hard on the little guy. Mom says he's stiff and moans in his sleep. She tries to keep him warm. This spring, he started getting a growth on his tummy area and didn't want to eat. Long story short, he was bleeding into his tummy. They removed a tumor, his spleen, and most of his liver. Our slightly over 50lb. dog had over 10% of his body removed that were two types of cancer. The liver tumor was slow-growing, but the other was fast.

Three months after surgery, the vet said he doesn't have much time left; 3-4 weeks at best. The cancer has consumed his liver. The tumors continue to grow. Despite the pain he's in, he's still active and loves to go exploring outside. He's on meds for pain. He's such a fighter, but time is fleeting.

I wish I could freeze time. The end is nearer than I can bear. #heartbreaking I wish there was something I could do to take away the pain. I pray again and again for Max; that the cancer will leave, that he won't be in pain, that he'll know how much we love him.

I'm reminded of all the things he's taught me: joy in the small things, greet everyone with a smile, let your friends and family know how happy you are to see them every day, and every day is good for a walk.

Riley and Max

The summer after our beloved, Franky died, my mom felt it was time to think about getting a puppy. I didn't want a puppy, it felt disloyal to Franky. So there we were traveling around the 4th of July weekend to rural Hanover, KS. It was a small, farming town. I wasn't sure about this whole puppy thing. Then I saw all the glorious golden retriever puppies come out from under the porch. They were so cute. We started picking up puppies and trying to decide which to pick. We knew we wanted a male. My mom said she'd found "the puppy," a sweet-faced puppy that became our Max. I told her she could say that all she wanted until she picked up the sweet puppy I was holding. When I picked him up, he cuddled me and I was a goner. His sad tail sloped down. Mom held him and announced we'd be getting two puppies! Riley had won her over. So we paid the fees and waited until we could bring them home, weeks later when they were weaned. We were so nervous. Two puppies is a large undertaking.

The trip home with the puppies was fun and they slept most of the way. They were so cute! We were excited! We knew our lives were about to be flipped inside out and that's about what happened.

Riley always looked so serious with his expressive eyes. If you tried to get him out from under the bed, he'd growl and snap. He had giant ears and paws, that he's now grown into.

Max was all over the place, happily exploring. Max always wanted to escape their kitchen enclosure. He had such bright eyes. Some things never change.

They brought smiles, laughter, and joy back into our family!

Riley and Max :)