Reilly, age 14. 

What do Halloween and Heart Dogs have in common?  A little after midnight 19 years ago our Lab, Chessie, began having puppies.  When all was said and done there were 12 black lab puppies in the whelping box.  As the puppies grew one kept catching our eye.  He just seemed a bit different than the rest, even his black color was not the same raven black, he was more a chocolate black.  Of course you have figured out we ended up keeping him and his name became Reilly, more specifically he was “Chessie’s Life O’Reilly”. 

 Reilly wasn’t the most classic looking Labrador but he added a lot of titles to his name in obedience and agility.  Most important he was my “co-pilot” almost any time I went anywhere in the car except to work.  He and I literally travelled all over the country competing at Labrador Specialties (several nationals) and all breed shows. He was so well behaved he was welcomed anywhere we went.  One year he and I flew to California to the National and then stayed an extra week with friends.   When we flew back in late October it was 80 when we left San Francisco and it was snowing hard when we landed in Milwaukee.  I was a bit concerned about how he did on the flight as he was 9 years old and the last part of the flight was turbulent due to the storm.  As I exited the plane, the pilot said “I know your dog is fine, I heard him barking down in the baggage compartment for the last part of the flight”, a relief to me.

I’ve had other Labs before, during and after Reilly but he was the one in a million, my “heart dog” and I will never forget him.  Happy Birthday, Ri Ri, as always I’m thinking of you today. 

U-CD, U-AGII Chessie’s Life O’Reilly UD, NA, 10/31/88 to 12/16/03.