Rio will always be remembered for the unique dog he was

By Lethbridge Herald on June 3, 2023.

LEAVE IT TO BEEBER

He was picky about the dogs he liked and the humans, too. He spent a lot of time at the veterinarian for one reason or another – porcupine quills in the nose, dew claws ripped off and ear infections ad nauseum until he was finally diagnosed with a thyroid condition.

He’d bark ferociously at the fence in the middle of the night at the slightest sound and until tenants at the nearby drug house were finally evicted recently, we had plenty of sounds at night in the alley. 

And don’t get me started about the grey cat down the street which Rio never forgot smacking his inquisitive nose. Every time, literally every time we went for a walk down the block, Rio tried to march up the sidewalk to confront that cat on his doorstep. For years. Rio hated that cat and always started huffing and puffing as soon as we got close.

Rio was a neighbourhood institution. Everyone knew him. And everyone has read about him in the last 12 years because he’s given me plenty of fodder for columns.

A few people have noticed lately I’ve only been walking with Ben and wondered what was going on because the three of us have been regulars day in and day out for years.

One youngster while walking home from school one day even made a point of telling me he likes the black dog but not Rio.

But he was our Rio and was part of our family for 12 never-dull years. I brought Rio home from a farm near Coaldale in the spring of 2011 months after we lost our beloved Jessie to cancer. Roxie, our other dog, seemed out of sorts from the day I took Jessie on her last car ride following one final swim in the river.

So I decided she needed a playmate and despite having a fear of German Shepherds from a bite back in Raymond when I was a kid, I decided to face that fear.

And it was the best decision I made. Actually, that’s not true – it was Rio’s decision to accept me as his companion. When I saw him it was love at first sight with the little bundle of tan and black. He was trying to hide from me but I managed to pick him up and he immediately cuddled my arm, holding it tight with his massive front paws. In an instant, Rio had a new family.

My son Dylan named him and while I was the one who introduced him to the joys of the dog park and the river where he never did take up swimming, Rio was Dylan’s dog. And Liz’s baby. 

Most of all, he was her baby. He spent every morning and night by her side. It was a morning routine for him to wait in the kitchen for his daily dental-stix and to hang around after supper, waiting for any morsels to hit the floor.

Along with Ben, he always got his own supper. And for years a crunchy bone to gnaw on which he often did in the middle of the night, preferably beside someone sleeping.

 While Roxie and later Ben gravitated toward me, Rio was definitely a mama and Dylan’s dog. I was the walker and chauffeur, they were his best pals.

For most of his 12 years with us, Rio was the first to clamber down the stairs to go for a car ride. He was the most adventurous of the dogs as he followed the scents of whatever captured his attention. And that dog had not only a sensitive nose but big ears – trust me, hiding a snack from him was impossible. 

I have many not-so-fond memories of trudging after him through deep snow in winter after he bolted across the dog park or through a field and went in search of some creature which he seldom caught up to.

And he had a couple run-ins with coyotes that had me fearing he was a goner, only to see Rio bounding quicker than an Olympic sprinter back down the coulee hills with his predators trailing far behind.

Rio was a protector of both humans and his favoured four-legged companions. Roxie and he bonded immediately and Rio soon became the guardian of his aging sister. He always watched out for her on our walks until we finally had to bid her farewell.

I lost track of the times Rio alerted us to car prowlers on the street and people hanging around the alley or fence at night. When he barked, everyone on the block knew there was a good reason for it. And Rio had two distinctive barks – one for threats and strangers and the other for when his family returned home. He also had a distinctive growl for when dad annoyed him and he wasn’t in the mood to play. And he had one last growl for me Friday morning before I left for work. Along with a couple of wags.

He wasn’t sure of Ben when he came into our home but adapted quickly and for the last several years the two were inseparable. He was extremely protective of Ben at dog parks, so much so that I had to begin taking Ben separately so he could learn how to socialize.

For years, Rio had a bad reputation because he was so unpredictable. But thanks to a perceptive veterinarian, his thyroid issue was discovered and he grew into a kinder and gentler creature as he aged.

Rio was more than a dog, he was a friend in the truest sense of the word. But like all of us, as he aged, Rio began having health issues – particularly with arthritis which worsened so much he quit going for his daily car rides early in 2022. 

The past while he even struggled to go around the block a couple times a week. And climbing stairs was torture. Just even standing up required a herculean effort.

The last few days he quit laying on his carpet on the deck where he’d listen and watch all night, instead preferring to be inside near his humans. And Rio was a dog who would sit outside in the cold no matter how cold because he much preferred winter over summer. He became known as the in-and-out dog because all night long all winter that’s what he was.

Lately, between a tumour on his backside and an insatiable thirst, he’s clearly been suffering. These last few weeks have been painful for us all to watch as he lay lethargically during the day, panting all night, seldom showing the Rio we came to know and love. His eyes were still bright and alert at times but his enthusiasm for life had seeped out like air from a worn tire.

I was going to say goodbye a few weeks ago but held off until my cousin Penelope from Oregon could meet him. Penelope and her daughter Tanya were thrilled to at long last meet Rio and I’m so happy they had that chance to say hello, and sadly goodbye.

And that’s what we said Friday afternoon to Rio. I made the dreaded call on Monday to put Rio out of his suffering after a really rough night for him.

I know it was the right call as much as it hurts to see him close his eyes for the last time. But it was the right decision for him – in Rio’s eyes and mannerisms, it was clear he was tired. And in pain. I truly believe he was living just for his family who he always tried to please, the family he loved so dearly. But he was ready to go.

Now it was my turn to show Rio the true love and compassion he deserved by letting him reunite with Roxie where today I’m sure he’s frolicking in the fields of dog heaven with no pain and the energy of his youth.

I’ll miss you buddy. There was never a dog like you and there will never again be another like you. Thanks for the memories and the privilege of being your companion. 

You got me through a lot of stressful days just having you and your big brown eyes at my side in rain, cold, sunshine and snow.

Thanks all the love that you gave all of us and all who had the privilege of knowing you for who you were – a true original.

Say hello to Roxie and Jessie. I will see you all again some day. RIP.