Jack woke up to Riley slobbering all over his face. Riley was an 8 year old golden Retriever who loved Jack. He laughed and played tug a war with Riley for a few minutes before he realized that it was almost time for school. Jack stumbled out of bed and thanked Riley for waking him up and headed for the shower. He told Riley to go and find a ball and to wait for his bus to come. Riley decided she wanted to play more but even before Riley got to her ball Jack new that she wanted to play so he grabbed a toy and whipped it out of his room and Riley sprinted off to get it. Riley came back panting and she drooled all over Jack’s hands and he quickly picked the toy up and chucked it down the stairs. He then headed for the shower to get rid of the dog drool hanging from his hands. Riley felt so good that Jack loved her and she loved him dearly. She loved playing with Jack. That was her favorite part of the day. She couldn’t imagine life without him. She went downstairs and headed for her favorite spot on the couch were she watched for Jacks bus to arrive home and were she waited for it to depart for school.

A few minutes later Jacks bus arrived and Jack wasn’t down stairs yet. She immediately started barking for Jack to come down stairs. Jack sprinted from his room and was next to Riley in seconds. Jack gave Riley a kiss and she gave a big lick back and followed him out the door. Riley turned and saw Jack’s math book sitting on the steps inside the house. She ran and inside grabbed the book and ran back and hoped she would catch the bus, but she was too late. She decided to chase the bus and Jack hoping to catch the bus at the next stop. Again she was too late. By now Riley had run far away from home before stopping. She realized she was lost. She turned her head and saw that the dog park was right across the street so she crossed easily but it was a close call. She jogged in and found a spot next to the dumpster and went to sleep on the hard pavement. It was nothing like her favorite spot on the couch.

Jack was in school when he realized that he had forgotten his math book on the steps of his house. He was so mad he had forgotten it. He forgot about the book and went to class unprepared and got a detention after school.

Later that day Jack returned from school and saw the door open. Jack called for Riley, but there was no answer. He looked frantically around the house and couldn’t find her. When he arrived back at his front door he saw that his math book was missing from the steps. He was in such shock that Riley would run away from him and take his math book too. He couldn’t think of anything mean he had done. He always treated here with the most respect. Jack couldn’t imagine life without Riley. He remembered all the great times they had had together. Either playing in the water at the beach or throwing the ball in the open field behind their house. He could imagine Riley sprinting across the field with her mouth wide open panting uncontrollably searching for the ball that he had chucked way to the back of the field. He headed in side to decide what to do.

Riley was thinking about Jack as she slept uncomfortably next to the horrendously smelling dumpster. She was thinking about all the great times they had together. She missed him dearly. She decided she was going to leave after another short nap. She was afraid she would never see Jack again.

Riley woke up with a feeling inside her that said Jack was looking for her. So she stood up and headed home. Jack also left home and started out to go find Riley. Jack was shocked by the amount of traffic at this time of day. He headed for the dog the dog park to look for Riley. On the way there Jack found his math book on the side of road. It all came together then. He realized that Riley must have chased the bus with his math book. He couldn’t believe that she had done that for him.
Riley exited the park and also noticed the heavy traffic. She had to cross a four lane road to get to the other side. Then she thought she saw a brake in the traffic and made a move to the other side. Jack had just rounded the corner and screamed no as the car barreled around the corner and hit Riley.

Jack ran over to Riley and picked her up in his arms. The driver got out crying. She was a middle age women who was heading home from work. She came and kneeled down with Jack and asked him if his dog was alright and Jack said he wasn’t sure. The women offered to drive them to the nearby vet. Jack hopped in with Riley. It was the longest ride of his life with Riley hurting in his arms. He cried quietly while they drove to the clinic. He could feel the pain that Riley was in. He felt so bad. Jack was in such shock that he didn’t do anything to save her. But he realized she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. When they arrived there were vets waiting for them. He passed her off to them knowing she was in good hands.


Jack waited in the waiting room all alone praying that Riley was okay. A few hours later the doctor came out. He had a very depressing look on his face. He told Jack he could come back and see her. Jack was so happy. When he got back there she was lying on a metal table. He heard the heart monitor going beep, beep, and beep. Jack went over and stroked Riley on her favorite spot under the chin. Jack then saw Riley’s tail wag. Jack bent down and gave her a kiss on the nose. Riley gave Jack a big slobber kiss. Jack then told Riley that he will always love her. Then the monitor stopped beeping. Riley lowered her eyes and went to sleep for good. Jack quietly stroked Riley and cried to himself inside for the next few minutes before the doctor pulled the sheet over her head and body. While Jack stroked her he thought about all the great things they had done together. He was so shocked that Riley was no longer with him. He now knew what it felt like to lose his most valuable possession. His bond with Riley was stronger than anything in the world could separate. It was love.