Quintuple Champion

" Riva "

I always said when Riva and Raymond were young dogs that they would go together, but I never thought it would be four days apart.

Riva was the first dog I bought sight unseen, and she flew in to Omaha from Edmonton, Alberta. I was SO afraid about what I was going to find at the baggage counter, as this poor little puppy had had such a long trip. And as I walked up to the counter I heard "thump, thump, thump" of her tail against the crate. When we brought her home she walked in and said, "Hello Papillons, my name is Riva and I am in charge, and here are how things are gonna be from here on out." She was never a puppy, she was a miniature version of herself from the very beginning. She was housebroken in an instant, and the only thing she ever chewed was the strap of a purse. That was it.

That said, Riva's exploits in dumpster diving were legendary. She never met a trash container or a counter with reachable food that she didn't love. We had more then one relative or friend who would leave a cooler, or a suitcase, or anything else on the floor of the guest room, only to have it rifled through by Riva. And George and I would say together, "You left it on the FLOOR??" as in, what were you THINKING? ;-)

Riva was my first herding dog, my first herding Champion, my first VST and CT, my first Dual, first Triple, first Quadruple, and then Quintuple Champion. There wasn't anything she couldn't do, and she did it with ease and quiet determination. She was an amazing force in the house, ruling with the proverbial velvet paw. The Border Collie boys ended up flat on the ground at least once a day, while she stood over them with her mouth on their muzzle. Just for fun ;-) As each new dog came in to the house, it never bothered her or gave her a moment of consternation as to her place in life, as a new dog was just another subject for her to rule over.

Except for Robert. When Robert came along, all three pounds of him late in 2010, Riva lost her heart to him immediately and completely. From the moment he came in to the house until her death, they were never more then a few feet apart. She shared her food with him, her toys with him, and her bully sticks with him. They laid together on her bed often, until the end. She adored him with every fiber of her being, and I do think she viewed him as the puppy she never had. Every night Riva slept at the foot of our bed while Robert slept up between our heads. They were always happy and content in one another's company. He is lost without her, as am I.

Riva was always near me. Always. Either laying behind me on her bed, or in the recliner next to mine, she was just THERE. Unobtrusively there, never a bother, never bugging me, just there if I needed her. She was always ready for an activity or a walk, but if there was no work to do, she was happy to snooze nearby. I had her for more then a quarter of my life. She was there in the good times and the bad times, always there.

Riva did things no other Border Collie has accomplished. She's still the only dog to earn all five of the AKC Championships that she has. But she was so much more then that. She always seemed like "more than a dog", as she was always my best girl friend. And now we have sent her on to be with Raymond; she's probably already put him flat at least once, but I bet he was excited to see her.

August 6, 1999 - October 12, 2014

We who choose to
surround ourselves with lives
even more temporary than our own
live within a fragile circle
easily and often breached.
Unable to accept its awful gaps,
we still would live
no other way
We cherish memory as
the only certain immortality,
never fully understanding
the necessary plan.

Irving Townsend

What a catepillar calls the end of life, wise men call a butterfly...

Borderlines June/July 2012 - Riva:The First Quintuple Champion in Border Collie history: cover and the article!

Front & Finish June 2012 "Riva"; click here for the complete article!

Quadruple Champion Riva
(Clean Run ad and Riva's story)

© Sunshine Obedience School