Kevin decided that for 25th birthday, we were getting a dog. I was hesitant, but went to look and never looked back. I remember driving down K-96 after we got her and she climbed and laid on my shoulders againsnt me and the headrest. We took her to my brother's that first night and sat around the table trying to name her, thinking mainly about baseball names. We came up with Ribby, which is the slang term for a Run Batted In. Ribby was such a great puppy...easily housetrained, didn't chew too much...until we left for spring training. Kevin's sister, Sarah, stayed with her and within hours of us leaving, she had chewed up a book, a fake tree and our wedding album. It all makes me laugh now!
Lucy, Ribby and I walked miles and miles together when Lucy was a baby. Ribby went everywhere with us. She would sit in the backseat and put her head on Lucy's carseat when she was rear-facing still. Ribby loved to play ball, and the further you threw it the better! She also loved the water...the lake, a baby pool, the faucet, even a bath! She was such a messy drinker too...around her water bowl would always be a puddle. And oh the drool! One of my favorite things was the fact that no matter what time we fed her breakfast she was ready for her dinner by 2 pm. She would start sitting in front of you, following you around until you caved and gave her food. The biggest reminder of Ribby being gone comes each morning as we get the newspaper. We trained Ribby early to fetch the paper every morning, and I think that was the highlight of her day. Ribby loved to lay at the corner of the fence, or the back door and just wait for one of our cars to come around the bend...and then she would be off to the gate. Her excitement never went away, just her energy.
Lucy loved Ribby, but the relationship Laney had with Ribby was one like no other. They truly were best friends. Laney always felt the need to be near Ribby. And to treat Ribby like a doll..dress her up, put headbands on her, feed her! Ribby was the first person Laney wanted to see in the morning and she always had to tell Ribby goodnight. The picture below is where Ribby would spend most of her day, laying in the sunlight. Laney would always bring her toys up and play right there.
Letting Ribby go was the hardest thing I have ever had to do as a parent. Explaining to the girls that their best friend was going to dog heaven and never coming back was and still is painful. But watching them look up in the clouds and talk about what Ribby is doing in dog heaven fills my heart with joy. They remember all the happiness that Ribby brought to our lives and that helps my heart heal everyday.
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