Rigel

2008 - 2024

We adopted Rigel in 2013. They estimated his age to be around 5 years when he came to his forever home with us. He was a little underweight, without a backstory, and full of energy… so much energy. It was as if he was overwhelmed and experiencing so many things for the very first time. We adopted his little sister, Bella, a few months later so he could have a lifelong companion. Bella was smaller and younger than him, but she was definitely the big boss. Rigel was just a passive, very happy-go-luck kind of guy. They did everything together. Both of them small dogs, but did they ever think they were “tough” together.

He was mischievous— you had to learn to watch your food and hide your garbage cans around him… but one look at that silly face with those giant round eyes and that one wonky tooth, well, who could stay mad at that? He was an incredibly vocal and “talkative” guy… he had different vocalizations for different things he wanted. He loved going for car rides, even if it was just going on a simple errand to the store.

One of his absolute favourite things to do was go to the lake, even though he was afraid of the water. He could spend all day there without ever running out of energy. Endless sights to see, people to meet, things to sniff, and spots to mark.

We eventually moved out of the city so Rigel and Bella could have a yard, a big yard, all for them. Rigel loved his yard. He would sit and sniff the air, patrol the perimeter, patrol for squirrels, make friends with one neighbour dog, and bark at another neighbour dog. It was his kingdom.

His fur greyed and long walks and adventures became difficult, and then impossible. His joints could no longer keep up with him. Using the stairs became a struggle too. Eventually we just carried him up and down them, even the few steps down to his yard… his large yard, which he loved so much. His yard was becoming too big to fully patrol too, but he seemed happy to just lay on the deck, looking around, as if he was just taking it all in. He loved being around people, especially his people, and would ask us, in his non-verbal doggy way, to go and sit outside with him, which we were always happy to do.

On August 29th at 8PM he asked to go outside. I carried him out. He sat in the grass and looked around at his yard and smelled the air. That’s all he did. I picked him up when he was ready to bring him back inside… his death was instant. He died in my arms as I was carrying him inside. Hopefully he was without fear and/or pain.

Words will not ever be able to express what a hole his death has left in our hearts. The house is so quiet without him, without his silliness, his mischievousness, his “talkativeness,” his breathing, his energy… the sound of him sloppily drinking his water and walking across the floor. It’s all just gone.

Rigel, thank you for spending nearly 11 years of your time on Earth with us. Thank you for all of the silliness, the torn up garbage cans, the stolen cat food, the lake adventures, the cuddles, and the love. I hope you knew what you meant to us, how much we love you, and how full you made our lives and I hope we gave you a good life.

We love you forever and we will miss you until the day we all meet again 🕊️🤍