Two truths:

One. Dogs show us the breadth and limitations of our humanity.

Two. It's always hard to say goodbye to a friend.

[caption id="attachment_10114" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Tom's dog, Riley[/caption]

When members of the Forum learned that Riley, Tom's stalwart companion for over a decade, had passed away this spring, they created a tribute to Riley to express their sympathies. What follows are pictures of Forum dogs, in this life or the next, along with memories and anecdotes from their people.  We hope you will honor Riley with us by honoring the animals in your life.

[caption id="attachment_10092" align="aligncenter" width="597"] Sophie, left; Callie, right[/caption]

"Sophie and Callie enjoying a New Hampshire winter." — jodel, New Hampshire

[caption id="attachment_10110" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Chaos[/caption]

"Here’s our buddy, Chaos." — GriffCouch, New Orelans, Louisiana

[caption id="attachment_10099" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Faith[/caption]

"Faith is a rescue dog so we don’t know for sure, but were told she is a Shepherd/Saint Bernard mix." — Shanisol, Denver, Colorado

"Tom, I feel for the loss of your dear, hairy friend and I just know that you will cherish all the great memories that you had together. As a tribute to Reilly, here’s three of his Retriever friends from Scotland—for once they are clean and presentable—from the left: Mulloch, Brodie and Dileas (pronounced Jeelus). I was probably eating a biscuit at the time—that’s why they look so attentive." — davys, Scotland

[caption id="attachment_10109" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Booda[/caption]

"Here is my dog Whitney, a.k.a. Booda, who just recently joined Riley.  She spent her life being loved by my family in Virginia, and made our lives better each day she was here." — luvdabags, Virginia

[caption id="attachment_10098" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Zero, left; Daisy, right[/caption]

"Best wishes and happy memories from my dog buddies, Zero and Daisy." — Missy, West Virginia

[caption id="attachment_10095" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Kuiken, left; Kuiken and kkintea, center; Tedu, right[/caption]

"Kuiken was adopted from Ohio and Tedu from New Hampshire."— kkintea, Miami, Florida

[caption id="attachment_10101" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Lizzie[/caption]

"Tom, I'm so sorry for your loss.  Thanks for sharing Riley's life with us." — Susan M (and Lizzie), Denver, Colorado

[caption id="attachment_10111" align="aligncenter" width="240"] Maggie[/caption]

"This is Maggie, an 11 month old German Shepherd cross." — Wendyk, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada

[caption id="attachment_10100" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Jane[/caption]

"Sweet Jane." —  BHappy, western Washington

[caption id="attachment_10115" align="aligncenter" width="516"] Boudreaux, left; Zepper, right[/caption]

"Boudreaux, our Bouvier des Flanders.  We miss her.  And Zepper, who loves the Thing!  He sends condolences to Tom." — Gulfcoast, the gulf of Texas

[caption id="attachment_10106" align="aligncenter" width="240"] Oliver[/caption]

"This is Oliver. He lives in Maine and loves the snow; good thing, too." — Moose, Maine

[caption id="attachment_10107" align="aligncenter" width="320"] Ariel, Hank, and Stella[/caption]

"This is the dog trio currently living at my house. The black dogs are Hank and Stella and belong to my son; the blonde dog is named Ariel and is mine. They are all mixed breeds. Hank and Ariel are shelter dogs." — bunchgrass

[caption id="attachment_10097" align="aligncenter" width="357"] K[/caption]

"K (our Samoyed) hereby respectfully reporting for the 21-wag salute in honor of Riley!" — haraya

[caption id="attachment_10091" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Titus[/caption]

"Titus is looking and feeling naked without his collar.  RIP, Riley, and our condolences to his friends and loved ones." — The Badgers, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

[caption id="attachment_10116" align="aligncenter" width="542"] Licorice[/caption]

"This is my late family dog, Licorice. We lost her to cancer in January 2011, shortly before she would have turned 13. She was the best labrabeagle in all of Missouri. She was an expert in napping, looking extremely guilty when she knew she'd done something dastardly, and photobombing all outdoor family photos by pooping in the background. However, her true calling was snack theft. Not even a counter more than three times her height could protect pies, bread, or any other delectable treats she wanted to get her paws on. She'd find a way to snag them all with not a single crumb left behind, no broken dishes, no ripped packaging." — capncat

[caption id="attachment_10104" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Cuillen[/caption]

"We can’t have a dog of our own so we sponsor a dog via the Dogs Trust organisation.  This is Cuillen.  He lives in the rehoming centre in Glasgow but, hopefully, someone will give him a forever home soon." — CeePee, England

[caption id="attachment_10122" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Tucker, left; Tucker with Daisy, right[/caption]

"Tucker, RIP 10/27/12, now with Riley at the Rainbow Bridge, waiting for us; and Tucker and Daisy." — Karen, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

[caption id="attachment_10117" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Sweet Dee, left; Rickety Cricket, right[/caption]

"This is Sweet Dee on the left and Rickety Cricket on the right. I had just woken up last Tuesday morning to find my car stolen from the driveway. These two bark at EVERYTHING except that. I was asking them 'why???' in this photo and you can clearly see they couldn't care less. RIP, Riley!!!" — Chiro75

[caption id="attachment_10108" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Ede and his Smart Alec[/caption]

"Tom, as dogs are more intelligent than humans in all the ways that count, Ede KNOWS there is a special place in heaven reserved for as good and true a friend as Riley has been to you. He hopes that you can find the place where remembering Riley is more joy than pain soon." — Ilkyway, Germany