Ripley Hagert Moos

Ripley was with us for 15 years and was part of all our major life events. We got him on a cold, wintery, snowy night from WI. When his mom and siblings ran for food, he stayed under my legs begging to be picked up. He had chosen us as his family. He started with the name Buckley, but after a week, we decided Ripley was a better name for him. He was trained to paw at a bell for going outside, so we didn’t have to hear that beagle bark all the time. Often times, however, he used the bell as a food notification and if we took the bell away, he’d paw at whatever was closest, like shoes! He wore an engagement ring on his harness to help with the big proposal. A couple of years later, he helped welcome home our baby girl. He became her guardian and was never far away from her. He enjoyed playing fetch and let everyone in the neighborhood know that that ball was his. If friends were playing too, he’d try his hardest to get to the ball first and if he wasn’t, he was a sore loser and barked at his friend for getting it first.

His favorite friends were Chester, Dottie, Norman and Butters. During Autumn, he loved jumping into and through leaf piles, especially if his ball was thrown into it. And sometimes, he’d throw it in himself because it was so fun to dig it out! And if the humans got too tired of throwing his ball, he’d kick it around like a soccer ball while he had another toy in his mouth. Sometimes, inside the house, he’d drop it down the stairs. Going on walks was never his thing as he had to bark at every human and every dog as soon as he caught their scent. Moving to a home with a huge back yard helped for exercise and lots of fetch! Plus he had a neighbor dog, Butters, to run up and down the fence line with even if she was much faster than he was. He hated swimming, but hated it more if he wasn’t near his girl. We can safely say, he was a dog that didn’t know how to swim, even with a life vest on. He loved looking out the window and barking at squirrels.

As he got older, his eyesight and hearing diminished, going on walks got easier and the barking ceased. Although he could still smell a ball, he could no longer play fetch but would run alongside his new friend Phoebe. He would boop his nose on us to confirm it was us. He got to enjoy one more Autumn season last year but much slower and no more hiding the ball in the leaves. In his last year, he got to work from home with me and helped with school drop off. The first few times were hard for him as he could see his girl walking away. He got to ride one more time on her lap before we helped him cross the rainbow bridge. Thank you, Ripley, for letting us dress you up, making us laugh, giving us snuggles, kissing and boops. You gave us many happy memories. You are loved and will be missed, especially your smile.