Ada McAllister and her husband Bill Scheffler lost their dog, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel after 13 years last year and were not going to get another dog but "We've gone to the dog show for the past two years and I had picked up two breeders cards," said Ada," and Bill, right before Christmas called one of them." "It was Emerald Isles Cavalier on Bainbridge Island," Bill explained, "and they both work in West Seattle at Navos. Marilyn and Jim Lovell."

That led to getting Rojo Riley, who is now 14 weeks old. He is a "blenheim" indicating his coloring, that being chestnut red and white fur.

"He's got a lot of curiosity about my cat," said Ada, "Fiona Lucia (she's a domestic cat), and when she came into our home five years ago we had two dogs. So she's not used to being 'top cat' but now she is." "She had a four month reign by herself," Bill added laughing.

So now Fiona and Riley are slowly becoming friends. "He's eager to please," said Bill,"very smart and loves to play and loves children. Cavaliers in general are just a very social dog."

They feed him Evanger's, a special food for his age.

Treats are a natural of course at this age since he is still being potty trained but it's had a side effect. "
When he comes into the house now we yell 'Treat! Treat! but my cat now knows what a treat is," said Ada.

They are very loving easy dogs the couple said and training them is similar to raising children Scheffler explained. "You have to be patient, firm and give them unconditional love." Riley is going to get some obedience training however from some professionals, specifically Puppy Perfectors in White Center.

These dogs, Bill offered, were originally bred to be on the bed, to be lap dogs in Great Britain and to attract the fleas. "They were chamber dogs."

"The thing about them is that they will go home with anybody. They don't care who they get their love from," said Bill.

But there's a deeper story about why they have a cavalier.

"We've been together about 9 years," Bill said, and we both had spouses that we both lost to cancer. We've known each other for about 27 years. My wife was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in 1998 and after a series of treatments, she wanted a lap dog. So she picked the cavalier. That's when we found out how good they are with people. She was comforted by the dog."

Riley is so small and cute that Ada had to "tell people that in the photo on our Christmas card, that he was not a stuffed animal."

How to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week:

Want to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week? Stop by the VCA West Seattle Animal Hospital at 5261 California Ave. S.W. and just ask for a form. A nomination is not a guarantee of appearance and your name and photo may appear in our newspaper and online.

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