Rigley is our 6-year-old boxer. We spelled her name without the "W" because Chris, my husband, isn't much of a Cubs fan, and he didn’t want people to think we named her after Wrigley Field. We chose the name because we read that it means "to bend or turn." Rigley bends and does the notorious boxer "horseshoe" walk with her wiggly butt when she’s excited to greet people. For us, it was perfect to call her our little wiggly Rigley.

The arrival of Rigley in our family was a big surprise to our girls, who had been begging for a dog ever since our previous boxer passed away five years earlier. We brought her home in a laundry basket and left her in the back of our van for our daughters to find when they were asked to help unload groceries. It was a huge surprise that brought them to tears—literally!

Rigley is an amazing and talented dog. She’s a certified Therapy Dog through Canines for Christ. Our daughter Ashley took her to training and worked with her so they could become an AKC-recognized Therapy Dog pair. They spent many weekends visiting retirement homes and hospitals. Now that Ashley is away at college, Rigley has gotten a little out of practice… but she’s still well-behaved. She’s very energetic and spunky, often showing her goofy side when trying to get someone to play or pay attention to her. She also has a gentle side and loves giving kisses and cuddles.

We have so many fun memories and stories with Rigley. One of my favorites is when we visited a retirement home and met a new resident who was blind and very unhappy to be there. He started petting Rigley, and she just wiggled her butt, so excited to greet him. He smiled and said, “I can just feel her happiness!” His family told us that was the first time he had smiled in days! I love watching her brighten someone’s day.

Rigley is like a real spoiled girl, and because of that, we have countless funny stories. She constantly has the “zoomies” (or “tornados”), pounces like a cat while playing with her toys, and strikes the silliest poses that keep us laughing every day! She gets two walks a day, rain or shine. If she thinks we’ve forgotten, she’ll sit in front of one of our chairs and have a full-on stare-down contest until we take her out. If we try to ignore her, she’ll throw in a couple of whiny huffs to ensure we don’t forget!

Thanks to these endless walks, Rigley has made many friends she loves to see every day. She adores Drago and Luka and even has a boxer boyfriend named Cody. She also loves going “bye-bye” anywhere and is very well-behaved in the car. Her favorite treat? Pup cups at Chick-fil-A!

Rigley loves people so much that she’d go on any adventure as long as she’s with her pack!