In Loving Memory

Caesar Riotus

7/6/04 – 10/14/16

Friendship is the word of the month for February, and February is also the month to tug at your heartstrings, so I thought it an appropriate time (and long past due) to tell you all about my best friend and officially tell you about his passing.  Many of you heard, but many have not, and you may be wondering why you haven’t seen our gym dog Caesar around the gym.  I haven’t yet taken down his picture.  I didn’t know how to break the news to all of you and especially to the children.  He was fine one minute and then he was gone.  It was so sudden.  He had a tumor wrapped around his adrenal gland (that we were unaware of) and it burst.  He had only a few worrisome hours but then passed in my arms.

Most of you knew our gym dog Caesar.  He worked here at Discover for 12 years.  Caesar was my best friend, as dogs often are.  Caesar went EVERYWHERE with me!  He was such a good boy and I could always count on him to do the right thing.  Coach Haifa would laugh and say he was “responsible”.   He really was!  He never just wandered out in the gym unless I was with him.  He was always very careful and aware of all the activity going on around him.  It was the same everywhere he went.  He was always respectful of people and the environment in which he found himself.  That trait alone made him the perfect animal ambassador.  Here at the gym, he truly loved the children.  He loved when the kids would give him commands to sit, down, stay and come for treats!  The kids loved that he actually listened to them!  He loved to have his hair brushed or braided by the kids.  For many years he actually participated in preschool and Discovery classes when I was still teaching.  He would get in line with the kids and take his turn, sit on a color during warm up and play with the kids before and after classes.  He never tired of running down the tumble trak.  He was also featured in all of our tv and movie theatre commercials and new customers would arrive at the gym and ask about the gym dog.  He turned countless wary children into animal loving kiddos and he touched so many lives.  I miss him sooooooo much around here.  Over the years, he touched many many lives in such a positive way.  For those of you who know me, I’ve always taken advantage of the opportunity to elevate the status of animals.  Caesar was truly a “dog with a job” and he was the perfect dog to help that elevation.

Here are some of his career highlights:

In addition to his 12 year stint working here at Discover as an animal ambassador and public relations dog, he had over 70 hours of training in obedience, agility, Rally-O and he was an official Canine Good Citizen.  Caesar participated in the Houston DA’s office in the first Paw & Order CDU (Canine Dog Unit), assisting children and families through domestic abuse at the courthouse, he regularly visited The Children’s Assessment Center working with children who were victims of sexual abuse, and was on the dog team at Texas Children’s Hospital visiting the wards and bringing some happiness to some pretty sad situations.  If you feel compelled to honor him in any way, please make a donation in his name to the SPCA, or adopt a pet of your own and participate in a training activity.  It is a great way to bond and learn how to communicate with your dog.  It’s also an investment that pays off in spades and is a great deal of fun!