Bonnie Bartell at her Wishing Well Ranch with Kiki Something-Special.
But perhaps what is most important to Ryan is the love Suki gives to his daughter, Dylan. Every morning Suki goes into Dylan’s room and wakes her with kisses. “Dylan wakes up happy every day. I love the fact that she’s (Suki) just a great companion to my daughter,” Ryan said.
Opening your heart again when a pets dies
Kenny Reed, owner of Guthrie’s Alley Cat, with Cheeks.
Continued from page 48
A constant companion Kerry Ryan, owner of Action Sports, and his black Labrador, Suki, seem to be practically attached at the hip. When Ryan first came across Suki, she belonged to one of his employees. But tensions ran high between the employee’s other dogs and Suki. That’s when Ryan decided to take Suki into his home. Suki is a fixture at Action Sports. Having Suki come to work with him every day is just as much a highlight as any other activity, he said. “She is just as excited to come to the store. All my employees love her and also the customers,” Ryan said. 50
Bakersfield Life
February 2012
The relationship between Kenny Reed, owner of Guthrie’s Alley Cat, and his four-legged companion, Cheeks, a slick-coat border collie, didn’t come easily. After Reed lost his first dog, Haggis, to cancer, he wasn’t exactly ready to let another dog into his life. “When we brought this dog home I really had no interest. I was so devastated by the death of Haggis, I still cried for a year anytime we tried to talk about him,” Reed said. Unknowingly, Cheeks had already started a bond shortly after arriving at Reed’s home, only four days after the death of Haggis. “Like every pet, they will work their way into your heart regardless of the circumstances. The thing that makes every man’s pet special to them is the bond that you create with that dog,” Reed said. Like Haggis, Cheeks travels almost everywhere with Reed. Although Haggis and Cheeks were completely opposite dogs, they have one thing in common: Their owner has an everlasting love for them that cannot be broken. “The beauty is, unlike with people, animals are the