25/08/2021
Well my last dog of the season went home this morning, so I can officially make this announcement. As of today, the Riley’s Retrievers kennel will be closing indefinitely. 5 years ago, I started training dogs for other people in my spare time, simply because I enjoyed working with young dogs and turning them into hunting partners and family members. It was never about money or becoming recognized, it was just something I enjoyed doing. Since then I’ve been blessed with the ability to build a kennel to house more dogs, have enough work that I was having to turn people away, meeting all kinds of wonderful people, having a little extra spending money for hunting season... all great things, right? Over the past year, with the help of the Lord, I have realized how much time dog training has taken away from my walk with Him(studying/praying), my time with my new wife and our family, my time as a trustee, my time with my church family, my time taking care of my home... basically all the time I should be taking care of what is most important was being spent with the dogs. The nail in the coffin was a few weeks ago when I taught a Bible study lesson to my church family about the things of this world taking our time and focus away from Jesus. It really hit home when every example I used in the lesson was me and my life. The curse of man does tell us that we are to work to provide for ourselves and our family, but it does not mean to devote every hour of every day to our jobs. When it takes priority over the Lord like it has, then it becomes sinful. So for the foreseeable future I will not be taking on anymore dogs for training or boarding. As much as I love working with dogs, I love Jesus a lot more. And after what He sacrificed for me (and all of mankind), the least I can do is sacrifice my part time job/hobby to devote more time to Him and my family. I want to thank everyone that has supported me and/or trusted me with their pets over the last few years. I have enjoyed every minute of it. And if I can ever help answer questions on working with your dogs I will be glad to help!