A MESSAGE FROM RILEE'S GRANDFATHER

"In this day and age because of the COVID monster, our attentions have gravitated to smaller more withdrawn personal contacts, but we sometimes forget other things around us, like our animals. They give us joy and inner peace we also take for granted.

For my generation (many years ago) as a child my dog was one of the most important parts of my life. Rilee was the same way. She lived with us for many years before moving over to her mothers’ trailer at Sun n Fun.  The puppies she cared for were two Pitbull pups her mother’s friend left behind. Rilee started training them to walk on a leash, sit and become “potty trained”. She loved them both and they became an important part of her life. They gave Rilee joy, and she repaid that affection with caring and love back. She never gave entering a burning building to save them a second thought, even if she should have known better.  She didn’t understand the dynamics of a confined but powerful fire, and it cost her life.  Her only thought was to rescue those two pups and her bravery set terrible circumstances into motion.  It’s that bravery and awareness of the value of two simple dogs that we wish to celebrate and remember, annually.

For kids her age, pets are a sanctuary in todays confused and uncertain times.  We sincerely hope to contribute in Rilee’s memory a sense of responsibility and caring among kids her age, and others, of course, that will guide them toward their adult years to be passed down for generations to come." 

—Pete Beisler