ST PAUL, Minn. — There’s a key to your soul that only a dog’s love can unlock.
“You know, I’ve had a dog my whole life," said Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman.
No amount of overtime game-winners can compare to the love of a dog.
“I would go to the rink ... I was excited to get home," Hartman said. "I just wanted to see the dog."
For Hartman, that love began in 2014 during the early stages of his professional journey when he brought home Riley, a white German shepherd.
“Whenever you saw me, she was always with me. She was always at my hip at all times," said Hartman.
Simple and steadfast. Profound and pure. Riley Hartman’s love was consistent, full of comfort and affection.
“Her personality was almost a branch of myself, just because she was with me at all times, all the time," said Hartman.
And when Riley wasn’t with Ryan or wife, Lauren, or, sister, Lena, she made sure to make her presence known, even if it sometimes smelled.
“We had purchased a Roomba in Chicago," Ryan recalled. "Pooped in the house, and this Roomba took the poop, and you know Roombas, they go in every inch of the house and clean. This thing spread the poop every square inch of this house."
For Ryan, he said the best part about his bond with Riley was when he returned home. No matter the day or what happened on the ice, Riley was always excited.
“Whenever you pull up to my driveway, you can see through the front door to the couch where they would stay, and all you see is both ears facing the front door, dead asleep," Ryan said. "She would just pop up — good game, bad game — just excited."
During the middle of last season, Ryan noticed 10-year-old Riley wasn’t feeling well.
“My wife had brought her in (to the vet), I was already on the plane," Ryan said. "They were like, 'Her stomach looks swollen; we should probably check what that is.'"
The scans revealed Riley had cancer.
“This type of cancer, these tumors grow very aggressively, very fast and then they burst and they bleed out essentially," said Ryan.
One part of the equation of owning a dog is knowing that one day, you’ll have to say goodbye—a dreaded day that comes too soon. This is the down payment of a lifetime of unconditional love and joy.
“They gave us two weeks, was kind of the max, and she lived until July 16th this year," Ryan said. "We ended up having to put her down because the treatment stopped working. So we made that decision, which was a miserable decision to have to do. We never thought something like this would happen to her. Especially so early and still so full of life. There was still so much left in her.”
It's an absence that leaves a hole in your heart. Patched together by their love you carry forward, forever.
For the Hartmans, 30 days separates one of the worst days of their lives with one of the best.
“We really wanted her to meet the baby," Ryan said. "That was kind of our biggest thing was trying to get her to extend her life as much as possible to meet our son. As a way we kind of help cope with it is she didn’t want us to worry about her anymore, and to be able to focus all on him."
On August 16, the Hartmans welcomed their first child into the world when Keyes Hartman was born.
“Photos of her on her bump when she was pregnant, and cuddling on her and resting her head on her, we do believe they met.”
Does it help bring back some of the joy that you lost?
“Yeah, for sure. A lot of joy," Ryan said. "I’m very excited about the milestones that he’s going to go through. But yeah, seeing him smile and recognize me, for even a split second, makes me excited to go home right now and see if he does it again."