Today I bid a birthday farewell to my big sister Katie who would have been fourteen today. Sadly, her body gave up and we lost her ten days ago. She was with me since the day I turned nine weeks old, and I miss her so much. I decided to go through all our photos and try to choose a few of my favorites to remind me of our good times and to share with all of you. We have so many it was hard to choose only a few. The above photo was taken by Karin Newstrom back in November 2012.
When I first arrived Katie was not happy, and did not like me, but within a week, I won her over and we were tight from that point on! I trusted her with my life, and knew she would always be there for me. Mom loves how she used to grab me with her front paw and pull me underneath her belly when other dogs would approach. She wanted to make sure the other dogs knew I was her puppy. The Kuvasz breed is, after all, a guard dog.
Katie taught me to share toys and to be gentle with toys. Together we killed and shared this mallard.
I loved the time Katie and I spent on the beach. We took walks on the North Sea beaches in our town almost every day. I loved the water, Katie preferred to just wade, but we hung out together. She got so mad when I would shake off near her, but she forgave me for being a little stinker!
Together we made the journey over the Atlantic to the USA. We were in kennels together in the belly of the airplane, and we were next to each other when thankfully Mom found us again in customs! We discovered squirrels together while we stayed at Gramma’s house those first few months, and when we got our own house with a fenced yard, we really let loose! It was our own version of “The American Dream”.
Although we did miss the beaches and some of our friends, we were content with our new life in America. Together with Mom we always had a lot of fun.
Chase and wrestle was our thing in any weather, at any time. We sure had boatloads of fun together, Katie! In the past year, a few times I came to you with my play bow, but then remembered you could no longer play which was sad. I was happy to just sit with you instead, but we both missed chase and wrestle time.
In our younger years, we hit the dog parks a lot! We had a couple favorites we frequented. You always liked to meet other dogs and play referee, I preferred to hang out with you or Mom. No matter what, we always had fun times at the parks.
You taught me to love cold and snow. No matter how deep it was, we were out in it and having fun. I’ve always loved this shot of the two of us in the snow.
Soccer was your game. You loved to kick the ball around and do some header shots. I could never get into it no matter what you told me. I appreciate that you tried, though. For me the fun was chasing you, while you chased the ball.
We traveled quite a bit for dogs. The vacations in Florida were so fun with the squirrels on top of or next to the pool cage. We enjoyed hanging out together watching them.
My big sister Katie, I miss you, Bailie misses you, Mom misses you, even the cats miss you. Today is hard but we know you don’t want us to be sad. Know we all love you so much and you will be in our hearts forever and one day we will be together again. In honor of your special day, Bailie, Mom, and I will take a walk at a place you loved and reminisce about all the good times we had together. Happy Birthday, Katie!
PS: Thank you so much to everyone for all your kind comments here on the blog and social media, direct messages, emails, and snail mail cards. It means so much to me and my family to know how much Katie was loved and we feel the love you all have for my family. GBGV hugs to everyone for thinking of us during this sad time.
Going on one of Katie’s favorite walks and reminiscing is a beautiful thing to do. And your hearts will be warm with memories instead of sadness. So sorry for your loss.
Many kitty kisses to the cats who love Katie and hugs to all the family left behind. Hope brandi will greet Katie nicely. She loved dogs…
Our cat bro Bert misses her fun tail. Walking is a good time for tears too and there are a lot of those. We miss our big white girl, but we know she is in a better place now.
Those are pawsome memories, she was so close to 14. Your mom did a excellent job with caring for her, not many large/ giant breed dogs make it that long. Glad you had her for so many wonderful years.
We know for her size, her age was good, but it doesn’t make it any easier. We are still so sad and miss her terribly.
The photos are priceless, precious and heart warming. You have so many memories, you are truly blessed. Hugs to your Mom
Thank you. Mom filled our schedule for two weeks, but that ran out over last weekend and she has been sad a lot. We miss her all the time and can’t believe she won’t be back. Sadly, you know our pain. One day we will have more smiles than tears, but it will take a long time.