Kirinbell Brittany Kennel

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Past Dogs

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• Ch Tobenlee Chase N Shadows RN JC NTD

Lady was my first dog, she was bought for me by my parents when I was 8 years old. She was a wonderful family dog and was with me right through my childhood, teenage years and into adulthood.  She lived to a ripe old age and was in fact still alive when I got married and left home. I didn't take Lady with me when I moved as at her age we all felt it was too disruptive for her to settle in a new home.  

It was only about 6 weeks after being married that I just could not stand living without a dog in my own home and along came another Labrador Retriever, Bella. At the time we were renting a granny flat on acreage and Bella had a great time playing with the resident Cocker Spaniels during the day while we were at work, being thoroughly spoilt by my husband in the evenings and she loved visiting at my parents home to be grandmothered by Lady.  After we bought our own home we decided it would be very unfair to leave Bella at home on her own all day while we were out working, especially as she had grown up with other dogs for company, so along came our German Shepherd, Kiri.  My husband and I joined our local dog training club and enjoyed training both the dogs even if only to a basic level.  Time marched on as it does and dear old Lady passed away.  She and my Dad had become very devoted to one another in her latter years and my life was about to change to that of a full time motherhood so Bella moved in with my parents to hopefully help fill the void in Dad's heart that had been left by Lady's passing and Kiri stayed with us.  Kiri was fine at home with me and was absolutely wonderful with our children, so tolerant, loving, loyal and gentle, I could not have asked for a better dog, she was truly a gentle soul.  Kiri lived a happy and long life and it wasn't until she was about 12 years old did she begin to struggle with arthritis and become weak in her back end.  Kiri was just shy of 13 when her quality of life had degraded to the point that we could not ask her to suffer any longer and had her put to sleep.  I was heart broken and vowed I would never go through the pain of losing a dog again. I still miss Kiri to this day.  It was only about 6 months after Kiri passed that Bella joined her at rainbow bridge.  My dad was completely devastated and although he continued to love dogs and always dog sat for us when we went on holiday he never had another dog of his own.

Kiri

Molly (Whetu KK Molly in Blue) 12/3/2001 - 27/2/2013

It took me a while to get over Kiri's passing but of course as the months went by the raw pain eased and it was all the good things about having a dog in my life that led me to decide I was ready for another dog to join our family and along came Molly.  After lots of research, a long decision making process and waiting for the right time, off I went to a highly recommended English Cocker Spaniel breeder to view her litter of available puppies.  Of course all the puppies were just gorgeous but I narrowed it down to the cheekiest little monkey of the litter. I will always remember the breeder’s response when I told her of my choice.  She laughed and said "You will have your hands full with that one!" And I did ... but in the best way possible. 

Molly joined our family to be a ‘family dog’ however it was clear right from the start that there was a very special bond between her and I and she was ‘my girl’. Molly was great with the rest of the family but was truly happy when she was with me. Molly very quickly became my shadow, she jogged with me, did the school run, gardened, supervised me cooking; a task she took very seriously as she loved food probably as much as she loved me! Some people may not have considered Molly ‘a good dog’; she was a shocking food thief her entire life, she could be demanding, she did not have a reliable recall if there were birds to be chased and she liked her creature comforts; if you wanted her off the couch you would definitely have to ask more than once! But I loved Molly, not in spite of these traits, but because of them as they were part of what made her the character she was. Molly was a true character, one of those rare creatures that once met one does not forget.  She was full of personality, cheek and self-importance, she greeted every new day full of joy with a ‘what are we doing today Mum?’ attitude and always lived life full on. If dogs can smile and laugh (and I believe they can) then Molly laughed and smiled often, she was a beautiful, happy soul with a tail that never stopped wagging. 

I have so much to thank Molly for, she enriched my life in many ways. It was my relationship with her that eventually led to my interest in rescue dogs and my work with a local rescue organisation.  Naturally we adopted one of our foster dogs, Popeye (he has his own page) and he and Molly spent many happy years together. It was also Molly who inspired me to become more involved in our local dog training club where I am now an instructor. She and I made many wonderful friends, enjoyed years of fun and sometimes challenging training days. We entered the world of competition obedience and at 11 years of age  Molly gained her Rally Novice Title.

Molly lived a good and full life; she was fortunate enough to remain healthy, youthful and puppy like for the better part of her years. It was only mid 2012 that I noticed she was slowing down a little and given her age and no outward signs of illness her vets and I thought it was just that she had finally accepted her age and grown up somewhat, sadly that was not all that it was. In January 2013 Molly had repeated attacks of acute pancreatitis and was hospitalised several times over the following weeks.  Molly never really recovered her strength and health after that.When it got to the point that Molly was no longer even enjoying her food I knew in my heart that something was really wrong. Ultrasounds were done and these showed some changes in her liver, stomach, pancreas and spleen. In order to get a proper diagnosis it was necessary for biopsies to be taken but tragically we could not wait for the results. She was suffering and I knew it was time to make the heartbreaking decision to ease her pain and let her go. After nearly 12 years of unconditional love the only thing I could give her in the end was relief. The biopsy results came through a few days later and I now know that she had an aggressive form of cancer.

I consider myself very blessed to have had Molly, she was my constant companion, best friend, confidante and teacher. I am better for having had her in my life, she challenged me, inspired me, loved unconditionally and brought a smile to me every single day, I still miss Molly dreadfully; she will always be 'my girl', a rare soul I will never forget .....run free Molly.