Dogs of the North The Pack Kate

In Memoriam

Kate came to me through the Hennepin County Humane Society in Minnesota. She was one of the cutest pups I've ever seen and reminded me of a little bear cub. Her litter had been born at the shelter, however, and with all the noise and chaos and never ending rotation of volunteers she lacked the stability and consistency that produce confident and assertive dogs. Kate was the shyest of souls. It took her a long time to feel safe and at home in her new environment.

She was helped along the way by her malamute brother, Adam. From the start, Adam was gentle and playful with Kate. She would trot around in his path, play with him in the snow, and so adored him that she didn't bark for the longest time, but instead gave a very sweet but pathetic imitation of a malamute, "Woo."

Kate was one of those dogs whose sole intent in life was to love and be loved. She completed basic obedience and agility classes, but didn't really have a competitive bone in her body. The only point in all this, from her perspective, was to be with me and then to romp around in joy when she came home again. Her favourite game as a young dog was to race around the house and leap into the big armchair that Adam liked to sleep in and then "defend" it from Adam and my cocker spaniel, Hagar, as if it was her fort. She was always the fastest of the dogs, with an athletic build and stamina that would never end.

When Hagar passed away and Daisy came to live with us, I took Kate along on the three hour drive to meet her breeder and bring the new puppy home. Daisy is a very submissive dog, and did not want to come out of her crate in a strange place until she saw Kate. Daisy's crate was in the back of her breeder's hatchback. He lifted the hatch and opened her crate and tried to coax her out to no avail. Then Kate stood on her back legs and put her front paws on the bumper. Daisy saw Kate and a moment later was out wagging and greeting both of us. The two dogs were inseparable from that moment on.

When we moved to Ottawa from Minnesota, Kate took it all in stride. I was concerned that she would have trouble leaving the security of her old home, but she didn't seem to mind at all as long as Adam and Daisy and her cats and I were with her. With Kate - we - were what mattered. We were her security and we were her happiness. She didn't even care much about toys and while she liked her food, it wasn't the prime motivator that it has been for our other dogs. Our love and attention was.

Kate was always the favourite dog of all our cats. A cat or two could often be found cuddled up next to her - and sometimes even on top of her - while she slept. For our rescue kitten, Louis, Kate was the best thing he'd ever encountered. He would rub and rub and rub against her and follow her about the room to rub her again. I suppose it was her gentle nature that attracted the cats to Kate. There are simply no words to say what a sweet and kind temperament was hers.

Kate was diagnosed with cancer of the nasal cavity in April of this year. Our vet estimated that she had only a month or so to live. She surprised us by giving us six times what was asked - so true to her nature. We are blessed that she was happy and suffered little discomfort to the end.

She asked so little. She gave so much.

Goodbye, Sweet Kate. You will live in our hearts forever.

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