5/1/2024
I have been trying for several day to figure out how to write about KATE. She was a huge part of our lives just shy of 13 years. I guess the best way is to start from the beginning.
The beginning
I met a 3 month old Labrador Great Pyrenees mix at my brothers house while visiting with him and some other friends around April 2011. I found it odd that this pup ran directly to when and, as I remember, wanted to play with me all day. Before we went home, I told my brother that I might want her.
I told Linda about the pup and she said that the last thing we needed around here was a dog. I mentioned the pup a couple of more times as time went on and she relented and said it would be fine.
During our annual 4th of July party, my brother came with the dog. I wasn’t sure if she would remember me, but she ran up to me and wanted to play. I think to be fair she wanted to play with everyone. I could see she had a big personality.
A few pictures of baby KATE.
Quite the character.
She was named KATE in response to a NCIS episode that I had recently viewed. The episode was how the team reacted to Special Agent Todd being murdered. In one scene Gibbs picks up a rifle in the armory which might have been the type used to shoot Todd. He looked at Abby and said, “Do you know what they call a Bravo 51?” She didn’t know and Gibbs then said, “A KATE.” This intrigued me enough to see what it might mean and the best I could come with was Kill All The Enemy. Probably not really real, but interesting. And since I wanted the dog to watch over us, I gave her that name. It sorta fit her personality.
The middle years
As she grew up, it became readily apparent that she was going to be a huge dog. Her max weight was 140 pounds.
It was hard to train her to not jump on people. I enjoyed it. Others not so much. but in time she figured it out.
The herder protector instincts in her very dominant. Our neighbor across the road leases some of land out to run cattle. When KATE discovered this, she made it her job to herd them all day long. Of course this involved a lot of running and barking at the cows to get them to move where she wanted. We knew this really wasn’t going to work out well, so we put in an Invisible Fence to keep her on our property. She didn’t like it, but I didn’t want the cattle’s owner to shoot her, so there’s that.
I’m a storm spotter for the National Weather Service. We often have big storms that form up to the southwest of us. Our property is on a high place in the county which gives me a good view of whats going on. On several occasions, as I was watching storms roll in, KATE would start barking in an unusual manner. I took that to mean it was time to come in.
She was too brave for you own good. She went toe to toe with several coyotes and stray dogs. There was never much of a fight, but a lot of intimidation.
Her favorite season was winter. Her thick coat kept her warm. Her least favorite was summer. That same thick coat came close to overheating her to the point of us getting it cut very close.
Her later years
In her later years, she became like us, a little grayer and a little slower. Still yet, that did not stop her from taking her duty of being overwatch for when we were outdoors. This was especially true for Linda during the time I was in the hospital with COVID and the recovery afterwards.
In the middle of August 2022, a cat showed up who was later named Yogi. At first KATE would try to chase her, but she was too fast to catch. After a proper introduction, they became inseparable.
KATE had developed arthritis, particularly in her back knees. Overtime it became crippling to the point where she needed help to get up. Helping up a 100+ pound dog is not an easy task, but we managed through all of the winter of 2023.
As spring began, we could tell that it was time to take action. On April 15th, we contacted Paws in Heaven, a mobile euthanasia service, to put her to sleep. I can’t say enough good things about these good people. The event was as loving and gentle as it could be.
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