Kenny

IRR were alerted to a 12yr old labX called Katie in the pound left behind when the owners moved house and subsequently surrendered to the pound.

We got HER out and found she was actually a boy, who we called Kenny. Not only that but if he was a lab X it was a cross with a corgi. He appeared to be very overweight and was clearly not in the best of health but he was delighted to be freed.

He had a few days with Sandie and her dogs where he was happy and received unconditional love and then he came over to England on Sunday. He was transported with kindness by Brian & hugged and loved by Andy who met him whilst transporting 3 other rescues for us. He was then transported to his fosterer by Regina who also gave her love to the dear little chap. Eventually he ended up in Lincolnshire to be fostered by Pat where he received lots of love and cuddles and was gently received by Pat’s other dogs. Although he seemed happy to be there, he wasn’t eating and then stopped drinking too and he seemed to be becoming depressed again.

Sandie had alerted us to the need to get him to a vet as he had some growths in his back passage so this was a priority and was done on Monday, his first real day in England. The vet did blood tests but the results were very bad & the fat tummy turned out to be a tumour so, with a heavy heart, we had to send poor Kenny to Rainbow Bridge yesterday. It is all so unfair and we could cheerfully murder his original owners who cared for him so little that they would leave him to die alone in a cold, miserable pound. The good thing is that Sandie & her dogs gave him love. Brian transported him with love. Andy & Regina met him en route and gave him love and Pat & Dave have surrounded him with all their love for a couple of days. The vet also treated him with great kindness so it had to be better for him than the fate he was about to suffer. We all feel numb and disgusted that fellow human beings can be so uncaring and cruel but, at the same time, we are so glad that we are part of a very caring group of people. I wish we could say that there will never be another Kenny situation but sadly I can’t but his little life was special and we are all mourning for him as if he were our own.
Farewell little Kenny. Hoping the next life serves you better than this one did

He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader.
He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion
Anon

For those who love an older dog

One by one they pass my cage,
Too old, too worn, too broken, no way.
Way past his prime he can’t run and play,
Then they shake their heads slowly and go on their way.
A little old man, arthritic and sore,
It seems I am not wanted anymore.
I once had a home, I once had a bed,
A place that was warm, and where I was fed.
Now my muzzle is grey, and my eyes slowly fail,
Who wants a dog so old and so frail?
My family decided I didn’t belong,
I got in their way, my attitude was wrong.
Whatever excuse they made in their head
Can’t justify how they left me for dead.
Now I sit in this cage, where day after day,
The younger dogs get adopted away.
When I had almost come to the end of my rope,
You saw my face and I finally had hope.
You saw thru the grey, and the legs bent with age,
And felt I still had life beyond the cage.
You took me home, gave me food and a bed,
And shared your own pillow with my poor tired head.
We snuggle and play, and you talk to me low,
You love me so dearly and want me to know.
I may have lived most of my life with another,
But you outshine them with a love so much stronger.
I promise to return all the love I can give,
To You, my dear person, as long as I live.
I may be with you for a week or for years,
We will share many smiles, you will no doubt shed tears.
And when the time comes that God deems I must leave,
I know you will cry and your heart will grieve.
And when I arrive at the Bridge, all brand new,
My thoughts and my heart will still be with you.
And I will brag to all who will hear,
Of the person who made my last days so dear.
-Author Unknown
KENNY 1994 – 29/3/06