Kya Coldicott

Went to Rainbow Bridge on 5th May 2012

The very beautiful Kya came to live with us at the age of 14. She had been handed into rescue by her owners who claimed that she had snapped at their young children. The Oldies Club took her on and found her a foster home in Plymouth, so nowhere near us in the East Midlands, however my daughter Rachel and I fell in love with her photos at once.

She was big and hairy and looked like a good match for Merlin, as we had lost both Zena and Della in quick succession and he seemed a bit lonesome and lost. We drove all the way down to Plymouth and back in a day to collect her. Her fosterer wasn’t sure if Kya would part from her easily as she had settled in with her hounds and seemed at home, however, we opened the car door and she just jumped straight in without a backward glance – poor fosterer looked stunned and somewhat put out!

Kya was amazing. She was fun, fast and an endless source of amusement; always the clown. She acted like the eternal puppy she surely was. She never showed any trace of her alleged snappy behaviour. Everyone Kya met, she loved and everyone who met her made a fuss and constantly wanted to know what breed she was. She was certainly the hairiest Lurcher I had ever seen, but the vet put her mix down as Old English Sheepdog / Lurcher. I’m sure there was some tall, skinny hound in her though – deerhound perhaps? She was a big dog, but easy to handle and had none of the chasing small furries quality of many hounds.

She really took to my daughter Rachel and Rachel to her. They became inseparable and went everywhere together. This was absolutely amazing as Rachel had been suffering from ME for 10 years and had spent a lot of that time bed-bound and then housebound. Kya gave Rachel a reason to go out. They started just short, slow walks around the block, but as time went by, they went further and further afield. Kya gave Rachel the motive and the confidence to go out of the house and try to move around as she started to get better.

Just 14 months after Kya came to live with us, she had a very bad night. She was listless and panting and was sick and didn’t want to eat. The next morning I took her to the vets and they thought it could be an infection and gave her anti-biotics, but by the evening she wasn’t any better and as the night drew close I realised that this was no ordinary infection. We met the emergency vet at the surgery at midnight and he opened up especially for us. He set up the scanner and immediately took scans of Kya to ascertain what the problem might be and my worst nightmare was realised – stomach torsion. It was evident that Kya was in a lot of pain and there could only be one outcome. The kindest thing was to let her go there and then. So with my daughter in the waiting room as she couldn’t bear to see, I held Kya as she had her final injection and passed gently away. My daughter was devastated. Her friend had gone and in such a short space of time – and so quickly having seemed her usual bouncy self just 24 hours earlier.

Kya was a special dog and will always hold a place in my heart as the dog who brought my daughter back to living life to the full again. Rachel hasn’t looked back, but I know that Kya was really her dog and that there isn’t a day goes by that she doesn’t miss her.

Thank you Kya, you were a special girl and you came along at just the right time – I only wish you could have stayed with us longer xxx

If I had to chose the moment to say goodbye to you,
that moment would be never it’s not something I could do
So I need you to be strong for me and for you to lead the way
when you see my eyes glaze over and you feel my legs give way

And when the vet speaks softly to you, says there’s nothing he can do
then you need to be so brave for me as I rely on you

So when you choose my special day, the day I get my wings
I won’t think badly of you as this doesn’t change a thing
The bond we have will never break although we need to part
I’ll take my memories with me, stored securely in my heart

So as the Angels gather to take me from this place
just hold me closely to you, let me look into your face
and tickle me beneath the chin like a thousand times before
I know this will be hard for you, no-one could have loved me more
But as I gently drift away know that this is not goodbye
for I’ll be waiting at the Bridge for you on the day you learn to fly