"Kennett" - Loved and remembered...

You never realize how much your pets are a part of your daily routine until they are gone. I guess that's because we never really want to think about what our lives would be like without them. They are woven into the daily fabric of our lives ever so tightly. When they pass it causes a long sometimes sad and often times happy reflection of who they were, what they meant and the love they gave.

SE and I found this out Feb. 28, 2009 when we had to put our precious "Kennett Boo" down. She was hurting and we believe we did the humane thing. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it was the easiest and least challenging thing we could have done. I guess we could have stretched it out a few days, weeks or even months. But ultimately it wasn't fair to Kennett and we knew it was time.

For those of you who never had the chance to meet Kennett and those of you who were lucky enough to have met her but wanted to know more, I am going to try and put into words what made us love her sooooo much. Hopefully I can do her justice.

Kennett was rescued by SE in October of 2006 from the local KFC franchise in Kennett, MO. SE tells the story well. Kennett would sit in front of the double glass doors welcoming any patron or passerby with her BIG brown eyes and infamous tail thump. From the moment she saw Kennett, SE says that she had her heart. With a big kiss and a tail wag that could chop wood SE was immediately smitten by Kennett. I got the phone call a few minutes later and we decided if Kennett was still at the KFC when SE finished calling on her doctors then we would bring her back to Memphis and find her a good home. After all, we had Nelly and SE was 6 months pregnant with Airey. I didn't ever think we would end up with another dog at that time. Odds were good that we could resist temptation and find her a home with someone else.

It lasted about 5 minutes. We decided that our home would be her home and we never looked back. Nelly and Kennett became fast friends and SE and I welcomed a new member to the family. A 6 month old chocolate lab/pit bull/whatever else was in her blood mutt named Kennett after her hometown of Kennett, MO.

She was quirky and that's why we loved her so much. Such a strong personality. As I like to call her, FIFO. First in First out. Wherever we went Kennett had to be the first one in. If I was taking them outside, she was out the door first. If I was letting them back in, she was in the door first. And this means she was knocking anything and everything out of her way to make sure she was first.

Those first few months we always wondered how our dogs would do with the arrival of Airey. I guess it was their personalities --- Kennett the wild, rambunctious, fun loving one and Nelly the quiet, disciplined one --- but we always assumed Nelly would be the one of the two to have the best relationship with our kids. Boy were we wrong. Kennett was great with the kids from the very beginning. Airey would play with her all the time. He would pull her ears, mouth, tail and try to wrap his arms around her big barrel chest and she always had the same response.....lay down and roll over on her back so he could play with her. She loved him and we loved her for that.

Another one of KBC's (note: KBC is another name we called Kennett. It is short for Kennett Boo Cole) quirks was her ability to howl and semi-talk to us in the mornings. Most Cole family Saturday mornings revolve around getting the kids up, laying in the bed and playing with the dogs. The best part of the Saturday morning ritual is the KBC "I wuv woo" howl. It starts with a pawing of the bed and quickly evolves into a full fledged sprawl of both front legs and big brown eyed - grey bearded chin rest right next to our pillows. Then she proceeds to howl in a tone that sounds exactly like "I love you" but in KBC's own little "I wuv woo" doggy accent. SE and I egg this on for at least five minutes until the whole thing gets out of control and both dogs are barking non-stop and both kids are yelling and screaming in the background. Only KBC could get a Saturday morning started so crazy but soooo right! Thanks KBC.

Kennett loved her sister Nelly and loved to romp around the backyard or Shelby Farms with her. She loved Nelly with all her heart but she would also fight her with all her heart if she felt like her rawhide bone was being compromised. I guess that was the "street dog" in her. She was the same way with our family. She gave us her heart and loved us unconditionally until the very end. She also protected us as if our lives mattered more to her than her own. No stranger was ever allowed to knock on the door without a vicious string of barks combined with a flashing of copious amounts of canine teeth. We would have to put her in the backyard every time we knew the pizza man was coming over. No stranger wanted a part of Kennett Boo and that's the way she wanted it. She kept us safe. But if it was a friend or family member at the door she was the first one there (again FIFO) and our own personal welcoming committee.

The last few months and weeks Kennett's knees slowly began to deteriorate. First it was the right knee. Her left leg was still strong at this point and she never really let us know how much she was hurting. She would limp occasionally, but not to the point where it kept her from spilling her love and energy all over the Cole household. After a month or so of limping we decided it was time to take her in and see what was wrong. Hoping it was just a sprain but prepared for the dreaded ACL tear I took her in to the vet clinic. I had been through this before with Nelly a long while back and I had a hunch it was not a sprain. We got the bad news that it probably was a tear but with some re cooperation and loving kennel constraint KBC would be the same in a few months. Well about a week and a half later she pulled up lame on the left leg and would not put any weight on it. We knew. She knew. And we had to return to the vet. We got the bad news on Ash Wednesday and made the difficult decision later that night. KBC would not be in pain anymore and that's what we had to tell ourselves to get through the next few days.

Even with both back legs out of commission, Kennett kept her spirit. She would labor up on all fours and waddle over to anywhere she had to be. Even through all the pain, Kennett was still a FIFO dog. She still protected her bone. She still protected us. She still played with Airey. And most of all she still gave us her heart.

She gave us all of her heart and she took a part of our hearts with her to heaven. I know we will see her again one day and we look forward to hugging that big block headed, brown eyed, grey bearded, white barrel chested, quirky girl again and telling her how much she meant to our family. She will be missed dearly and remembered often.

We wanted to post as a way to honor our girl. I could probably write a blog every day for the rest of the year and still not encompass every good quality about KBC. I will wrap it up with a few pics of her below. Thanks to all of our friends and family for all of your kind words, thoughts and prayers over the past week. We sincerely appreciate each and every one of them from the bottom of our hearts.

R.I.P. K.B.C. Feb 2006 - Feb 28th 2009

Our sweet girl

Pete and Repeat - Nelly and Kennett "The Girls"

The head tilt - One of KBC's favorite responses to any question

KBC

Loving on Airey

Protecting Baby Campbell

She was a leaner - Any free space of furniture she could find, she leaned on it

Her favorite spot

Snow of 2008 - She loved the snow. So fitting she went up to heaven the day we got our biggest snow in years!!!