Kira "chose" us in September, 2001. After touring our local shelter, looking for our first fur-ever friend as a married couple, my husband and I stopped amidst the kennels to talk about the dogs we'd seen. Suddenly, Kira emerged from the shadows in her kennel, jumped up on the kennel door and licked my husband's fingers, where they were poking through the chain link. We really hadn't "seen" her before and were smitten. We took her out to the recreation area and played with her, then sat on a bench as she sniffed around. Before we knew it, she jumped up between us on the bench and sat down. The deal was sealed. 

Kira graced our lives for 13 wonderful years. She was a loving companion, at times a fierce guardian, and always a very bright spot in our home. Kira loved her human parents and children, walks, running swiftly along the beach and chasing the occasional seagull, exploring new territory and her fur sister Jessie.

In September, 2013, Kira was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma in her right leg. Vets couldn't save the leg and Kira joined the ranks of the tripawd crew just before Christmas that year. Never daunted by a challenge, our Big Dog soldiered on, not only healing like a champ but continuing to play and live like a boss! A subsequent cruciate ligament tear in one of her knees slowed her down and she couldn't travel far after that. However, a sturdy wagon with red nylon sides allowed her to accompany us on walks around the neighborhood that took us much farther afield than Kira would have been able to go unassisted. She loved that wagon and, every time it showed up, Kira ran to it in anticipation of another adventure. It always interested us to see how people reacted with Kira in the wagon. There were many smiles and waves or surprised looks. We would sometimes giggle at the response of some, who couldn't see she was missing a leg, and likely thought we were Kira's loyal subjects. Of course, there is plenty of truth to that. lol  There is nothing we wouldn't have done for her.

We had Kira's chest x-rayed as the vet instructed, since the type of cancer she had was known to travel to the lungs. The first two x-rays, at 3 and 6 months, were clear. However, before we could make it to the 12-month x-ray, Kira began coughing and was diagnosed with a rapidly-advancing lung tumor. It was inoperable. 

The next few months were sweetly-lived. We spent lots of time with Kira, took her out in her wagon, played, spoiled her and made lots of good memories. On January 9, 2015, when her breathing suddenly became labored and she couldn't get up, our sweet, beautiful fur child received her angel wings. She went swiftly and quietly over the Rainbow Bridge with my husband and I holding her outside in a field near our vet's office. 

How blessed we were to have such a sweet, brave, loving, bright doggie soul in our lives for so long! Though she is gone from our sight, Kira will always be most dearly loved and deeply missed. Shine on, precious Big Dog!