Over The Rainbow Bridge

It is with great pain and sorrow that we have to announce that our beloved Kenwood's Liam Erin passed away on January 28, 2009.

We have no idea what happened: a few days before, he looked a bit sluggish, so we took him to our vet who did all the necessary tests, exams and X-Rays, but everything was fine. She prescribed some pain killer to make him comfortable. A few days after, he woke up in the morning not looking good at all. We took him back to the vet straight away. Again, tests and all, nothing showed. We were sent home but they kept him gave him oxygen and fluid with a drip.

A few hours later, the vet called us and asked that we'll take him to an internal medicine specialist. At our arrival, we were told that he probably would not make it there, and asked if we wanted him to be euthanized. As we were talking about it, there was a great shuffle, nurses and vet running around.... and a few minutes later, we were told that he had passed away.

We spent a lot of time cuddling his beautiful warm body.

Our friend Grace, who has one Liam's son (Aidan) took him to her hobby farm just outside Charleston, SC, and buried him there. She is going to put a beautiful Irish Rose bush over his tomb.

We miss him, as he was the best dog anyone could wish for.

We are all sad and hurt by his premature death.

We will always remember and love him as he is still a part of us.

Arlette, Joel and Caitleen Juliette

I've been Tagged

Hello Friends, I have been tagged twice, so I asked mom to write the 7 facts about me I have to divulge ;)
1/ I was born in a beautiful place in Canada. My human parents Mary and Ken are really nice, they allowed my new parents to adopt me and join Caitleen Juliette in Charleston, SC. To avoid me to take too many planes, they drove me to the US and I flew to Charleston without any trouble.
2/ My mom and dad were both champions, and from different side of the world. My new parents weren't interested in competition, so, the champions line stopped.
3/ As soon as I arrived to my new parents' home, and saw Caitleen, even though I was only a puppy, I fell in love with her, and I do believe the attraction was mutual.
4/ I have to say that even though we share a great love for each other, Caitleen since the day we met, has been the real BOSS! It was good when I was a little wee baby, because she showed me the ropes, told me what I could get away with, but now that I am all grown up, she keeps doing it. I love her so much that I don't say anything, as long as she leaves my food alone.
5/ I have learned to understand human language; well, I should say languages, as mom is French and speaks her native tongue fluently.
6/ My full name is Liam Erin and boy, when I hear mom use it, I know I am in trouble..... She doesn't need to yell, I know straight away that I have been busted;)
7/ I love my new parents and I know that they love me. Dad calls me "the slurp champion". so, it's not so bad, I am not a champion in the ring, but I'm still a "true champion" of something.

A Beautiful Poem

IF

If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can get going without pep pills,
If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can overlook it when those you love take it out on you when, no fault of
yours, something goes wrong,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can ignore a friend's limited education and never correct him,
If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
If you can say honestly that deep in your heart you have no prejudice
against creed, color, religion or politics,

Then, my Brother, you are as good as your dog.

---- Author unknown
Published in the Nov/Dec. issue of The North Carolina Mason.

My Tail of Devotion for Liam Erin (Kenwood's Liam Erin

This is a special Tail of Devotion

See All Tails of Devotion

Thank you to all my friends:)

Hello all my pals, Thank you so much for your support. I am now able to take longer walks, and this morning, I was allowed to join Caitleen in the backyard. It was just 6:00 in the morning, very cool, and boy, did I enjoy waking up the whole neighborhood with my intense barking.
Even though it's Sunday, Mom didn't say anything to me, she waited for me to come back inside and took me for quite a long walk.
I really enjoyed myself and, oh, sorry to leave you in a hurry, but Caitleen is barking in the back room and I must join her.... A man has to do what a man has to do, no?
Love to you all.

After the Surgery

Hello Friends,
Just wanted to let you know that Liam is still in "recovery mode". He is not happy to stay in his bedroom most of the time. He normally loves his long walks in the park of our subdivision and chasing anything that moves in the backyard. Alas, all that will have to wait for a little while:(
All he is allowed at the moment are 10 minutes walks just outside our house, after we make sure that there is no other doggy around who could get him excited, and very little time spent with mom when Caitleen is in the upstaires main bedroom.
He still has to wear the Elizabethan Collar all the time, to make sure he doesn't try to get his stiches off before the surgeon can do that for him!
I will keep everyone posted and... talking about "posted", I will try to get a decent photo of him for his friends to see!
Take care, all,
Arlette

Liam Goes under the knife

On Wednesday March 29th, I noticed some drops of blood on the tiled floor. I wasn't sure which dog it came from, so I decided to find out. It was in fact from Liam:(
I rang the vet straight away and, but my usual one wasn't there (she is also a very good friend of mine, and has been our vet since Caitleen and Liam joined our family in 1998). The other vet at the Animal Hospital examined Liam, and found that the blood was coming from his penis:( After several X-Rays, we saw that he had lots of stones in his blader and a big string in his urethra as well. After checking, they found out that the stones were Calcification. As it was late for surgery that day, we were sent home, and the vet was trying to contact a specialized surgeon on this procedure to operate on Liam the following day. They rang us the next morning, It happened that this particular vet wouldn't be able to operate until the following Monday, which was too far away as there was a risk that a big stone would block the urethra and then, not being able of passing urine would probably be life threatening and requiring immediate surgery.
We were sent to another veterinary surgeon who would be able to do operate the same day. We had to go straight away to his surgery (after picking up the X-Rays at the Animal Hospital).
To cut the short story short, there were 2 procedures possible, and alas, after finding that Liam's Penise's bone was a bit narrow, on the advice of the surgeon, we decided to go for the full procedure involving an urethractomy and neutering.
Liam had to spend the night and Friday at the hospital.
The operating vet was really fantastic. He allowed Liam to come home earlier, because he was recovering and doing better than he has thought.
Liam came home last night, he has to wear a dreadful Elizabethan collar that he positively loath.
The recovery will take about 30 days and we hope he will not be traumatized by the ordeal.
Will keep everyone posted about how he is doing,
Arlette (Liam's mom)