Bob M
New member
I have the very sad news to report that our Abbie's son Kona passed away on Thursday of last week. Kona was brother to our Ernestine and Mary, and Rhonda's beloved Sawyer, and would have turned seven years old this Thanksgiving.
The cause of death was apparent liver failure, and came on very suddenly. Within less than one week he went from apparently healthy to desperately ill and in great distress. According to his human mom, "There was never an official diagnosis beyond liver failure, and, ultimately, internal bleeding. We opted not to do an autopsy. His ashes will be buried in our front yard, under the headstone and next to his Newfie friend, Angus"
As a puppy, Kona was a lively and alert little brown boy. Along with Sawyer, he was the champion explorer of the litter, and was the first puppy to master the daunting challenge of climbing up the stairs from the ground floor to grown-up country upstairs. He fit in very well with the young family who adopted him, making good friends with the venerable Angus, a lively Shetland sheepdog brother named Henry, and a couple of cats.
Even though he moved four hours away from us, Susan and I got to see a lot of Kona as he grew up, because something very special happened when we placed him in his forever home. As I've written elsewhere, we found we had a lot in common with the mom and dad - we shared interests, grew up in the same corner of the world, and three out of the four of us even attended the same college. Their little boy and girl were charming, and - we were soon to learn - in need of some grandparent figures in their lives. Before too long, Sue and I found ourselves happily filling that role, and we've been getting together several times a year now, and receive regular updates on karate tournaments and football games.
We have Kona to thank for that gift. He will be missed by all of us, but the bonds he forged between our families will last.
The cause of death was apparent liver failure, and came on very suddenly. Within less than one week he went from apparently healthy to desperately ill and in great distress. According to his human mom, "There was never an official diagnosis beyond liver failure, and, ultimately, internal bleeding. We opted not to do an autopsy. His ashes will be buried in our front yard, under the headstone and next to his Newfie friend, Angus"
As a puppy, Kona was a lively and alert little brown boy. Along with Sawyer, he was the champion explorer of the litter, and was the first puppy to master the daunting challenge of climbing up the stairs from the ground floor to grown-up country upstairs. He fit in very well with the young family who adopted him, making good friends with the venerable Angus, a lively Shetland sheepdog brother named Henry, and a couple of cats.
Even though he moved four hours away from us, Susan and I got to see a lot of Kona as he grew up, because something very special happened when we placed him in his forever home. As I've written elsewhere, we found we had a lot in common with the mom and dad - we shared interests, grew up in the same corner of the world, and three out of the four of us even attended the same college. Their little boy and girl were charming, and - we were soon to learn - in need of some grandparent figures in their lives. Before too long, Sue and I found ourselves happily filling that role, and we've been getting together several times a year now, and receive regular updates on karate tournaments and football games.
We have Kona to thank for that gift. He will be missed by all of us, but the bonds he forged between our families will last.
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