Remembering Kagney & Kutter
“There’s nothing more we can do…the cancer has progressed”
The first time I heard those words was 8 years ago, and my heart shattered into a bazillion pieces.
The second time I heard these words it was only a few months ago, it broke me more than I could have imagined.
Kagney (image courtesy of Dog Grin Photography)
Round 2 came when I was already in mourning for the loss of one of my best friends – my right-hand man, my Kutter. My fella who was ALWAYS by my side for 16.5 years. We always wondered how our girl, who loved her big brother more than anything in the world, would manage without him. We never had to find out. One month after Kutter left us, we found out that Kagney was days away from losing a battle with hemangiosarcoma.
But lets back up for a minute…
Remember Kutter? The happiest boy? The one who loved daycare, loved puppies, loved his sister, loved his brothers, loved his friends, loved life? He did all he could after he lost his big brother Kelly to help raise money to fight canine (and pediatric) cancer by funding research and other programs through Czar’s Promise. Year after year, Kutter worked hard to raise money for this amazing organization in honor of his big brother and several friends that went before him. Never did we think he would lose his sister to the very thing that took his brother.
Kutter
Kags, our girl, our non-lab, was a coonhound mix. She loved her people so much. If you were “in her circle”, it was a special place to be. She gave the best hugs – often with her dew claws digging into your neck, just to let know how much she loved you. She would get the best swishy tail when she was excited about anything. She could catch and kill rabbits in the yard in .002 seconds and then stand over them proud as could be until her dad would come to dispose of them, but if you weren’t her dad, you better not come close to her prize. She was loud and stubborn and fast and lazy. And dramatic – so, so dramatic. “My Life!” She was a stunningly beautiful girl who loved to roll in the stinkiest things she could find. She liked to nip at dogs to let them know she was in charge. She wore tutus and dresses to special events or to run around the yard chasing Kutter. And she loved. Boy, did she love. She loved her sunshine and snacks. She loved her people. She loved her Kutter.
She was a junkyard dog – her mom came from the south as many hounds do and she, along with her brothers and sister, landed in rescue here in Wisconsin. We fell in love with her before even meeting her and she was meant to be ours. She attached herself to Kutter the day we brought her home and the two were rarely apart.
Baby Kagney
Junkyard dogs are indestructible, right? They can eat anything, have incredible immune systems because more genetic variation makes for better genes, right? All this is might be true but cancer doesn’t care.
Cancer doesn’t care that she was only 10 years old and no one was ready for her life to be over.
Cancer doesn’t care that her family needed her to help them through the grief of losing Kutter.
Instead cancer took our best girl from us 1 month after losing Kutter.
One. Month…
It's devastating to lose one of your best friends, one of your loves. It completely breaks you to lose two so close together.
May 2023 - one of the last times they were together
Our house is quiet.
Our hearts hurt.
Tears fall often as we find just another thing that reminds us of them.
Grief is hard – there’s anger, sadness, bitterness, warm memories
I can’t talk about 1 without the other. Kagney and Kutter. Kutter and Kagney. There are so many things I could tell you about both of them. I could fill pages and pages and pages. But that’s for another time.
What I want to talk about today is how we need your help to continue the fight against canine cancer.
In memory of Kagney, who lost the battle with hemangiosarcoma at 10 years old.
In memory of Kelly, who lost the battle with hemangiosarcoma at 11 years old.
In honor of Kutter who would have done anything to save his sister and brother.
Kelly, Kutter, Kagney (Photo courtesy of Dog Grin Photography)
Please come walk with us at the Czar’s Promise Inspiring Hope Walk. This year it’s on October 1, 2023. https://events.czarspromise.com/event/page/list/2023-inspiring-hope-walk We have a team – join us! https://events.czarspromise.com/event/team/2023-inspiring-hope-walk/the-dog-den-and-puppy-den-1
If you are able, please donate to Czar’s Promise – in memory of Kagney and Kelly – or maybe someone close to your heart who lost the battle with cancer, which is all too common in our furry friends. Every little bit makes a difference and gets us one step closer to kicking cancer’s butt.
Let’s help fund research that will fight these cancers – the cancers that take our best friends from us too soon – and bring hope to families facing these tough diagnoses. We can make a difference!
Kelly, Kagney, Kutter (photo courtesy of Dog Grin Photography)
Post written by Laura, September 2023