*Leech Lake Legacy is a 501(c)3 tax exempt non-profit organization


Envisioning a world where every reservation dog and cat is well cared for

Monday, September 22, 2014

In memory of Karl .... RIP sweet boy

We received heart breaking news tonight from Karl's family (June and Cody) ... they sent an email to Sharon and Barbara Kinsmith who fostered Karl when he arrived into LLL's program at the beginning of the year (his story is below). Karl was adopted by June and Cody at the end of May, 2014:

"... I wanted to let you know with immense sadness that Karl passed away at the emergency clinic very early this morning. His stomach had bloated and twisted multiple times. Even with surgery, the vet and we, were not sure how he would recover. He went very peacefully on a nice big blanket with his head on my lap, cody petting him, and his puppy tucked in with him.

Thank you for putting him into our lives. We loved and still love him more than anyone could imagine.

Is it ironic that we had been teaching him to flip a treat off of his nose and catch it...and last night was the first time he did it successfully? He was never the most graceful, but always the most loving."

RIP Karl. You have touched the hearts of so many and you will be the brightest star in the night skies tonight. Let your spirit soar now .. and know that you will forever live on in the hearts of so many.

Karl's story (from the LLL blog post in Feb., 2014:
http://leechlakelegacy.blogspot.com/2014/02/karl-big-heart-full-of-love-and.html)

Karl was found as a stray on the Leech Lake Reservation by one of Leech Lake Legacy's volunteers. He had been living in the woods for some time before he decided to jump into the volunteer's car who had been trying for some time to catch Karl. He was transported to the Animal Humane Society in the Twin Cities for vetting, vaxing, and evaluation. He spent some time at the Animal Humane Society getting lots of love and pampering and going through their process to get the sweet boy ready to be placed up for adoption. The vets noticed a mass on his leg and as they were preparing to get him ready for surgery, he collapsed. This led to further diagnostics and tests, and we soon learned that Karl has a heart condition. Leech Lake Legacy made the decision to transfer Karl to a temp foster home with Sharon and Barbara.

X-rays show a possible enlarged heart, but that may be just a reflection of how full of love and affection he is. He may also have a megaesophagus, a condition that's managed by having him step on a step stool to eat so that he's almost upright on his hind legs. He learned that trick in about a minute, which shows how smart he is, and how much he loves to eat.

He enjoys his toys and will bring every one of them, one by one, from the toy box in the bedroom until he has them scattered around the living room. He's an excellent tennis ball catcher, too.

Thank you to the residents of Leech Lake Reservation who left food out for Karl and worried about him until he was finally brought in from the cold to begin his new life in the Twin Cities.

And thank you to Sharon and Barbara (and your pup Moose) for opening up your heart, and home, and for loving and caring for Karl as we continue to explore and get some answers to so many unknowns.

But there is one thing that we know for sure, Karl has a BIG heart, and yes, it is full of love and attention!

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And after several months with Barbara and Sharon, he was adopted by a young couple at the end of May who fell instantly in love with Karl.




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