Light brown and white dog with long fur standing outside in the grass

Kiera was a strikingly beautiful sable merle colored Rough Collie, my "Lassie" girl. She came to our home, located on a 21-acre farm in Portland, Oregon, after spending the first 18 months of her life in a crate with her breeder. After the confinements of her early life, it took Kiera a while to lose her fear of new people, Including me. When it came to the great outdoors, however she instantly adapted to the freedoms of a farm dog life.

Her temperament was a sweet as they come, and Kiera easily won the hearts of everyone she met. She was kept company by our Scotch Collie, "Casper" and our Border Collie, "Calie", along with my husband, sons and the many daily visitors to our farm. Her days were spent outside, where she enjoyed lots of outdoor exercise. Her long nose was good at sniffing out moles and goffers, which she occasionally managed to catch. In the evenings she was big lap dog who would crawl onto the sofa and put her head on my lap.

Sadly, Kiera suffered from numerous health problems throughout her 11-year-long life, however, we always gave her the medications and allergy shots she needed to stay happy and active. In the summer of 2024, at the age of 10 years, Kiera was diagnosed with kidney failure by her veterinarians. I treated her with IV fluids every other day, along with other medications to help her feel comfortable. Her treatments helped her feel better and slowed the inevitable decline towards the end of her life. On a beautiful January day, I opened the door for the dogs to go outside for a while. There was a contractor on our property who didn't see her standing behind his truck. He backed into her and broke her femur. As I drove Kiera to the vet, I knew that I would be saying good-bye to my beautiful "Lassie" girl. With her declining health, I knew this hard "good-bye" decision was one I was going to need to make in the near future, but now that decision had suddenly arrived because of this unhappy accident.

I said good-bye to Kiera at Bethany Family Pet Clinic. Her final moments were spent in the comfort of sedation, she was stoic and beautiful until the very end. My husband and I will miss my dear Kiera very much.