05/23/2026
To everything there is a season:
We now say our sad farewell to ANNIE who passed this last week- 2 short months from her 16th birthday - and 3 days after leaving KYON for the last time.
Annie had come back to visit us for one last time- and had appeared robustly healthy her first few days at Kyon camp- however on her last day she suddenly declined due to her advanced old age and a multitude of health issues that took hold.And within days we got the dreaded notification that she had gently passed, surrounded by love and held kindly by John and daughter, Ellen. Annie’s other owner Sarah Beisheim did not quite make it back in time from holidays, which makes this loss doubly hard for the family.
“ Sarah writes: Our house feels so empty. Everywhere are still signs - toys, dishes, beds, blankets - and of course pictures. We keep thinking we are hearing them. We are keeping really busy to distract ourselves. They were a huge part of our lives and of our kids’ lives. All our friends knew and loved them. John and I walked through Highland Park last evening, where we walked Sven for 14 years and the girls for the last 5, all year long: they loved that park, and it was incredibly sad to be there without them.”
Annie lived all her life in the US , but came home to us at Kyon for boarding- as did her housemates Sven and Ivy .we are so grateful that we got the privilege of caring for our beloved “pups” in their senior years!
Annie’s story is one of being a benign ruling matriarch of her little pack of 3.
Annie and Sven were raised together at Kyon, and were 3/4 siblings. Sven was from Maggie Mae and Ivan- and Annie from Naha and Ivan- and those two litters were born here at the same time almost 16 years ago.
The Beisheims had Sven first and then 5 years ago they rescued Annie and Ivy - through a Kyon appeal on Facebook- as their first home was falling apart. (Little did we at the time know that Annie had had pups and that Ivy in fact was Annie’s daughter)
SVEN was the first to pass - at age 14.5 years - 18 months ago. This wonderful gentleman of a dog had welcomed Annie and Ivy into his home with joy and affection and together they formed a little pack of “the 3 amigos”. Sven was a loving and loyal dog- the King of their household - and the Besheims were bereft when he passed . But he certainly had a long life well lived and we were so grateful for that.
Then Ivy passed next - and suddenly - last year. She made almost 13 years of age….we do not know her paternal pedigree since she was not registered- (her previous owners just deciding to breed Annie to a neighbourhood Golden 😪). IVY was a wonderfully affectionate and truly beautiful golden - sweetness inside and out - and became a therapy dog in her later years.
That left ANNIE-the oldest of them all: She was a phenomenal dog-the smallest of the 3, but the undisputed Boss: Full of character and determination, stubborn and clever - all wrapped into one beautiful and affectionately loving package. We worried that when her daughter passed on that she would soon follow, but instead with the Beisheims’ incredible dedication , she blossomed and lived for almost another year.
So we feel as if an 'era' has passed with these 3 now gone. Our deep gratitude goes out to the Beisheims for the wonderful lives Annie, Sven and Ivy had. Our deepest condolences to John , Sarah and Ellen.
