Kate

This is Kate, a high content Arctic at 10-12 months old.

Her eyes were white to transparent except in some light when they were vaguely yellowish-- Since these photos were taken, Kate got half again as big. She was taller and longer than my 150# German Shepard, but rangy...not much meat on her bones.

This photo of Kate the 'vicious animal' who "sits-on-the-mom", was taken at around the time of Kate's first Birthday.

She butted her head tight into my belly and sat on me for much longer at a time than was comfortable. Just inside the kitchen from the pocket door were two concrete blocks I sat on to be sat upon... she backed up and sat and then turned around to grab my hand in her mouth and we'd commune...

This was Kate at approximately 10 months old, in her "shorthair phase".

When I brought my Kate home the vet told me to pour everything into that first 18 months of bone growth. Youth was no time to save money or stunt the growth... Having grown up in a doctor's family and in a teaching lab when I was a kid, the whole thing made good sense to me. Put your money into preventive medicine now, or into pain medicine at the other end...

I do not have any pictures of her in her heavy coat when she looked good--but she always had the erectile strip down the back that she can hackle up together with a huge ruff around the neck. When she molted in the hot weather, she appeared to have lost at least 30#. The first year this happened I weighed her to double check appearances and she had only lost 5 pounds, but the diminution of girth was truly startling.

Alright, I hear you - I hear you sayin' "Aaaaaw, how cute". This adorable ball of fluff was Kate when she was just 10 weeks old. Balls of fluff like this grow up to be large predators, with teeth and claws. If raised IRresponsibly, they can be dangerous.
The handsome fella holding the pup is Alex, Kate and Nancy's good friend.

Alex here gets a kiss from the white puff-ball, who is no longer small or lap size. Kate was only 10 weeks old when she and Alex met, but it was love at first sight.

Actually, I was extremely careful with Kate and with children... Kate got soooooo big and soooo exuberant she could knock a kid down or tip one over with the slightest move - no intention of harm. She 'jumped' me; I learned early when I saw her body tense to spring, to jump straight up and throw my arms straight up so that I was jumping 'as tall' as she jumped.

I only permitted Kate to be around children who I believed to be well trained and realistic, and with adults who I believed to have their heads on straight.

Kate lived to be 14 years old, and was well loved her entire life. She was spayed early in life so that she would not have any unwanted litters of pups, or develop any of the of the myriad of hormone induced cancers in later life.

Rest in Peace, Kate - 1993 to 2007