Kyren was my first dog; his brother, Tanga, belonged to my cousins who lived in the next town. Both puppies were beautiful, but Tanga had the habit of escaping from my cousins' yard every chance he got. The first place Tanga headed was th
![]()
e nearby Quincy marshes where he'd get dirty, very smelly, and wet. He'd roll in the mud on the edges of the marsh following the thorough soaking then he would trot home with a happy smile on his face. Samoyeds are the only dogs who always look like they are smiling.
Kyren (age 6 months) seems to be nodding off at the 1951 Boston Dog Show. Still, you'll see that he's smiling. Kyren won a blue ribbon for "Biggest Dog in Show." He and I had our picture in The Boston Herald on February 9,1951. The caption is "Four-year-old Betty Lou Irwin, North Weymouth, and her dog Kyren and Kevin Garrigan and his dog, Kilty, were two of the trophy winners in a competition held at the Sportsmen's Show." The newspaper photo is now pretty brittle and shows both dogs and both children. Kevin, who also looks to be about four years old, is wearing a kilt, a Scottish hat, plaid bowtie, and vest. His mother must have really fussed over his getup. I have to say, however, that he and Kiltie do look pretty cute. Kilty took the prize for Smallest Dog in Show."
Kyren lived only a few weeks more; he caught distemper and could not be saved.
Not long after that Aunt Teena and Uncle Bob moved to California with my cousins, Bobby, Billy, and Judy. They left Tanga with a friend who adopted him, but Tanga stopped eating; he no longer escaped for a romp in the marsh. When he died, shortly after my cousins left for San Pedro, the vet told Tanga's new owner that he quite simply died of a broken heart. I don't have any photos of Tanga, but perhaps one of my cousins can post one.