Katie came into the world on a Sunday morning, 30th November 1980 at 17 minutes past 6 weighing 8lbs. She was red cheeked and ready to take on the world. She seemed to be on a mission from the word go.

Katie was always a passionate person with a strong compulsion to stand up against cruelty and suffering, to animals and people, At age 10 Katie wrote to her local MP expressing her disbelief and sadness on fox hunting and urging him to get it stopped. This passion never left Katie and was put to good use throughout her life and becoming her purpose.

Katie was an intelligent person. She excelled at English throughout school, wrote poems from an early age, poems mostly about animals. Katie always was an avid reader, both factual and fictional books. Katie would often relate these books in conversations particularly the ones concerning people or animals triumphing through hardship and adversity. Katie was caring, thoughtful, thought provoking and sensitive. When older, on several occasions Katie would have posted a bar of chocolate through the letter box or left me a letter somewhere to cheer me up or just to make me smile, which it always did.

Katie believed in love, forgiveness and goodness. Katie believed in God. Katie was funny, so funny on times. Katie would come into the house like a whirlwind, doors left open, shoes thrown off in one place, keys in another, bag and purse somewhere else, everything a drama. Katie would then relate her latest events, so animated and dramatic, drinking constant cups of tea. Her conversations would be peppered with her funny little sayings such as “You wouldn’t adam and eve it mam” or the enormity of something graded in ‘bears’ such as “ Oh mam I was as annoyed as 8 bears” or “I was as happy as 10 bears”. Then the same in reverse when she was going.

Katie was beautiful, Katie was young. Katie has died way too soon. No words can express how she will be missed and how much, we are heartbroken, our individual worlds will be forever changed without her.

Katie's mum.