Liam Payne and girlfriend Kate Cassidy welcomed new addition to family weeks before death

Liam Payne and partner Kate Cassidy welcomed a new family member just a month before his tragic death. ITV The X Factor star Liam, who was in Buenos Aires in Argentina with girlfriend Kate before he died aged 31 last Wednesday, welcomed a dog with the model.

The Wolverhampton singer and US star Kate adopted a dog from an animal shelter a month before the star's death. West Bromwuch Albion FC fan and former One Direction star Liam previously opened up about deciding to adopt the dog with Kate.

He said: "I really love her. She is so cute. She is a tiny new member of the family for a while." Liam, whose dad Geoff has flown to South America, went on and said: "We're going to foster her for a while and get her really nice for a loving family I think. But we might be the nice family."

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Kate added: "We did a meet and greet with three different dogs and this one fit us best. She's so sweet. She's only four months old. She was abandoned by her previous owners and dumped at the shelter. We wanted to give her a second chance and a better life."

Liam was also the owner of another dog called Stan. Amidst his death, a throwback video of his has caught the attention of fans and is being shared widely. In the caption of the post, Payne introduced his dog to his Instagram followers.

“Welcome to the family, Stanley! Our hearts are bigger with you in it,” read Payne’s caption. Payne also shared a video of himself running with Stanley in a March 2024 Instagram post. The video started with Payne and his dog running on a paved road.

Payne later played fetch with a dog on a grassy area. The dog then hopped on Payne, trying to lick him, causing the singer to smile. “Omg so adorable,” wrote a fan in reply. “What a cutie @liampayne ! Congrats on the new family member! ” added another.

“Omg Stanley is Gorgeous, such wonderful dogs,” shared a different person. “That is so cute! We love you Liam,” commented a fourth social media user.