Liam Payne welcomed 'new member of the family' just one month before tragic death: 'Love her'

Payne died after falling from his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires. The One Direction star had been in the Argentinian capital for a couple of weeks after travelling with girlfriend Cassidy to support former bandmate Niall Horan, who had been performing in the South American country.

The past few days have seen his former bandmates, past partners and family paying devastating tributes to the singer.

Among them was his girlfriend Cassidy, 25, with whom Payne had only recently adopted a rescue dog. The couple adopted the pooch from an animal shelter just one month before Payne's death.

The Mirror reports Cassidy has since been seen with the dog as she bought pet food during a recent outing - one of the first times she's been seen publicly since Payne's death.

Speaking recently about the new addition, Payne said: "I really love her. She is so cute," the publication reports.

"She is a tiny new member of the family for a while. 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," he added.

Cassidy commented: "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."

Fans have also pointed out how Payne owns another beloved dog, Stan.

Many have expressed concerns for the dog on social media, noting he is probably "confused" as to where Payne is.

The tragic news came to light late on Wednesday, with Buenos Aires ambulance service provider spokesman Alberto Crescenti telling media: "The alarm was raised at 5:04pm local time saying a person was lying in an internal patio at Casa Sur.

"At 5:11pm an ambulance arrived and the man was certified dead. Our role was to head there quickly, give medical attention, and try to resuscitate him, but his injuries were incompatible with life.

“Based on what the team saw, there was apparently a cranial fracture and extremely serious injuries that led to his immediate death.”

Payne's toxicology report has so far shown traces of "pink cocaine" in his system. Final results are still expected, but may not be made public for a while.

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It is understood that a partial autopsy found traces of cocaine, benzodiazepine, crack cocaine, "pink cocaine" which is a combination of methamphetamine, ketamine, and MDMA.

"A partial autopsy found that the former One Direction singer, who died at 31, had multiple substances in his system when he fell to his death from the third-floor balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 16," ABC reports.

"Those substances included 'pink cocaine' - a recreational drug that typically is a mix of several drugs including methamphetamine, ketamine, MDMA and others – as well as cocaine, benzodiazepine and crack."