"Look out Sox. Here she comes!"

 For many years we had an outdoor cat named Sox.  She would often paw at the backdoor wanting food, or in, or both.  But, she was an outdoor cat and our backyard was her domain.  Until . . .

Over seventeen and a half years ago the girls got a puppy.  In fact, they helped bring her into the world. Suzanne even had to swing the runt of the litter around to get her to breathe.  Suzanne held her for Uli as she took her first breath.  Our older daughter named her Uli: "All-Powerful" in German -- or something like that.  At the time, I believed that it was an oxymoron for this tiny little fluffball; however, it turned out to be prolific.

So, for years, we'd warned Sox by yelling, "Look out Sox.  Here she comes!"  Then open the door.  Uli would leap out and off the deck and bark incessantly at Sox -- who, at this time, had climbed to higher ground.  After barking herself out, Uli would wander her domain until it was time to settle under a tree and meditate like a Buddhist Monk.

When Sox died several years ago at the age of nineteen, we buried her in the backyard.  For weeks, poor Uli seemed lost.  Eventually, I guess, she came to the realization that Sox was gone.

Uli is an Ocherese. According to one website:  Circa 1970, Janet Dilger, a Pekingese breeder located in Southern Indiana, had become increasingly concerned by birth defects she was discovering in her newborn puppies and decided to take action. Her goal was to produce a small, calm, healthy animal, with long hair that did not shed. To achieve this end she crossed her show Pekingese with a small Toy Poodle, then the resulting female Pekapoos with a male Maltese. The puppies from this mating were described by Dilger as ‘nothing short of marvelous, so she decided to continue with these as the foundation stock of a new breed, which she christened the Ocherese.   It's common for Ocherese to see their 11th, 12th, and even 13th birthdays.

Uli blew past those years ago.

Sadly . . .

It became painfully apparent over the past several hours that Uli the All-Powerful was finally succumbing to time. As I looked into her eyes, I believed that she was wanting to stay with us, but she realized that it was ready to leave us. Her tiny body was giving out and we all knew that the humane thing to do was put Uli to sleep. 

Highland Veterinary -- we've been going there for 35 years starting with our first cat right after Suzanne and I were married -- were wonderful.  Within minutes our poor girl was asleep, then passed peacefully. Suzanne held Uli as she took her last breath.

We took Uli home to the backyard to be buried.

For the last time, I opened the backdoor and yelled, "Look out Sox. Here Uli comes!"

Uli's last "Photo With Santa" Photo

Carpe diem Life,
David Kuhn