Dear Friends,

Last night I had to make the very difficult decision of letting go of one of my very best friends and companions Obi Aurelius. Obi was on this earth for 10 years and in those 10 years he lived in Indiana, Maryland, back to Indiana, Walnut, Ca and finally to Redlands. He has been with me through thick and thin. He along with his sister Tiger Ernestine and his new brother Norman Alexander have been the true constants in my life. Those of you that knew and loved Obe knew what a great personality he had. He loved to bang on the kitchen cupboards until he was fed, he would scratch at the bedroom closet mirrors in the AM to wake everyone up, chew on plastic bags to make irritating noise when you were trying to relax, that was my Obe. I often described my Obi as a "nightmare" but I meant it in the most loving way. He was my little nightmare and I loved him because he was a rulebreaker (never learned to stay off the counters), and he had an attitude, he was unique. Even those of you that are not "cat people" warmed up to my Obe and recognized his distinct personality and admired his beautiful grey coat. His hair was prettier than ours.

Needless to say, I am devastated. As many of you know my Obe went by many names: Obi, Obe, Aureel, Reelly, Ratty, Rat, McRatterson. I will miss my baby Obe. his book of baby pictures "The book of Obe" is high on a shelf with some of my old memories. I will hold those pictures, memories (like when he hid in the fridge, got stuck on a tree, and most recently got stuck on the roof) close to my heart. He was one of my best friends and a dear family member. Although I am truly distraught without my Obe someone asked me this morning "What would Obe do?". Good question. He would keep on moving, getting into things, and making me smile with all his mischief.