HOKU
February 9,2004 to May 31, 2007

About 2 weeks after I started back to work in January 2007 we began thinking about getting another cat. We already had Hone, a male who adopted us in December 2004. I began going to the Hawaiian Humane Society webpage to search for a female cat about his age. After a couple of visits I had decided on one cat but she had been adopted. I made another trip on February 15th 2007 and visited with Hoku.

Hoku had been abandoned on a military base here on Oahu. She also had a small portion of her right upper canine chipped off. She was a bit reserved but actually came out to greet me. She ate a little bit then went back to her perch and curled up. I stroked her a bit and after calling Wileen, my fiancé, I decided I would take her home. I had them give her all the tests she needed and made arrangements to pick her up that evening. That evening I drove home with her and she was introduced to our home and Hone. She was quite nervous and somehow managed to find a hole in the bottom covering of our bed curled up there. She stayed hidden in the bed or under our chair for several days. We would periodically have to take apart our bed and get her out. Hone would try to play with her but she was still to nervous to play. We did not let her out of the house for about 4 weeks. She gradually began to get accustomed to our home and Hone.

We live next to a park and Hone comes to the park and walks around with us. He loves rolling in the dirt and chewing on the grass. We had hoped that we could get Hoku to do that as well. We started taking her outside and she would always run from us when we tried to pick her up. We would have to herd her back into the house after a time. She had a real problem with collars that had bells on them. She would not move much when she had them on. We had to remove the bells for her to begin to move around more. Gradually she began to run around and after about 2 months she would happily run out the door and play in the grass chasing birds, geckos and cockroaches. She even learned to go to the park.

Hoku loved the park. She would happily sprint ahead of us wherever we went. You could tell just how much she loved it from the way she held her tail and the way she would hop around like a Meerkat. In the house she would hop on the computer desk and watch the pointer move on the screen and paw at it. She would block my view as I worked or played games. It was really fun. Both Hoku and Hone would curl up at foot of the bed each night and sleep. Hone would occasionally groom her before they would go to sleep.

On May 31st 2007 I let Hone and Hoku out around 3 AM. Hone always wants out and will meow and badger me until I let him out. Hoku always follows him out the door. I closed the door and went back to bed. At about 6:00 A.M. I got up and opened the door and left it open to let them come in and get some food and water. I was cleaning up and getting ready for work. Hone had come home a few times but Hoku had not come back yet. Around 8:15 A.M. I started walking through the complex looking for her and calling for her. After about 15 minutes I decided to go to the park and look. As I exited the gate I saw Hoku in the road. She had been hit by a car and had passed way. I called Wileen and told her the news. I went back to the house got a towel, returned to the road, gently picked her up and brought her home. I made arrangements to have her cremated at the Hawaiian Humane Society. I then drove to the Hawaiian Humane Society to drop her off. It was a very lonely drive. I said goodbye to my little girl and went to work.

Initially I was not really very emotional about her loss. Only after a few hours at work did it begin to set in. It was then that I began to write this memoir of her. She was such a happy and playful girl. I will remember her joyfully sprinting ahead of me in the park and running up to me to be scratched. She brought us great joy and we do miss her. Though we wished we had more time together we are grateful for the time that God gave us with her.