In honor of the passing of a long-time member of our herd, here’s an album of some photos and videos of Cruella from the past few years.  In the last video, Lucia is giving her some extra love not long before her death.

Cruella was born on range on May 5th, 2014. She had the same parentage as Crockpot, the daughters of Crooktail and Chorona, and was just as headstrong as Crockpot in her own way, only with less drama. Like Crockpot, she was what I would call a “confident” cow–confident in her own wisdom and her own impulses, and willing to assert her right to go whatever way she wanted to. She was quick to breed and managed to birth an impressive 8 calves over her life. She is survived by her daughter Bellows, who carries on her legacy.

Cruella had been doing poorly this fall and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in late October. She was still well enough that we could take her to the packing house for slaughter, and her last contribution is to feed those of us who have cared for her.

I will miss her attitude and her distinctive face in the herd.