We recently shared the sad news that beloved Jack Russell Terrier and American Greetings ecard star, Uggie, passed away after being diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his prostate. This post comes to us from one of our associates, Jennifer Branch, who had the pleasure of working closely with Uggie and his owner, Omar. As she reflects on getting to know and love such a sweet dog, our hearts go out to Omar and all who loved Uggie…

I first met Uggie in 2009.  We were looking for a professionally trained dog to star in our Christmas video card. As soon as I saw that cute face and those deeply soulful eyes, I knew Uggie was the one!  The story centered around a dog decorating his dog house for Christmas and eagerly awaiting the arrival of Santa. Uggie gave such a heartwarming performance, resulting in an absolutely magical card. Six years later, it still remains one of our most popular cards at Christmas time.

Uggie not only connected to the hearts of our customers, but with everyone on set as well. Between shots, you would always find crew members getting a little love from Uggie! Both Uggie and his trainer, Omar von Muller, have been absolutely amazing to work with over the years.  When coming up with ideas for cards, we have always tried to think of “What could Uggie do?”- looking for any opportunity to work with the two of them! Uggie has starred as everything from an Italian gondolier to a singer popping out of a cake!

We have worked with many dogs (the majority of them Omar’s) in our cards, but I have to say that there is just something unique about the ones with Uggie.  He had an incredibly special way of entertaining and connecting with people.  I cannot even begin to think of just how many smiles he has brought or how many hearts he has warmed.

I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with Uggie. He was one extraordinary little soul and will be truly missed by everyone here at American Greetings.