Kim Fox wrote:
>Wanna hear the kicker? ........ He looks just like Buddy Looove.
>
>Tucker couldn't have come to me at a more perfect time.  There really is
>a time to every purpose under heaven.
 
I've never talked about this before, but Kim's post prompted me to mention
a very similar experience I had almost exactly a year ago.  On the last
Saturday in July, I heard that a ferret had wandered into a pizza place the
next town over and ended up at the local pound.  I called up to see if I
could help, and ended up bringing some food over to the little guy.  He was
so sweet, I picked him up and he immediately started kissing me.  He was
obviously well cared for, so I figured he was someone's beloved pet and
would be claimed.  Since the pound is one town over from where he was
found, I drove over and put up a notice in the pizza place for the benefit
of anyone who might be looking for him.  But no one called.
 
The pound holds all animals for one week, then this guy was going to be
transferred to a ferret shelter (thanks to Yvonne DeCarlo's efforts).
Well, he ended up coming home with me the following Saturday, August 5th.
But I wasn't planning to keep him, mind you, I knew I'd find someone to
adopt him.  I already had six rug-rats, plus a dog and a cat.  Enough vet
bills!  Well, to make a long story short, he won his way into my heart and
stayed.  After his quarantine period and vet check-up, I introduced him to
my crew, and he fit in perfectly.  They all liked him and he loved having
other ferrets to wrestle with!  He's a big, chubby, playful guy.  Not the
brightest spark, but so sweet!  He is a light sable, with a creamy
undercoat and chocolately colored guard hairs.  He has a hint of a white
bib and the cutest little white knees.  His coloring reminded me of a cup
of coffee with lots of cream, so he was dubbed Java Joe.
 
Java Joe's coloring was strikingly similar to Beuhler's, my other adoptee
from several years ago, and they had similar body types too, very solid.
As time went by, I noticed that they even had some similar mannerisms.
What I didn't know then was that Beuhler was silently developing cancer,
and I lost him one week before Christmas, December 18th.  It finally dawned
on me some time later that Java Joe had come into my life to fill the hole
in my heart left by Beuhler.  Every so often I'll catch a glipse of Java
Joe yawning or playing or whatever, and I'll still see Beuhler's angelic
little face.  It makes me smile, because I don't think things like this
happen by accident...
 
Nancy and critters
[Posted in FML issue 3493]