Dear Sandee,
 
Could you please keep an eye out for my Ryuichi?  He was a medium-sized
chocolate guy with the cutest brown freckle on his pink nose.  He'll have
a bright tie-dyed t-shirt and his favorite octopus toy with him, and a
splotch of the chocolate ice cream we shared right before he died on his
forehead, if you need anything else to help you find him.  He should have
arrived Friday night around 5:30 if he came straight from Dr. Weiss'
office.  I hope he did, but I set out food and his softest blankie with a
candle just in case he was confused or didn't want to go right away.  He
was so weak and sore towards the end, he might not have thought the trip
would be as easy as it should be.  Is he there yet?  Can he forgive me for
not helping him go sooner, when the pain got so bad that even eating and
pooping were trials?  Three months is a long time for a ferret to hurt....
 
Ryuichi and I were together just over eight and a half years.  His
sisters, Mitsuko and Princess Tazzy miss him very much already, as do all
his humans.  Please tell him I'll bring the leg he chewed off the octopus
when I get there, and that I only kept him here so long because I thought
maybe, somehow, he might get better and I loved him too much to let him go
without trying everything I could.  He likes Ferretvite, chicken gravy,
and of course, ice cream, if you could show him where to find some.
Please introduce him to Misty, the cat I also kept alive far longer than
his body and spirit would have preferred, so he'll have someone to kibbitz
about me with.  Oh Cheech, baby, I'm so sorry.  I love you, buddy.
Always.
 
Thanks, Sandee.  My girls are both seven and Tazzy was recently diagnosed
with lymphoma, so I'll probably be bugging you a couple more times in the
not-nearly-distant-enough future.  Until then, brightest blessings on you
and all the beautiful souls there with you.
 
Waiting for the day,
Marin
[Posted in FML issue 3780]