Hi gang!
 
I just wanted to let ya know that my ferret, Teddy, is the Fuzzy Ferret
of the Week.  This is one of the best photos I've ever taken.  I took
this back in October of 1997 when Teddy was just 1.5 years old.  Sadly,
I lost Teddy last October to renal failure and the resulting anemia.  I
decided to submit the photo in his memory.
 
http://www.dookranch.com/Fuzzie_Photo.html
 
This is Teddy's story:
 
He was one of three ferrets that I purchased at a NJ Pet Expo.  I already
had two, but you know how ferret math works!  It must have been the bad
influence of some FMLers that I met that day, who all had 5 or more
ferrets!  I really had my eye on a DEW (Angel), and a silver mitt
(Fozzie), but this masked sable with the big brown eyes kept climbing the
cage to get to me.  How could I resist?  He was practically begging me to
take him home!
 
Despite his orange-gray teeth (no one could ever solve this mystery), he
was awarded second place in a big Sable class at an LOS show in PA, the
same year the photo was taken.  He was beautiful then, with a gorgeous
fluffy coat.
 
He was a very special boy and I still miss him terribly.  I know he's
still with me in spirit, but I sure miss having him around.  He was the
only one that loved to wrestle with my hand.  His favorite toys were a
blue,plush football baby rattle and a blue beanie dolphin.  He loved to
stash them, and re-stash them and steal them back from Fozzie, if he took
them.  He was a champion towel surfer, water bowl and rice box snorkeler.
 
The way he left me was very sad.  He had stopped eating and I had been
syringe feeding him for a few weeks.  I came home from work and rushed up
to feed him.  He must have been drooling a bit in his sleep sack, because
it seemed a bit wet.  He ate willingly though, and was alert so I put him
down to start cleaning litter boxes, etc.  About 15 minutes later, I
heard this commotion from across the ferret room.  I looked up, thinking
that Teddy was having a scratch attack, only to see a ferret that seemed
possessed by a demon.  He was panting, wildly jumping, twisting, rolling
around and bouncing off of things and over things.  When I reached out to
him, he bit me and broke the skin.  I was stunned.  He had never done
anything more than mouth my hand as a kit.  It was if he had become a
wild, rabid animal.  He was very hand shy, hyper-sensitive to noise,
movement and light.  I couldn't go anywhere near him without putting a
bottle of Ferretone in front of his mouth.  My friend, Michelle Tonkinson
of Philly Ferrets, helped me to give him sub-Q fluids, and a shot of Dex.
I had to confine him to a carrier overnight, for his own protection.  The
next morning he lost control of his hind legs and bladder.  It was
heart-wrenching.  He even bit me again after I fed him and was stroking
his head and consoling him.  With severe anemia, severe renal failure,
adrenal, stomach ulcers and now this, I knew it was time to say good-bye.
I couldn't bear to see him lying in his own urine, even though I changed
his towels frequently.  What was even harder to bear, was the lack of
recognition when he looked at me.  He looked at me, warily, like I was a
threat.
 
I recently had Lorelei Hunt (loreleihunt.com) communicate with my three
elderly ferrets, my two cats, and my beloved Teddy.  Yes, animal
communicators can speak to pets that are deceased.  I guess it's no
different that what John Edward can do for people.  Teddy told her that
he (his spirit) wasn't in his body for the last day or so.  That
explained a lot.  I just felt that my Teddy, the ferret that I loved so
much, wasn't there anymore.  When I told Lorelei how he behaved in the
end, she explained that an animal without a soul will act in a very wild
manner, just like he did.  I wanted to ask more, but time ran out, so
it'll have to wait until next time.  Fozzie told Lorelei that Teddy and
BJ both visit him often, though, so I know there still with us.  Until
recently, I always wondered about an afterlife.  Was this it or was there
more?  I have taken a great deal of comfort from shows like Crossing Over
and the Pet Psychic.  I know that some day, I will be reunited with my
beloved pets.
 
Dodie in NJ, missing Teddy, BJ, Gidget, Kelsey and Maddie (the cat)
[Posted in FML issue 3846]