Happy Holidays to all of you, my only wish is that my Odin would be
deposited home, tomorrow (this morning, as you are reading this post) .
It is with heavy heart, that i write he has not yet been found.  There
isn't a day goes by, that he is not constantly in my thoughts and
prayers.
 
I received a package (unexpectedly) in yesterdays mail, and tucked
securely inside, well, ...i should say the ferrets received a package
yesterday, it was however addressed to me, Tara...Radford, you brought
tears to my eyes, what a loving and unconditional act, of love you have
bestowed on us here.  Enclosed in that flat package was a flying saucer
for the ferrets!  I have yet to hang it, properly, but did find a
temporary spot, and when i looked inside, i saw more ferrets that i could
count !  They love it, and love you too Auntie Tara !  They send their
heartfelt thanks and best wishes, to you and yours!  I had seen the
saucer in the ferret store publication and had often wished i could
afford one, but as of yesterday, i spent $169 @ Petco just on kibble
alone, to feed my crew ...i was pretty low, and mix a lot of them
together, so we all like an assortment...for those just in case
circumstances, and completely forgot the purpose of going in the first
place, treats!  Dad and mom had to drive out in that crazy traffic for
the almighty treats, today !  They have 10 boxes of them, so that will
hold us over for a while.
 
As for the shelter situation (Chris) with 150 ferrets, to care for?
Tara, your intentions are only out of love for the ferrets, and a wish
harm to no one.  That has got to be a handful to care for, especially in
getting them exercise, and clean bedding and litter boxes..  let alone
making sure meds are administered, and food daily.!  In this day of busy
lives, and wanting to help others, out ...it would be a wonderful act of
love and interest of Tracy's offer to help with finding homes for some
of those ferrets, in Chris's care, and it would probably be a quicker
transition for them, if they were placed in her (Tracy's ) care, and
allowed by the local potential adopters to travel less far, in their
quest to adopt?  It isn't always a question of how far, to travel, but
allowance of time.  There are so many ferrets who truly want and need
loving homes, and i am thinking of GCFA, also, as i write this.  It is
a matter, of ?  time and location, i hesitated driving to Chicago, for
we wandered around there for a few hours before we finally reached our
destination, getting lost in Chicago can be quite an experience.  I got
to visit them last summer, and i told others, who knew that i was going,
that i hesitated, for i knew, out of love for these wonderful little
furry beings, that i would be in tears, and it was true.  I wanted to
take them all home with me, but i knew that i just didn't have the
finances, time, nor enough energy to clean up behind so many, (i w/not
confess my age publicly ) .  My love to all those prescious furried ones.
I think of them all the time, and hug Buddy and Bubba who came home with
us that evening.
 
It tears my heart out everytime, i see a local advertisement for ferrets
for sale, in the paper.  When i think of all the ferrets, that live their
lives out in cages, day after day, waiting ever so patiently for that
someone special to (just know they are the one) ...i got a few calls when
Odin first went missing, and one of the responders said it was her friend
that found the ferret, and i had quite a time, getting the opportunity to
go and see this ferret, to verify yeah, or nay, that it was or was not
Odin.  Finally out of frustration, for she would not give me her phone
number, and the friend never called, i left a very tearful message on
their answering machine, that i did not want anyone elses ferret, i ONLY
WANTED MY OWN, my ODIN !  That is where i had to go to get this woman to
respond, that made them realize that i was serious about finding Odin.  I
@ 50 ?  years old, had to break down in tears, first.  The 2 responses i
got, were for ferrets that were found in September !  Odin went missing
in November ( Frankie, now lives with us, and Jerry R.  has found a
wonderful new home) , and i have had a chance to share some of my new
found knowledge, learned from many on the fml, about ferrets, and their
personalities and their care.
 
Please, open your hearts, to these little beings!  They are so full of
LIFE!  Don't view them as just an animal, as so many people do.  I was
told once, by a friend, that it is interesting how we can ignore a tiny
pebble in a shoe we are wearing, but to have one absent from the home
amongst many, we cannot forget.  That is my Odin, my pizza loving boy.
I just don't have any interest in pizza anymore.  Odin, when we would
order delivery, would be at the table, with in minutes of the pizza
arriving, standing on a chair, front paws on the table looking for his
bit of pizza, which he would spirit off to the bedroom, to either eat or
stash for later.  I have muddled through my grief , in his absence, with
prayer, and tears, and tried quietly to keep a grip on this, which
sometimes i feel that i am slowly losing.
 
Please send up thoughts and prayers for my Pizza boy, tonight and always
in his absence from his true home.  It is a nightmare revisited.
 
Rosemary, my condolences in your loss of Ricco ...your beds are very
much tenderly scratched to fluff up, by those ferrets that you carefully
fashioned them for.  You are a wonderful loving spirit yourself.  Wrap
yourself in the blessings of the work you do everyday, to make these
little lives comfortable and happy while their time on this planet is
brief.
 
I know this is getting lengthy, so i must bow out of here, and get off
my soap box.  My best wishes to you all, and condolences to those of
you i have not mentioned in this post, who have also lost their beloved
companions.
 
Humbly
donna and eppers (the found one) Christen
[Posted in FML issue 4008]