He came to me without a name.  Can you believe that?  He was almost a
year old and all he had was a number on his cage.  He was one of the
ferrets Julia Fossa brought back from the Utah Rescue and how or why she
saw fit to allow him and his brother and sister to come home with me, I
don't know.  But what I do know is the endless amount of joy he added to
my life.  Even with all the tears I've cried this last week, I wouldn't
trade a second of it!
 
It didn't take long for a name to develop for him.  Boomer fit him so
well - although we never quite decided if he was named that for the sonic
boom he made as he flew by or if it was short for boomerang...because he
just kept coming back for more!  Then there were those funny little
noises he made in the litterbox, too!
 
Sometimes we called him 'graboid,' because his favorite game was to hide
under the chair and wait for someone to walk by...out that little white
head would pop and if he managed to get a hold of you...he'd try his very
best to pull you under there with him!  Not that there was any room under
there.  That's where he kept all his orange toys.  He loved anything
orange and as I look around the room now, it hurts so much to know that
these orange stuffies have lost their best friend.
 
Although his name doesn't reflect it, he was a genuinely sweet ferret.
He loved to be held.  He loved to have his head and chin rubbed.  He
would close his eyes and let me stroke his long white nose.  Even before
he got sick, he would snuggle his head up under my chin and sometimes, it
seemed he just couldn't get close enough.  I know he knew he was loved.
 
Boom was a beautiful boy and his greatest accomplishment was being voted
into the Ferrets of the FML 2003 Calendar.  He was Mr. October and his
beautiful white fur just glistened.  I am so glad I have this picture of
him.  It is how I will always remember him...not the mere shell of a
ferret ravaged by a disease so unkind.
 
To anyone who has had to suffer through the loss of a loved one due to
Megaesophagus, my heart cries for you.  As my vet took Boom to release
him from this monster, he had tears in his eyes as he said how unfair
this was.  We did all we could and still, there was nothing we could do.
 
My grandfather died just about this time last year.  Down toward the end,
my daughter commented how much Boomer looked like great grandpa.  And he
did...a frail, tired little old man.  Other than great grandpa, Boom has
no one to greet him at the bridge.  There are no Cooke Ferrets there.  I
am sure he will make lots of new friends and it helps me to know he is in
the land of ferretone rivers, where thick, warm hammies hang from raisin
trees and there's a sandbox around every corner.
 
I have suffered the losses of many animal companion...cats, dogs, rats,
rabbits, guinea pigs, birds and even horses.  And while they all hurt,
none has been as difficult to bear as this one.  Although I find no
comfort in this statement, truer words have never been spoken.  I know
not who wrote it, but I know the pain they must have felt because I am
feeling it now.  "A cat or dog can steal your heart, but a ferret steals
your soul."
 
Goodnight, Sweet Boom...I'll see you in my dreams.
 
Judy Cooke
Tyson, Hope and Einstein
Precious Lily and Chaucer
[Posted in FML issue 4454]