I had to do one of the toughest things ever today.  Pooh, my last
remaining baby was very sick with lymphoma and had to be put down.  I
had 3 ferrets at one time, and one by one they have succumbed to this
terrible disease.  Pooh was 7 years old and not in the best of health
anyway.  Even without the lymphoma, I don't think he would have made it
much longer, but it was still very hard to let him go.  Even after losing
his ferret pals, and being sick himself, he kept his will to live and
play up until the last few days.
 
I loved all my babies, but Pooh was very special to me.  For some reason,
he really bonded to me from the first night we brought him home.  He
followed me around everywhere I went, and if I left the room (and shut
the door).  He would lie down and patiently, (sometimes not so
patiently), wait for me to return.  He was the only ferret that would
sleep in my lap, and he always showered me with kisses.  He was the
friendliest and gentlest of my babies, and was very loving toward humans
and his ferret pals as well.  Whenever I would take them in for their
annual shots, he would try to protect his little sister, Tigger.  If she
wandered out of the pet carrier, he would pick her up by the scruff and
put her back in the carrier.  Then, he would get in front of her as if to
protect her from the "mean old vet".  He would even try to pull me into
the carrier sometimes.  In spite of his fear of the vet, he never tried
to bite, no matter what was being done to him.  Although, there was the
one time when he tinkled all over our longsuffering vet.
 
He loved to play fetch, just like a dog, and would return with his toys
a dozen times or more if he was really in a fetching mood.  It wasn't
something we made an effort to teach him.  In a way, he taught us.  My
husband threw the toy once, and Pooh brought it back, then my husband
threw it again.  He brought it back again, and looked up at my husband
expectantly.  When my husband was oblivious, he proceeded to lick my
husband on the elbows and try to get his attention.  I could tell he
wanted us to throw the toy again.  And that's how he learned to play
fetch.  He would fetch a number of different toys, but his favorite was a
little rubber football.  My husband would say they were playing football
together.  All ferrets are smart, but he seemed especially intelligent,
and for a ferret had fairly decent eyesight, (even in his old age).  He
loved to do the ferret war dance, and would dance for me every night,
until he developed the lymphoma.  He had such a zest for life.
 
I've always loved animals, but I don't think I've ever had a pet touch my
heart in the quite the same way as my little Pooh Bear.  I know I will
miss him very very much.  So please welcome him to the Rainbow Bridge,
where he will be joining his sisters, Tigger & Sprite.
 
Thank you for putting up with my rambling.  I needed to vent a little.
Mommy has a broken heart today.  I also wanted to ask a question.  Since
Lymphoma in ferrets may be contagious, I assume it would be wise to wait
a while before getting any more ferrets.  How long is long enough?  The
last thing I would ever want to do is bring home a new ferret, just to
expose it to a dread disease.  Advice?
 
Holly
[Posted in FML issue 4666]