After six years (FML #2540, 12-28-98), five different email addresses
(thanks for nothing, Nigerian 419 scammers), and countless stories and
tips exchanged, this will be my final contribution and final
communication to the Ferret Mailing List.
 
Today (01-07-05), my ferret friend Bubonis passed away quietly in her
sleep after nearly eight years of life.  I will tell you a little about
her life so that you can start to know her as I did.
 
Bubonis gained her name after the Latin word for "owl", so named because
as a kit she had two little tufts of hair at the top of her head that
just wouldn't stay down.  They reminded me of the "ears" on a Great
Horned Owl and the name just stuck.  She had many nicknames including
Bubo, Weasel, Bubo-Butt, Weasel-Face, Bubosity, Stinky-Butt, and simply
"The Bubo".
 
Bubo was purchased from the pet store in Newport Center Mall in Jersey
City, NJ, during the summer of 1997 (just after I moved to Jersey City).
I saw her on a Tuesday playing in a pen with three other ferrets; Bubo
was the only silver amidst three sables.  I thought she was the brightest
star in the store but I didn't get her right away.  At the time I already
had two ferrets, Rascal and Sprinkles.  I knew Rascal wouldn't mind
another ferret but Sprinkles (who was not descented) could be a problem.
Since it was the beginning of the week I didn't want to commit myself to
a new ferret only to have to leave her alone for most of the day for the
rest of the week while I was at work.  I resigned myself to not having
her, and left the store.
 
The following Saturday I returned to the store shortly before closing
time, fully expecting her to be gone.  I was astonished to see that she
was still there; in fact she was the ONLY ferret in the store, the sables
having been sold during the week.  I had less than an hour before the
store closed so I ran home (I lived only 10 minutes away from the store
at the time), put Sprinkles in my jacket pocket, and ran back to the
store.  The store employee let me handle Bubo and Sprinkles together to
see how they'd react.  Sprinkles wanted to be dominant but it was clear
she was willing to accept the newcomer.  The three of us returned home
and spent much of the weekend -- and several years thereafter -- learning
about each other.
 
Once Sprinkles established her dominance over Bubo, everyone got along
nicely and Bubo effectively became the peacemaker between new ferrets
and Sprinkles.  Bubo was always the first one to make new friends with
the new ferrets that came in, and always the last ferret to stand with
her adopted family when their times came.  It was Bubo who rode in the
carrier with Rascal on her final trip to the hospital; it was Bubo who
cuddled up next to Snippet on those first few nights; it was Bubo who
welcomed Pippin to the fold and sometimes literally got between Sprinkles
and Pippin during Pippin's adjustment; it was Bubo who laid next to
Sprinkles on her final night; and it was Bubo who stood guard over
Pippin on her passing.
 
If there were ever a ferret that defined nobility, Bubo was it.
 
Bubo loved the warm sun.  She loved being out in the warm grass.  She
loved sleeping in her hammock, which now serves as her shroud.  She loved
her rope-knot toys.  She loved her CheWeasels.  She loved her Honey Nut
Cheerios.  She loved dancing around a towel that was being dragged across
the floor.  She loved being flipped onto her back and having her sides
tickled while she flip-flopped like a fuzzy noodle.  She loved sleeping
in the bed under my desk while I worked at the computer.  She loved
raisins and strawberry-vanilla Toob Snax, even if they did give her
diarrhea.  She loved stealing sips of (lactose-free) milk from my glass.
She loved exploring plastic bags that were strategically left on the
floor for her.  She... Well, she just loved.
 
It's hard for me to remember her without noting her struggle at the end.
Bubo became increasingly tired and less active.  Her eating and bathroom
habits changed.  She couldn't quite make it up the small ledge where her
sleeping bag is, and she just gave up trying to get into the hammock.
There's a hundred other things that I'm sure Bubo missed out on but I
have to try and remember only the good things.  Suffice to say Bubo spent
the past week warm and clean and comfortable.  She was in a heated cage
while I was at work, she stayed by my side when I was home, and she slept
in one of her many makeshift beds at my bedside every night.
 
I came home from work this evening, took off my coat, put the mail on
the table, and went to her cage to check on her.  She was curled up as
if asleep, but she wasn't sleeping any more.  Bubo was gone.
 
The last two times I'd posted about the passing of one of my ferrets I
was often advised to get another ferret.  Please, if you feel the urge
to reply to this, please don't try to tell me to get another one.  I
don't see myself getting any more ferrets, at least not any time in the
foreseeable future.  I've had six of them over the past 13 years or so
and it's just too painful when they go.  Ferrets are wonderful,
beautiful, crazy little bundles of joy that can't help but rip your heart
out when they leave.  They don't mean to.  It just happens.  But I can't
do it any more.
 
I have set up a small web memorial for Bubo for those interested.  You
can find it here:
 
http://www.happymac.us/bubonis/
 
Good bye, Bubo.  You were my love and my friend.  I couldn't have asked
for more.
 
[FH]
[Posted in FML issue 4751]