To all who have lost their beloved fur kids, and those who have ill
ones,my prayers go out to you.  School is keeping me busy, and I don't
get the time to write to folks like I'd like to.  This tribute is a bit
late, but I knew I had to write it for Dakota.
 
In January a nurse I work with brought me a paper telling of a nursing
home that had lost it's ferret due to old age.  The nursing home has
therapy animals that live there, and one of them was this ferret.  They
were looking for a new ferret, as the residents missed the little one
who'd gone to the Bridge.  I contacted them, introduced myself, and asked
what they were looking for.  When I found out, I contacted Julie Fossa,
who just happened to have a bonded pair-Dakota and Caesar.  Dakota was a
bit of an oldster, and had a back injury.  Julie brought the boys over
one Saturday, and I instantly fell in love with both of them, but Dakota
the most.  His face and head were just like Spunky's.  He was having
trouble walking, and Julie wasn't sure when the injury had happened.  She
thought maybe he'd fallen in a cage, as he'd been in a foster home, but
she knew the foster mom was excellent, so it was a bit of a mystery.  He
also had something like glaucoma, and his eyes were going bad.  I took
Dakota to my vet, and he said some type of injury.  Well, I contacted the
nursing home and told them I didn't think Dakota would work, not with his
back, and they agreed.  The residents just love holding the ferrets, and
I knew this would be a strain on him, so Dakota and Caesar joined our
group.  They bonded almost instantly with Ghost and Shadow, and lived in
a large cage with them.  Over the summer we noticed Dakota's legs getting
worse in not working, but we'd carry him downstairs, put a towel or a rug
down so he could eat his gravy, as he so looked forward to that every
day.  He waited till you got him that gravy, and if you didn't you'd get
the most soulful look.  In mid-August he began to have trouble getting in
and out of the litter box, could no longer go up the carpeted ramp.  I'd
have to bathe him daily, which he didn't mind, but you could see in his
eyes he was getting tired.  Julie came over on August 24th for a visit,
and I had her look at him.  See, even though Dakota lived with us, he
still had a special place in her heart.  She agreed that he was already
seeing the Bridge, and so with a heavy heart I knew what I had to do.
That Monday, August 26, I got up and he was down, going into a coma.  I
knew I couldn't wait till after work, so called in, told them I'd be
late, and we went to my vet's.  I talked to him, all the way there,
telling him how great it was at the Bridge, that all the Crew would be
there, along with Webster, Buddy and Elsa, who the Crew took in.  Told
him that soon he'd be able to walk, no, run and dance again, that his
eyes would be better, and never again would he be in pain.  As the vet
gave him the shot, I swear that through my tears I saw him streak up
towards the sky, and I knew he was all right.
 
Muldoon and SaraFerret, would you mind checking on him for me, make sure
he got there all right and that the Crew met him?  He was that dancing
streak that came to you on the 26 of August, and I doubt if he's stopped
dancing yet.  I know this is late, but I just couldn't bring myself to
write, I'd lost Chester and then Dakota within a week or two of each
other.  Dakota, I know you were only with us for 7 months, and I know
that your foster mom, Julie, and I loved you, but if you'd wait for me,
I'd be honored.  Your group misses you, and so do I.  I keep seeing your
little face peering at me, waiting for that gravy.  I hope you found all
the chicken gravy there, and that you left some for others.
 
So that all of you know, the nursing home did get a bonded pair.  My
daughter and I took them over, and they were almost mobbed by some of the
folks!  These two little guys are in 7th heaven, and I think it's great
that this nursing home has this for their residents.
 
Also, someone out there, I don't know who, I want to thank you.  I had
written Chester's tribute, and Kat Parsons and I were talking.  I know
that Karen & the Scruff You Gang do the ferret angels, and I told Kat I
was eventually going to get one.  She asked me what my favorite colors
were, and it took me a while to get back to her.  Well, one day I got
home from work to find a box, and was truly puzzled, couldn't figure out
what I'd ordered, then I saw Karen's address.  I started opening the box,
and there was a card from Chester, which reduced me to tears, and then I
brought out the most beautiful statue, in the colors I'd mentioned.  So
when I could finally see, I got on the computer and told Kat I'd gotten
it, and why did she do it?  She wrote me back almost instantly to tell me
she hadn't done that.  Uh huh, right.  But she told me that she'd gone up
to Karen's sight and there was Chester, in the colors I'd mentioned!  I
also wrote to Karen, and thanked her, asked her if she was psychic.  They
both told me that Kat didn't do it, someone else had her send Chester to
me.  So, whoever you are, thank you from the bottom of my heart.  Chester
sits on ashelf, surrounded by fairies and unicorns, for aren't ferrets
mystical themselves?  I can't thank you enough for this gift, and I will
treasure it.
 
Rebecca & the Crew of Merry Mayhem
"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy, and taste=
 good with ketchup"
"Support bacteria, it's the only culture some people have"
[Posted in FML issue 4620]