Pippin, my adopted ferret and friend, passed away quietly to the
Rainbow Bridge during the early morning hours of Saturday, July 17.
 
Some of you may remember Pippin as my "bionic ferret" who received a
pacemaker a couple of years ago.  Some of you may also remember the
question I posted last January on the best way to keep her warm during
the wintertime, a question that was met with dozens and dozens of helpful
and supportive messages (plus one evil and bitter response from a
heartless hag who shall remain nameless).
 
Pippin was a tiny ferret who enjoyed walks outside, digging in the grass,
napping in a box of (biodegradable) foam peanuts, Honey Nut Cheerios, and
being slept on by her other ferret friends.  She was with me for about
two years, adopted from a family that had owned her for about five or
six years but could no longer care for her.  She had fallen seriously
ill around November 2002 (about three months after I got her) with one
of the rarest types of heart disease around, a discover which resulted
in her getting a pacemaker.  The surgery was very risky (Pippin is, in
fact, one of the first ferrets in the country to get a pacemaker) but
after a few weeks of recovery she came back looking and feeling much
better.
 
Pippin will be buried alongside other pets (some she knew, like
Sprinkles; others she didn't) at my mother's house later this afternoon.
 
For those interested, I've posted a number of pictures of Pippin
(including some pictures from the pacemaker surgery, and a picture or two
from the "heated cage" solution to keeping her warm this past winter):
 
http://stevebert.no-ip.org/pippin/
[Posted in FML issue 4578]