One of our ferrets died overnight from a freak accident and I've been
beating myself up about it all day.
 
We have two groups of ferrets and they have to take turn playing in their
room due to personality conflicts amongst the two groups.  Our group of
5 usually is out in the evening and the group of 4 stays out from late
evening until the morning.
 
Having lost a ferret in a freak accident 3 years ago, we have since
diligently ferret proofed their room and they dont go anywhere else in
the house.
 
Last night I let the group of 4 out.  Amongst their toys is a plastic
container that their food is stored in.  One of the handles has been
broken for a long time, which I didnt see as a problem until this
morning.  Our ferret, George (who was the most non-curious ferret in our
bunch), got himself wedged between the container and the lid.  Best I can
figure is his legs were too short to reach the ground and push the lid
off of him and he wasnt strong enough to pull himself all the way into
the box.  Basically he hung himself and was half hanging out of the box
this morning when I went to put them away.
 
We have had George since last summer and could never have anticipated
something like this happening.  I dont understand why he even tried to
get in there, as they had access to the food in their cage.  I cannot
even explain the horror of finding him that way this morning, and I cant
stop thinking about what he must have gone through.  How I have made it
through work today I dont know.
 
George was the first ferret we had who would just fall asleep in your
arms.  I loved taking him places because he would always sit quietly in
his carry pack.  Our niece babysat them back in December and took George
to school one day after school to show her teacher and friends.  He was
her favorite.  George had some issues with his legs where they would
splay out from under him, especially on a slippery surface.  The vet
took Xrays and didnt find anything unusual about it.  I wonder if his
weaker legs actually prevented him from saving himself.
 
I cant stop thinking about all the what-if's--what if I had checked on
them during the night?  (which we never do) Losing a ferret this way is
so much worse than losing one who has been sick.  You cant help but
blame yourself for it.
 
I guess thats all I wanted to say.  Thanks for listening.
Becky and Heather
[Posted in FML issue 4812]