We lost a very special 7 year old sable ferret this morning.  Half Pint
was fighting kidney problems and finally lost the battle.  On her vet
visit Tuesday the vet was shocked at how high her totals were and was
amazed Half Pint was still alive, let alone alert and moving.  Half Pint
didn't seem to understand her body was failing.
 
Last night when I came home from work Half Pint eagerly took in the soup
and water I fed her.  She was very weak but still alert.  Later in the
evening she started to zone out and went into a coma.  I held her close
late in the night and she stuck with me even after several of my pleas
to go ahead and cross the bridge.  I finally tucked her into her bed and
went to my own, knowing she probably wouldn't be there when I woke up.
I suspect she wanted to make the final journey alone and save me the
heartache of watching her go.  She left us this morning sometime between
1:30 am and 6:30 am.
 
Half Pint was with us most of 7 years.  She came to us a lost ferret that
was never claimed.  Many attempts were made to find her previous owners,
but for some reason someone kept taking down the signs that several of
us were putting up in the area.  Half Pint become a part of our fuzzy
family, joining Hannibal and Bear, who will be there to great her at the
bridge.  Half Pint was a very sweet delightful, and mischevious ferret.
Hannibal was the same age, so they bonded very quickly.  Half Pint and
Hannibal both loved to beg for pieces of cooked chicken breast, and Half
Pint continued that tradition to her very last day with us.
 
Half Pint also loved to steal socks and stash them in the kitchen drawer
to sleep in.  We made a deal with Half Pint and tied knots in our old
socks so those were "her" socks.  She seemed to understand this
arrangement, but occasionally helped herself to a sock from the dirty
clothes pile.
 
Half Pint loved to take naps with her Mommy and Daddy on the couch.  As
she got older she needed help getting on the couch, but always bumped
her nose against our feet to let us know she was ready to be put on the
couch.  She also needed her chicken breaks, so would come up to our mouth
and touch her mouth to ours to indicate she needed down from the couch
and wanted chicken.  Mommy and Daddy were very well trained and always
obliged.
 
Half Pint developed a tumor towards the end of last year and had it
removed the end of January of this year.  The test results came back as
a highly malignant cancer and unknown whether all of it was removed.  In
May we noticed a lump coming back, and the vet confirmed that it was a
tumor again.  We opted not to go thru surgery again, and also received
news that Half Pints kidney was very enlarged.  Each day since then has
been counted a blessing.  On her last trip to the vet on Tuesday the vet
said the tumor did not feel as tho it had attached to any organs.  When
receiving a call from me today that Half Pint had left us, the vet said
that Half Pint had actually beaten her cancer, and it would be the kidney
failure that took her in the end.
 
Half Pint will be greated by Missie and Ben, who she will not know,
Bear, Hannibal and Zoomie who she will know.  Hannibal and Zoomie will
need to tell Half Pint about a story about running away and unfortunately
meeting their demise by meeting the neighbors dog.  But they did send
Gabriel to us the next day to keep Half Pint company, and Gabriel still
remains with us.
 
We miss you Half Pint but are glad you are whole again.  Thank you for
sending Natasha to us a week ago to help fill a whole in our hearts.
 
Mommy, Daddy, and the fuzzies Gabriel, Maya, Emma, and Natasha
[Posted in FML issue 4976]