The pure, happy, loving spirit of our little Dubs has left her little
family for the great gathering of ferrets at the Rainbow Bridge .  Over
the years our little Doodle has holidayed at our home (at the time much
to the chagrin of our spitfire Hotspur).  But it wasn't until December
that our Doodle came to stay and remain a part of our family forever.
Dubbies came to comfort Fidget when he lost his dear Hotspur.  She stayed
on to teach our new youngsters that she, the tiny, bald, blind, gentle,
older ferret lady, was head of the Matlick business.
 
Over the last 8 months, most of Dubs time was spent sleeping - she
preferred the penthouse hammock and woe be it to Arcas or Orlando if they
tried to get her to share, although eventually they got a deal worked out
- picking the nits from the humans - we clearly didn't bathe enough - and
motoring around the house.  On the day our new girls came home, Dubs
figured out her own, non-aggressive way of keeping them under control.
Being that she was naked, it wasn't hard for a scruffing to leave her
looking as if she had been in a major battle and I'm sure it didn't feel
too good either.  Dubs realized that if she screamed (and did she have a
set of lungs on her) Mom and/or Dad would come running and the girls
would get in trouble.  Sometimes if Dubs was asleep in a sack and one of
the girls stepped on her accidentally, she would scream.  The poor girls,
they didn't know what to do but run and hide!
 
Navigating our three floor house could have been a challenge since Dubs
was blind, but our naked wonder & I worked out a code.  If she was full
speed ahead and in imminent danger of collision, all I had to say was
"Watch your nose!  Watch your nose!" and she would slow, cock her head
sidewise, sniff and change course.  I will miss being her faithful
navigator.
 
It is hard to express our Dubs in words.  Seeing her padding through the
kitchen to the cats' water fountain or lifting her head to catch the
gentle breeze as she stood in the back yard, that was our girl.  Dubs
was happy just being (a lesson many could take to heart) and we were
fortunate to have had her gentle soul in our care until it was her time
to cross over.
 
I will miss her very warm, soft skin as she curled up with me, happy to
know she was loved and safe.  I'll miss her shrill cries when she wanted
the girls to either leave her alone or felt they needed a scolding.  I'll
miss the nit picking (although I swear I do bathe daily).  I'll miss the
telltale thump, thump, thump of her foot on the floor as she scratched,
letting me know she was up and out of the hammie.  Mostly though, I'll
miss my Doodle.  Godspeed little one, we miss you already.
 
Chris in WV with Arcas & Orlando
[Posted in FML issue 5002]