It saddens me when ferts cross over at a young age, with so much life
ahead of them, they pass due to injury or illness and you often wonder
'what if?' What would they have done or learned, who would they have
impacted or influenced, who would have loved them and who would they
have loved?

I had to greet a young fert over the weekend who made such an
impression on me...he was so young and full of life and was halted in
such a small moment of time by a brain stroke. One moment he was fine,
the next he was incapacitated, unable to move, barely able to lift his
own head.

The family Vet took a wait and see attitude, saying that sometimes a
fert will 'bounce back' from such an episode. But Sunny did not bounce
back and while resting in the loving arms of his human Mom & Dad he
made the journey across the Rainbow Bridge.

Sunny is a unique fert [well...aren't they all??] He was deemed a mutt
at birth, having no defined pattern or color. When he was about 6 weeks
old it was realized that he was deaf. After a bit of self-education his
Earth Mom learned about Waardenburg's Syndrome. This meant that Sunny
carried a gene that could cause deafness. His coat is a beautiful cream
color with a wide white head blaze that travels all the way down his
back to his tail, with white knees and toes and dark burgundy eyes. He
has a soft cuteness about him, despite his large size.

As I waited for Sunny to cross the Rainbow Bridge I was reminded of
the love that is all around us up here. The Ferret Promise Song played
softly on the wind and a glorious morning rainbow spanned the bridge.
The birds sang and the sun shone softly making everything around me so
serene and beautiful. I was reminded of all the ferts I have seen come
across that bridge, I realized that it takes a lot out of a
Greeter....to greet so many wonderful spirits who are so loved and
missed by the families they leave behind. It is a sad process that ends
happily. A Greeter feels all of that sadness and grief as a new arrival
crosses the Bridge, then it passes quickly and is replaced by hope and
a sense of renewal...as everything becomes whole and new again. Health
is restored and that is cause for great happiness.

When a deaf ferret arrives at The Bridge it takes a few moments for the
process of renewal to happen, but I can always see it on their faces
when they are able to hear that first sound. Their eyes light up and
a sense of wonder appears on their faces. It's almost as if they do
not believe it to be real because they always stop to listen, and it
doesn't matter whether it is the sounds of the birds chirping or of me
saying, "Hi My name is MustyPete..." they tilt their head to one side
and stare in amazement and for me, it is a truly wonderful sight to
behold. It makes my job up here have so much meaning, and worth.

Sunny will be staying with me for a while, until we can locate one of
his family members who came here over the summer. That's okay with me,
I could use the company...and it will be fun to show Sunny the sites
and introduce him to all of my wonderful friends.

I would like to tell Sunny's Earth Mom & Dad that Sunny is fine. He
knows that they did everything they could to help him, but it just
wasn't enough. He knows he was loved and he will miss them just as much
as they miss him. He also misses his little buddy, his cage mate since
they were both kits, Sammy Tsunami. He wants Sammy to know they will
meet again one day... and it will be like they were never apart.

You can email me at [log in to unmask]
with your greeting requests

[Posted in FML 5477]