Dear Ferret Folks-

I'm going away on a trip, soon. I've been doing the requisite laundry,
shopping for those last-minute must haves, and just generally getting
organized. Last night my husband helped me get the suitcase down from
the attic, and I left it open on the living room floor for easy
packing.

Well, Ping discovered it during last night's romp. He walked up to it
carefully, head lowered, ears hitched back a little. He sniffed it
carefully, and stood up against it, one long brown paw curled around
the zippered edge. Then he looked up at me and I swear, *he knew.* His
face was so sad as he stood there. *He knew* this suitcase means "the
hoomin is going away." He stood upright on his back feet, looking up
at me for a long time. His tiny face with its chestnut brown mask
(revealed since his last coat change) seemed to say many things.

I don't want you to go.
What is happening?
I'm not happy.

It's not an easy thing for a ferret, standing upright on those back
feet. But he didn't take the easy way out and just scamper away. He
stood to face me, and he stood a long time, seeming to want some sort
of an answer. It's all too easy for a hoomin to forget that while we
are away, our small friends miss us. Wish we would come back. Wonder
where we are. They think about our smell. They wonder *if* we will come
back. Their lives are so short. A lonely day passes like three. A week
is a small eternity of their loyalty and patience.

I gave Ping the only reassurance I could, I scooped him up and cradled
him in my arms like a baby otter, his favourite way to be held. I
stroked him beneath his chin and wished that I could give him promises
he'd understand, and not just soft pats.

I'll be back, boy. I'll be back for you.

Alexandra in MA

[Posted in FML 5653]