Greetings All,

I want thank the Bridge Greeters for making my little old man ferret
Jack, feel right at home up there on the other side of the Rainbow
Bridge. As you all may know, the first five or six years of his life
was spent in a fairly small cage, much too small to spend every hour of
every day inside with no play times, no treats and no attention other
than that of his cage mate, Jill. They came here to live with us around
two and a half years ago and we did our very best to spoil them rotten
and for Jack, that's all we can do. Jill has been granted more time
here so we're giving her more attention than ever, hoping that having
lost her dearest friend in the world won't break her heart bad enough
to cause her to want to join him, not yet anyway.

Shortly after Jack had to be helped to the bridge because of his age
and illnesses, a faulty door latch failed during our regular evening
mass play time where everybody gets to meet and play with everybody
else so they can all stay friends. Many ferrets ventured out into the
darkened world outside that night, most were located and brought back
to their cages the same night. There were two souls still outside that
just couldn't be located in the darkness, Lil Bit & Coffee! Lil Bit
couldn't hear the squeak of the ball or the rattle of her favorite
treats in their container because she was a deaf little baby girl.
Well, she was named for her size when we got her and had stuck even
when she was five, that's how old she was when she went outside that
night. Coffee wasn't located that night either and she has no
disabilities. We looked all night long with no luck at all and about
an hour before the sun would be rising had to call off the search and
get some much needed sleep. I slept for about an hour or so but I saw
the deep blue early morning light around the curtains and had to get
up and look for them some more!

They both had enough time to be blocks away so I decided to drive
around looking at other yards for my lost babies with no luck so I
decided to go back in for a head count. As I approached the camper the
ferrets call home I saw my Little Little (Lil Bit's nick-name) trying
her best to figure out how to get inside, digging at the underside of
the doorway. She was muddy and bloody so I knew she'd been attacked by
something, I'm guessing a stray dog and most likely fairly large. Since
Lil Bit was not only deaf but she was innocent as well I can imagine
her going up to a large barking dog expecting to play. I know she was
shocked and couldn't understand why that animal was being so mean to
her and biting her so hard! I washed of my little girl off so I could
see her injuries (did I mention she was my favorite, that she was only
a baby when I met her and she slept with me for months after she came
here?) and after seeing how brutally she'd been mauled I still don't
know how she had the strength to come back to the door of her home and
try to dig her way up through the floor to get to me! She was bleeding
too bad to be saved but I didn't tell her that, I lied and said
everything was going to be alright. I held her and gently stroked her
soft white fur until it was time for her to leave and begin her next
phase of existence and meet up with Jack who led the way less than two
weeks earlier.

I want to thank the Bridge Greeters again for helping her find her
friend Jack up there so neither of them will be lonely. I know I am,
and I still have 26 other rescues to keep me company. I really enjoyed
reading about Jack and Lil Bit and know they are safe there with each
other and all Jack's illnesses won't bother him with tummy pain,
diarrhea and seizures. I know Lil Bit's injuries that were hurting so
bad no longer cause her pain because she and Jack have been made whole
again and are happy and not lonely.


I offer my most sincere Thank You to you who take time out of your
schedule to let grieving ferret owners, shelter moms and shelter dads
know our babies made it to their destination up and over the bridge.
I'm sorry it's taken me so long to send this off to be posted.

Sincerely,
Micheal Forrest,
Ferret Rescue and Adoption of South Texas
www.ferretrescueandadoption.com

[Posted in FML 7028]