The worse thing has happened to me since loving ferrets for several
years. It has been a week and a half so I know my Sparkle has gone to
the Bridge. I can't show his sweet body to his cagemates so they can
grieve and then bury him close to so many others. He is nowhere to be
found. My daughters called me and told me he was missing and they
suspected he had got out of the house. I raced home and for 11 days I
have done everything recommended and suggested with no results. He is
gone and a piece of my heart has died. I will never get over this as
long as I live. It is all my fault. I broke one of my long standing
rules...never let ferrets into the kitchen. They always loved sneaking
in there while being loose.....the drawers, the wonderful pots and
pans, etc. I always quickly put them back over the barrier. They so
loved being in the kitchen that I decided to ferret proof it and allow
them access. It was a death sentence for sweet Sparkle. For months the
ferrets have enjoyed the kitchen but no more. A couple weeks ago we
found Sparkle beside the washer past the barrier. It should have been
a red flag but I "fixed" the problem or so I thought. We believe that
Sparkle squeezed down beside the dryer tube and went outside. We don't
have a basement...not many places do here on the wet OR coast. Two of
my daughters crawled under the house, I stayed up night after night
searching and we did many other things. Lots of phone calls from
concerned people turned out to be wild bunnies or weasels living in
the rocks near the ocean feeding on seagulls. We live on a dirt road,
no neighbors in sight in the middle of the woods.

One morning I awoke seeing Sparkle's sweet face right in front of me. I
believe he was saying goodbye and I hope forgiving me. He was the most
beautiful ferret I have ever seen, champagne with tiny red tips on his
fur. He "sparkled". He was a rescue that my daughter brought home with
Snow, Sprite and Boomer. He had lived in an old rabbit hutch outside.
The first day he was missing Snow destroyed the cage, something she had
never done before. She was in so much pain missing him.

I feel her pain every day. Life will never be the same.

Please no flames or bad emails....no one could possible beat me up more
than I have myself.

Nancy in Oregon

[Posted in FML 7568]