Today I said goodbye to my Maggie, with her dignified manner and intolerance
for closed doors.
 
I didn't know her during her first 4 years of life.  She was dropped off at
the local Wildlife Care Center and I adopted her from our ferret Shelter.
She was estimated to be about 4 and she had some problems.  But home she
came.
 
She was never litter boxed trained outside of her cage because she didn't
like to be watched while using the potty.  She was much too dignified for
that.  So we bought a little carpet cleaning machine and loved her all the
more.
 
She was not much of a war dancer but occasionally we could make her lose
control and actually dance and dook.  Then she would realize that she was
acting like a "commoner" and quickly walk away to find her dignity.  She
really made us laugh.  She was hard to integrate with our other two but
eventually she would occasionally play with them especially when in HER
dryer hose.  She would guard both ends to ensure that no one used her toy.
Her favorite game was "lion mouth." She would lie in her tube and open her
mouth real wide and try to "bite" our fingers as we tried to tickle her
chin.
 
Maggie adored the Outside world (that's how she probably got lost from her
first home).  Sometimes she would sit looking at an outside door, hoping for
it to miraculously open and let her free.  She hated ALL closed doors
(inside the house) and would scratch at them until opened (which of course
they were); then she would lie on the threshold looking very pleased with
herself.
 
She was a pretty ferret, very light with white mitts and grey on her hind
legs.  I'll bet she was beautiful in her heyday.  She certainly had a
conceited attitude about her often seen among the very beautiful.  She had
us wrapped around her finger (paw) and knew it.  We loved her all the more
for allowing us to serve her.
 
Maggie spent 2 years with me and had numerous health problems: weak hind
legs, enlarged spleen, insulinoma and lymphoma.  I took her to her vet just
a week ago for a check up because she seemed a little worse than usual.  Her
vet told me to prepare for the inevitable.  Maggie's breathing seemed a bit
shallower than normal but she was eating well.  But she started to go
downhill at the beginning of the week.  She didn't eat on her own, but I fed
her by hand and she ate well.  Then on Saturday her breathing became
labored.  Looking back I should have taken her to the vet then, but she
didn't seem too bad.  But then she got restless and seemed uncomfortable.
The only time she seemed better was when I held her stretched out and
elevated.  When I saw her like this, I should have known but I waited
overnight to see if she got better.  I checked on her several times Sat.
night and she was still breathing labored.  I awoke very early Sun and I
knew that I had waited too long.  I found an emergency vet and took her in
right away.  She was weak and she went so fast that I don't think she heard
me say "goodbye." She was wrapped in her blanket and we buried her at my
parent's home by their lake under a trio of Majestic Palms.  Quite fitting
for my Little Princess.
 
Now I can't stop crying. I miss her.
 
Goodbye, Miss Maggie. I love you.
 
     Jennifer
[Posted in FML issue 1574]