At 23:35 on the 21st March, FIRST's beloved mascot, Huckleberry Finn Ferret
passed away peacefully from an apparent heart failure at an estimated age
of seven.
 
Huckleberry was a loving, quiet, and gentle animal who, in his three years
as mascot, enjoyed being seen with politicians as he showed the world
what wonderful animals ferrets can be.  An escapee from one of British
Columbia's ferret mills, he suffered from the severe misbreeding and
mistreatment that characterizes the circumstances of too many ferrets
raised in this province.  When found in Abbotsford, he was malnourished,
ill, and frightened of people.  He required the extraction of three fangs,
three incisors, and two premolars; he suffered from chronic
gastro-intestinal inflamations due to poor diet and untreated infection; he
had congenital and hereditary deformations of the heart, congestive heart
conditions, and a large (grape-sized) tumor above the heart which impaired
his ability to eat and drink.  In his last year he was prone to strokes and
suffered blindness due to detached retinas.  Through this all, he still
enjoyed life, especially with his ferret family and his public outings as
mascot.
 
He will be sorely missed.
 
His position of macot will be fulfilled by Ophelia Ferret, another ferret
mill refugee, now two years of age.  When rescued at the age of one year,
Ophelia was covered over 30% of her body with third degree burns from
either a scalding or caustic liquid and had several of her teeth broken.
Her owners, local "breeders," were unable to explain how this happened.
 
Ferret Information Rescue Shelter & Trust Society
FIRST (Ferret) Society
A Charity for Ferret Welfare in British Columbia
Contact:  [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 2624]