I've not been writing lately because of school, but have been trying to
keep up with the readings of my FMLs.  To all who have lost a beloved
fuzzy, have ill or missing ones, I send my sincere condolences.  Next
week school starts again, and therefore I'll again just be reading.  I do
try to write to folks singly when I have the time, but know that whenever
a fuzzy is lost, my heart goes out to the family.
 
Back in February through the beginning of April it seemed all I did was
write on the loss of another Crew member.  We lost Bandit April the 9th,
and I truly didn't have the heart to write his tribute.  My heart just
couldn't stand to write at that time.  But now it's time to tell you all
of Bandit, and of our Misty, who left us June 19th.  Sandee, will you
please check on them?  Please tell them how very much they are missed.
Bandit will no longer be a bald baby-he'll have the beautiful sable coat,
and Misty will be running and having fun.  All the other Crew members I
know met them, so you now have over 20 members of our Crew of Merry
Mayhem there, and I know when they get with the others it's total mayhem.
And watch out for Sara-ferret.  She gets around the Crew and total
pandemonium may break out.
 
Bandit came to us around 3 or 4 years ago.  He and Smokey were bonded
mates, and they had resided at Jean Caputo-Lee's shelter.  Larry and I
went over to give just two a permanent home, and we came home with 4:
Smokey, Bandit, Cream Puff, and Cocoa.  Bandit always seemed to have cage
anxiety, and would panic when you put him up, would be at the door of the
cage every time you passed by, or was the first one out when the door
opened.  He loved his toys, too.  It was nothing to see toys ripping
across the floor, firmly clenched in his mouth.  He made the move from
Lafayette to here without any trouble, adjusted to the temporary housing
and when we moved into the house, he was in heaven.  He especially loved
it when we put the tube on the stairwell.  Larry got the cats a tree, and
Bandit had a new hidey-hole for his toys.  You'd see the bottom of the
tree filled with toys, another ferret would come near and you'd hear this
awful scream, see the other ferret run and there would be Bandit's head
sticking out, daring anyone else to come into his area.  He lost hair a
year and a half ago, and we had adrenal surgery done.  His left came out
fine, but the right was already enlarging and the vet chose not to touch
it.  Late in 2003 his hair started coming out and we opted to try Lupron
shots for a while.  His hair started to come back in, and we thought that
this would hold for a while, till we could get him in for surgery, as
we're working on getting the vet bill down again.  Around the first of
April we noticed he wasn't feeling well, and we started keeping an eye on
him.  I was getting ready to call the vet, have him check Bandit out.
The morning of April 9th I checked on him, and thought when I got home
I'd see how he was, call the vet.  I got home, went upstairs to let them
out and others started coming, no Bandit.  I looked in and saw him lying
there, and I knew.  I got him out and he'd passed sometime during the
day.  I immediately called my vet, told him Bandy's whole abdomen was
dark blue, hugely swollen, and he felt that it might have been his
spleen.  It was too late for a necropsy, so we opted to just have him
cremated.  Bandit, I'm so sorry I couldn't get you to the vet in time,
and I never got to tell you about the Bridge.  I sat there after you were
gone, crying, holding you, and whispering to you about the Bridge, knew
you were already there.  Please forgive me for not telling you sooner.
Smokey's having insulinoma problems, and I know you're waiting for him,
and at times I know he's seen you waving, but not yet, okay?
 
Misty came to us 4 years ago.  I'd just lost Nibbles, who'd grieved
herself to death in my arms, and there was a post on the FML about a
ferret needing a home.  I answered, and the rest, shall I say, is
history.  Misty introduced us to Harvey and Helga Clark, and we became
fast friends.  I remember sitting in the restaurant with the Clarks, my
husband and daughter, and we must have been there for over 2 hours.  When
we got ready to leave I didn't think Helga was going to let Misty come
with us, but she did.  Misty was my gentle lady, so delicate, so petite.
Suzy Derkins didn't like her, don't know why, but she made sure Misty
couldn't stay with the one group.  So Misty and Socks started another
group, and they were happy as bugs in rugs.  She loved to give kisses,
would roll over for you to rub her tummy.  She, too, made the moves with
us and loved being here in the house.  She and Spunky were great friends,
and I snapped a picture of the two of them eating chicken gravy.  Just
as the picture was snapped, Spunky looked at me and stuck his tongue out.
So that's how the picture turned out-Misty with her tongue licking the
plate, Spunky looking at me with his tongue sticking out!  About a month
ago Misty started to lose some weight.  We were watching her, thinking
maybe it was just the summer shed.  She was also sleeping a lot more, and
I was beginning to suspect adrenal.  On the 18th of this month Chester
was to have exploratory surgery for insulinoma, and I was going to take
her with me for my vet to see.  Last Saturday, April 12, I let her out of
the cage and knew we had a serious problem.  Her bowels had released, and
she couldn't walk.  I picked her up and there was a huge, hard abdominal
mass.  I got her downstairs, held her, and she went semi comatose on me.
I held her until Larry came home, and had him sit with her while I took
care of the ferrets.  He told me to call the emergency vet, we couldn't
let her suffer.  I called my regular vet first, rather than the ER vet,
but he wasn't home, so had to call them.  After I made the call she
suddenly woke up and wanted down, alert, everything.  I looked at Larry
and said, I've made the wrong call, and then she tried to walk-she was
almost paralyzed in the hindquarters.  So we took her to the ER vet,
and instead of the vet coming in they sent an intern, who didn't know
what he was doing.
 
He gave her the shot, but it was after he'd done a lot of stupid things
that made me almost reach over and slap him.  I was already upset over
losing her, and he didn't help with all he'd done.  Needless to say, when
I walked into the lobby Larry knew something was wrong, and I blew up.
When I got home my vet had called, and I returned his call, told him
what had happened.  He was stunned, and after we talked, he called one
of the vets associated with this clinic, that's how we found out he was
an intern.  I reported him the next day.  I also had my vet do Misty's
necropsy, and she was full of lymphosarcoma.  Sandee, I know both she
and Bandit are there with you, Bandit a few months ago, but will you
check on them for me.  Tell Misty I miss her so much, and I'm so very
sorry for what that stupid vet did.  I keep counting both of them, and
have to stop and realize they're not there.  I called Helga to tell her
Misty was gone, and we both were crying, I think.  Misty Bibbles, you
are so very missed, as are you Bandy Man.
 
Rebecca & The Crew of Merry Mayhem
[log in to unmask]
"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy, and taste
 good with ketchup"
"Support bacteria, it's the only culture some people have"
[Posted in FML issue 4552]