It is with the heaviest of hearts that I write this message.  Saturday,
June 12th, 1999, we had the difficult task of helping Gushi across Rainbow
Bridge.  We had went out for a couple of hours to run errands and when we
returned home and I went to check on him, I found him in a horrible state.
At that point I knew if we wanted any chance of saying good-bye and
avoiding any major pain for him, we had to act now.  We took him to the
nearby emergency vet (it's very close thank goodness!), said our good-byes
and let him slip to the other side.  He has now joined his 'brothers' Nik
and Buster and is experiencing no more of the seizures that his
hypoglycemia/insulinoma plagued him with.
 
Gushi was my first carpet shark - I had been thinking of getting a kitten
but the roommate I had at the time was severely allergic.  So, I started
looking more closely at the kits in the pet store.  (didn't know of
shelters back then - 1992)  My roommate, Joe, and I made a trip one day and
he handled some of kits and Voila! no reactions.  I did some more research
beforehand and picked out a cute little grey and white *girl*.  I asked
them to hold her for me and came back the day.  Well, when I picked her
up she chomped me HARD a few times and I started to wonder if this was
actually the right kit for me.  She hadn't done this the day before - maybe
she had changed her mind about me too!  That's when I picked out Gushi.
He had similar grey and white markings which eventually changed to a
completely cream coloured coat with a few black hairs here and there.
Hence the nickname Marshmallow - between the colour of his fur and his
laid back disposition - this suited him perfectly.  He was a great ferret
ambassador.  Liked everyone, especially if you had Cheerios to share.  The
white fur and the fact that he was my first, also earned him the nickname
of Old Man.
 
As a youngster, Gushi had a BIG thing for my roommate's stinky/sweaty
socks.  Joe did alot of jogging and heavy duty rollerblading and Gushi just
loooooooooooooooooooooved snuffin' and chewing Joe's socks.  We put an end
to that pretty quickly when we discovered the HUGE holes he was chewing in
them and then noticed bits of sock in his litterbox - YUCK!!  EEEK!
 
He was very ticklish and would dook when you tickled his tummy.  The noises
he made changed when he decided it was enough - if you didn't stop, he
would firmly grab your fingers as a hint to stop.  He never really bit
anyone hard and as he got older, he mellowed even more.  Of course, he
wasn't very mellow when we brought home Nik, our second addition.  Gushi
dragged him everywhere, with poor Nik screaming his little head off!  Egad!
However, it wasn't long before Nik showed his true alpha colours and Gushi
graciously stepped aside and let him run the show.  They caused LOTS of
havoc and had fun doing it.
 
He wasn't exactly the brightest most of the time - when he did something
really silly/dumb, I joked about him being blonde (no offense out there -
hell, Jasper's blonde!!).  But he always knew exactly how to give 'that
look' to get a treat.  He was just so damned handsome - "The Handsomest
Boy in the Whole Wide World".  And he knew how to use it - I think he had
everyone he met wrapped around his little paw.  Even when he lost most of
his tail fur due to blackheads on two different occasions, he was still one
handsome devil!
 
He used to do a trick where he grabbed ahold of your finger and hung from
it.  His teeth were kinda wrapped around your finger, not clamping down
onto it.  I have a great photo of him hanging off of Joe's finger.  We
dubbed it "The Amazing Hanging Gushi" trick.
 
Onwards ....
 
Gushi started having seizures about two years ago.  They were usually
fairly mild up until about eight months ago.  He would kinda be out of it
and would drool alot.  I got to cuddle him alot during these episodes and
I think that's partly why our bond was so strong.  I put him on special
herbal medication and duck soup, opting against surgery and Pred.  I just
felt that it wasn't a good option for us.  It was partly due to these
episodes that Jasper (my absolutely wonderful and supportive SO) got his
foot in the door.  On our second date, we came back to my place for coffee.
Gushi was abit zoned when we got there, so I rubbed some honey on his gums,
wrapped him in a towel and laid him on my chest to wait for him to come
around so I could feed him.  As Jasper and I talked I became more and more
aware of the fact that I ***really*** had to go to the bathroom.  I hummed
and hawed abit then asked Jasper to hold him for just a moment so I could
do what I had to do.  When I came back, I asked him to hand Gushi back to
me but he insisted on holding instead and let Gushi drool on him for about
15 minutes - whatta man!!!
 
Gushi was the sweetest thing and I'm really glad that I had the chance to
be his momma .... I just wished it could have lasted alot longer.  Of
course, I wish he didn't have to be on the duck soup and all, but I would
have gladly given up more nights of proper sleep and continued with the
messy feedings, only to have his wonderful company for longer.  But it
wasn't meant to be.  At least Jasper and I had the chance to say our
good-byes.  We buried Gushi in a basket with his beaten-to-heck teddy bear
and a handful of Cheerios under the tree in Todmorden Mills, where we
buried his playmate, Nik, last Septemeber.  Unfortunately, Buster is buried
elsewhere but we know that they're all together now, causing havoc
everywhere.  Gushi is no longer in pain and I'm glad of that .... just wish
I didn't hurt quite so much.  Thanks for listening - take care and hugs to
all!
 
Love, George, Jasper and the Crew of Two (Frodo & Geisha)
 
   -missing Nik, Buster and Gushi - have fun boys!!!
 
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Georgette Peters                          Nothing is ferret-proof to a
Steacie Science Library                   sufficiently talented ferret.
York University
4700 Keele Street                                     *****
North York, Ontario                                 *********
M3J 1P3                                               *****
(416)736-5084
                                             Dook, dook, bjork, bjork!
e-mail - [log in to unmask]                        - Swedish Ferret
 
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[Posted in FML issue 2711]