It is with deep sadness that I let you all know that my last remaining
ferret, Fozzie, passed away at 1:48 am Saturday morning.  I was with him
when he left for the Bridge.  He fought a long, courageous battle with
cardiomyopathy, IBD and Adrenal Disease.  He nearly left a week ago to
the day, but by some miracle he recovered and had his best day in weeks
last Saturday.  I'm sure the Reiki that my friend, Judith White sent to
him, plus having Kim Fox speak with him made all the difference.
 
He was nearly 7.5 years old, a silver mitt turned into a beautiful
dark-eyed white with a little splotch of dark gray left on the top of his
head.  He was a sweet and gentle ferret and had eyes that looked like
large drops of oil.  You could just lose yourself in them.  He was one of
three kits that I got all at once back in April of 1996 at the Garden
State Pet Expo in Cherry Hill, NJ.  I met several FMLers for the first
time that day, including Judith.  Listening to them all talk about how
many ferrets they had must have been contagious, because my business
increased to 5 that day!
 
Fozzie had an unbridled passion for beanie babies.  He would stash them
anywhere and everywhere, placing his favorites in his nest box with him.
He and his brother Teddy, would often play tug o' war with the ones they
both liked.  Fozzie was the quiet, reserved one of the group.  He never
caused any trouble, never tried to outwit my ferret-proofing.  He was
just about as layed back and easy-going as they come.  Even his wardance
was more like a spazzy turtle on its back.  He loved to tunnel through
pants on the floor, towel surf, and snorkel in his water bowl.  He liked
to rub himself all over inside his clear dryer hose, especially after he
had some Ferretone.
 
He loved his Ferretone, but would have nothing to do with any other
ferret treat.  He would actually make faces if I offered him a
Ferretbite.  He used to like Nutrical, which I used as a vaccination
distraction.  Then he had an anaphylactic reaction to Fervac with
Nutrical on his lips and from then on, he would actually gag if I
offered it to him.  It's really amazing that he loved his pumpkin and
I/D soup that he needed to combat his IBD.
 
He's been my lone ferret since Angel left us a little over 6 months ago.
He made the move with us from New Jersey to Ohio, then back and forth a
couple times more this summer for visits.  He really helped to ease my
homesickness after the move.  He seemed to thrive here, too.  In our
last house, he was the last of 7 ferrets in a house filled with their
memories.  I think it made him sad.  Here, he was simply an only ferret
and with renewed energy he would drag his beanie babies back and forth
between bedrooms.  He also developed a strange addiction to our shower
stall water.  He told Kim Fox it tasted sweeter than the water in his
bowl.  Maybe it was soap residue....I don't know.  I always rinsed it
before he drank from it.  He asked Kim every time she spoke with him if
he would be getting some friends.  Sadly, I just could not provide him
with those.  I told him that I needed to devote my time and attention to
him and him alone.  Which I did, but my husband and I have decided that
we probably will not be owned by ferrets in the future.  My heart has
broken into 7 different pieces with each one's passing.  I just don't
have the strength to endure any more.  Each one died of something
different and it was never pleasant.  I lost ferrets at ages 1, 4, 5, 6,
7 and two around 7and a half.  Fozzie was the only one that died at home.
The others were all given mercy shots.  The only reason that he wasn't
was because he told Kim that he didn't want any more needles and he
wanted to die naturally.  It was not easy to witness his final minutes,
but it was over pretty quickly.  I'm glad I was there with him in the
end.  It was the final gift that I could give to him.
 
He knew he was deeply loved and that I did everything I possibly could
for him.  He was tickled "pink" that I gave him a pink teddy bear with
a red bow, that he told Kim that he wanted last month.  Last week Kim
helped him to understand where he would be going and that it was a
beautiful place.  Yesterday he told her that he knew he was going to
a happy place and that he was ready to go.  I don't think he was ready
last week.  I think he wanted one last hoorah and time for me to prepare
myself.  He fought as hard as he could, but by Friday morning it was
starting to look like a repeat of the week before.  He had soiled the
inside of two sleep shirts overnight and would only eat from my finger.
I finger fed him every two hours but by late yesterday afternoon he
refused to eat or drink and his breathing became more and more labored as
the day progressed.  I reached out to Judith and Kim and they were both
there for me in my time of need.
 
These two ladies are truly gifted and helped both Fozzie and I cope with
his passing.  His death is twice as hard on me because I have no other
ferrets to turn my attention and affection to this time.  I've been owned
by ferrets for 8 years.  For the past two years, I have been nurse to 6
ailing ferrets.  My schedule and my life have revolved around medication
and feeding.  It's been a labor of love and I would have gladly gone on
doing it for however long they needed me.  Now I don't know what to do
with myself.  His room is still as he left it, minus the pee pads that
were all over the floor.  But there is this profound emptiness now.  It
hurts so much.
 
Rest in Peace Fozzie, Angel, Molly, BJ, Teddy, Gidget and Kelsey. You =
all live on in my heart...and in my memories.
 
Dodie
[Posted in FML issue 4235]