We lost Nemesis Saturday, he was seven and a half years old. After
Itchy left us, I wondered how long he would stay, they were so close.
In his final weeks I would lay on the floor next to where he was
sleeping in 'his' hammock and knowing someone was near, he'd wake up
and look at me like "what's up Mom?" and then go back to sleep. More
than a few times I got kisses, such a rare thing from Nyhm.

When Nyhm was 6 months old his owner turned him in because of a
different economic crisis with the same result. No work, no jobs, no
money. I offered free food before I'd even seen him and was met with
gratitude and reality, "that's very kind, but what do I do when this
is gone. I can't afford to feed my kid". So I took Nemesis in. Once I
saw him, I was glad I did. He was living in a parakeet cage and was
so bored he'd eaten his nylon hammock.

Nyhm missed the touching, petting and cuddling in his formative years.
As a result, he was never comfortable with being handled. Not that he
didn't like his humans, he just never came to be comfortable being
held, or touched for that matter. It's what made kisses from him so
special. Him reaching out to touch when it was not an easy thing for
him to do.

We quarantine for 2 weeks here for the obvious reasons plus it lets
us get a grip on any behavior problems we need to address. Nyhm had
several. He didn't eat ferret food from a bowl, the floor of his cage
was the usual place, didn't know what a litter box was for, nor did
he know how to play as a ferret should. He was given a little stuffed
ferret to keep him company and he latched onto that thing with a fervor
that never faded.

During his quarantine his 'baby' was his constant companion, sharing
the lessons Nemesis learned. One day I walked in and found the Baby
face down in the food bowl, 'this is the food bowl'. Another his Baby
was tucked into a hammock, another in a sleep sack or blanket. They
were learning fast. The one that set me into hysterical laughter, the
most profound, was the day I found the baby in a corner in the litter
box. Every day of his life ever after Nemesis was 100% with his litter
box habits until he was just too sick to stand in a box, then he'd
struggle for all he was worth to get to the puppy pad placed next to
that box. Nyhm and his baby. His last night here he picked that Baby
up, gave it a good shake, and stuffed it back into bed beside him. I
still have no idea what his Baby did, but Nyhm did.

When Nyhm cleared quarantine, Itchy took over. Saving ferrets was what
Itchy did. That bond would last them their life time, 7 long ferret
years. It was what gave Nyhm, the sicker of the two, the strength to
carry on. Without Itchy, I knew we would be counting the days.

I buried Nemesis and his baby together. I also placed a tube between
his grave and his beloved Itchy's. Nemesis loved his tubes and I
thought they'd both enjoy one to go.

We all miss you Nyhm.

Brenda, Momma to the FurpeopleWeyr
FurpeopleWeyr.com

[Posted in FML 6386]