Excellent post Bob, about some ways of dealing with the loss of a beloved
pet.  Here are some other things that have helped me.
 
I cut a small strip from the favorite blanket the ferret was buried in
and tied it around my wrist and wore it for several days.  I still have
strips of material on the headboard of my bed.
 
I made a memorial box for Belle with her leash, the dress she wore when
she one first place in a costume contest, a little bell she wore on her
harness, and other trinkets to remind me of her.  The box is on my
dresser.
 
I associate a song with each departed ferret.  Belle's song is "Til there
was you" by the Beatles ("there were bells on the hill, but I never heard
them ringing... til there was you").  Caruso's is Simon and Garfunkel's
"Bridge over troubled waters", which was playing on the radio when I
drove him to the vet for the last time.  Shelter ferret Cadbury's song is
Aerosmith's "Don't want to close my eyes", which was also on the radio
during his last car ride.
 
Posting on the FML and receiving dozens of emails and cards from friends
and strangers is also comforting.  I print them and make a scrapbook.
 
Linda Iroff
Oberlin OH
[Posted in FML issue 4049]