This morning I received the following from a close friend who does not
get the FML.  Bo was a sweet ferret loved by all who knew him.  He will
be missed by his friends and family.  Sandee, please watch for Bo and
help him get settled.
 
My Baby Bo Is Gone
 
Two days before leaving on a trip I noticed a very slight, almost
imperceptible change in Bo.  He was eating, no bathroom problems, no
weight loss, playing, but not his usual kissy face and not quite as happy
as he usually is.  I saw the vet the next day and we found that there was
some redness around a molar, no swelling just inflammation.  We put him
on antibiotics and the next day I noticed some improvement already-- I
was delighted that it didn't appear to be anything serious.
 
The vet said that if he wasn't better in 5 days, he should go back for a
recheck.  I definitely agreed, we didn't want to lose the tooth.  Overall
I was so relieved because it really frightens me to go away knowing that
one of these adorable little guys might be sick.  As I told my ferret
sitter, no one dies of a toothache.
 
So when my ferret sitter picked me up at the airport, took my hand in hers
and trembling told me that my little Bo had died, I felt my heart clench
and I could hardly understand what she was saying.  I remember she said
that two days after I left she took him back to the vet because he wasn't
doing well.  I don't know yet what kinds of tests they did but he appeared
well enough to come home but the next day he died.  She said the vet found
a blood clot in his stomach.  I have no idea if the tooth problem had
anything to do with this or somehow masked the initial problem or was
totally unrelated.  I have no idea if I could have saved him if I were
home.  That's the part that I will always wonder, and always regret.
 
What I do know is that I miss him dearly and am so sad, so very sad.  Bo
was just 4.5 years old.
 
Bo was known as the "mad kisser" by my vet.  I remember telling a friend
when he was a kit that he gave big sloppy kisses, the kind that dogs give.
Bo would move his whole head up and down when he gave you those kisses.
You could feel your skin move up and down.  In fact, he'd lay in my arms
and I'd rub his back and he's just keep giving kisses until your cheek
turned red.
 
I was Bo's favorite toy.  He preferred to play with me than with the other
ferrets.  He was, in my friends words, a Mama's boy.  Bo was sweet and he
was beautiful.  He had big eyes and I'm glad some beautiful photographs
were taken of him.  He was chosen for the cover of the 1999 ferret
calendar (he's the cowboy) as well as the 2001 calendar cover (as Sherlock
Holmes).  But I will remember him most for his affection, his eager and
cherished little face and his happy silvermitt dance of joy.
[Posted in FML issue 3669]