After having ferrets for as long as I have, and being immune to accidents
like I have been, it gives an experienced ferret owner, like myself, a
false sense of security.  For over 16 years we've had many ferrets live
with us, and yes, a few have gotten out of the house always to be found
in one manner or another, but we felt safe in knowing we had a ferret
proofed home and that an accident was never going to be something we faced.
How could it?  We checked all the laundry before it went into the washing
machine or dryer... we checked every bag of garbage that left the house,
lingering at the garbage bin to hear of any last minute scratching or
movement... we look down when we leave the house to make sure no ferret
quickly zips by... we keep furniture tight against the wall, or we kept
it away from the wall so that they didn't get stuck...
 
And then we lost a ferret to our first accident...
 
It is such a different feeling losing a ferret to an illness than it is an
accident although both carry similar what if's and should have's.  With an
illness, there is time to prepare oneself for the grief yet to come.  There
is a reason for the death, although even then, we search for answers that
at times do not come easily.  But when it is time to go, we are there to
help them through to see that they go without pain, or without suffering.
Our love for these little guys show that we want them to go peacefully
even when we know we will painfully feel their departure.
 
There are no words to describe the feeling that comes when finding a
beloved member of your family wedged into a place that you swore they
could not get into, and there are no words that can heal the pain that
comes from knowing that they must have suffered before they left this
earthly plane...
 
When I read the courageous posts of others who had had sudden accidental
deaths in their families, I cried along with them, but mostly for the
ferret who died.  The thought of them having to go through what they went
through before their families found them is something that is totally
incomprehensible, but it does not stop my mind from imagining the agony
and their suffering.  But if it were not for these people who found within
them the strength to tell the world that they had an error in judgment, the
rest of the ferret community would not have something to learn from.
 
I do not consider myself to be courageous to write about Dolly's accident.
In fact, I feel the opposite.  I feel stupid and foolish and most of all
guilty for allowing it to happen.  All of my best efforts in the world did
not save the one life I needed to protect in my own home.  I felt deep
shame for I am a Director of a shelter who preaches to others the
importance of ferret proofing, and now it is I who knows what it feels
like first hand to lose a ferret to an accident.  But I know that I am
not alone... that these feelings are shared by those that cried and died
a little inside once they found their ferrets crushed, or drowned, or
worse...
 
I never judged others who had an accident, but shamefully I admit that
maybe I felt a little arrogant and a little superior knowing that I held
a clean track record.  But all of that is different now...
 
For those of you who have lost a ferret to an accident and have not posted
about it because of the shame you feel, or the embarrassment you keep
within you, please do not let those that have died, die in vain.  Their
stories need to be shared in order for others to be saved from the hidden
dangers that lurk within our homes.  For those of you that have posted...
thank you.  Many, many lives have been saved because of your strength and
courage.  And for those that have not yet had an accident, all I can say is
that there are no guarantees in life and nothing is a sure thing.  Anything
can happen even to the best of us.  No one is immune... and that's the
hardest lesson of all.
 
The outpouring of sympathy has been overwhelming... bless you all for your
love in this time of need.
 
Betty and Her Blur O'Fur
Dedicated to Dolly... found wedged between the wall and a china cabinet
(a one inch space that narrowed to a half inch space)
Mother's Day weekend
[Posted in FML issue 3439]