I would like to take a couple minutes of your time if I may.
 
Every person on this list is here for one reason.  They either own, want
to own or have owned ferrets.  We share in each others sadness and in our
joys.  We support each other in so many ways.  Because of this, we all
can go on after something bad happens with one of our babies.
 
I received so many letters and cards about losing Buster this past week.
Why?  Because everyone feels the pain.  Everyone knows how hard it is to
lose someone that you care so much about.
 
When you lose a ferret you start to wonder why you have them.  If it
hurts so much when you lose them, why get any at all?  The answer is
simple.  The joy that each and every single ferret brings into your
life is worth the pain in the end.
 
Buster was a shelter baby but he was no different to me than my own kids.
All shelter kids that come in here are my babies - even once they are
adopted out.  Losing one in the shelter is just as bad for me as losing
one of my own.  So why run a shelter in the first place?  Simple: The joy
that each and every single ferret brings into your life is worth the pain
in the end.
 
We were blessed to have Buster in our lives.  He showed us that you can
take daddies finger in your mouth and lead him to the closet that you
want open.  And that daddy really belonged in a hidey hole - even though
he couldn't fit.  Buster taught us how to make duck soup and how to feed
him.  He taught us that just cause he was old and sick didn't mean that
he couldn't flip out of the sand box while playing (he enjoyed that sand
box more than any other ferret).  He taught us that he had to have a
treat after each feeding and that he could make it to the litter box,
even though he didn't always hit it.  he taught us that the computer
chair was actually the treat chair.  He taught us to love....
 
When you lose one of your babies, try to remember the good times.  Try
not to think about their death, but think about how they lived their
lives.  That is what really matters.
 
"Ferrets are the Spice of Life"
Joanne Ruffner
Ferret Corner Shelter
www.geocities.com/ferretcorneraz
[Posted in FML issue 4057]