Last week with a heavy heart I made a decision that I knew one day I would
have to make.  My little Odie, my little girl, the one who made me fall in
love with ferrets, was helped across the bridge.  Odie was 10 years, and 1
month old.  She had been diagnosed with insulinoma about 2 years ago and
had been on first pred and then proglycem and pred.  She did extremely well
until about 2 months ago and began to go down hill.  Then week before last
she really started to slide and I knew it was time.  She never flinched
when the doctor gave her the shot, she yawned 3 times, then curled up on to
her back and put her head in my hand.  I knew I had done the right thing.
She is now playing happily with her brothers and sisters at the bridge.
 
Odie and her sister Milo had traveled all over with me, she had seen the
Statute of Liberty (I held her out the window to make sure she saw it),
went skiing with me in Colorado (loved tunneling in snow), drove from Texas
to Miami, and then lived through hurricane after hurricane with me in St.
Croix.  She was the smallest grown ferret I have ever seen, she only
weighed over 1 lb.  for a few months when she was really chubby.
 
Odie was always the alpha ferret.  You would find her dragging the much
larger boys around.  She was also the smartest.  I could tell her to pick
up her toys and she would start moving them around, what I never understood
is she would get everyone else to help as well (of course she only
re-located them, only sometimes did she take them back to the ferret room).
She also knew her name as well as all the other ferrets' names.  I could
ask her where's Little Bear and she would take me to her.  This tiny sable
ferrets favorite toy was a black and white spotted ball.  We went through
dozens in her 10 years.
 
As time passed and I slowly lost my babies to cancer and diseases, I
started to believe that Odie was determined to outlive every one.  That
she was determined to remain alpha ferret.  She will always be the alpha
ferret of my heart.
 
She will always be missed - but I know that she's happy to see her brothers
and sister who have gone before here to the rainbow bridge; Milo, Little
Bear, Tips, Teddy, Bubba, Shivers, Roxy, Trouble, Tyrone, Nippers, Snaps,
Cowboy, Little Boots, JJ, and T-2.
 
She's missed badly by her family here..
 
Amy and her 2 fur snakes - Jack and BJ (Whiteness)
[Posted in FML issue 3215]