Dear Sandee,
 
Oh my, to be asking for your greeting assistance twice in one week is
difficult to bear.  Earlier I asked you to greet Calvin.  Today I must
ask that you greet Whitey-Powder-Possum as well.
 
I took my big handsome albino Possum boy to the vet about 6 weeks ago
for some dental work and because he seemed to be sleeping too much and
playing too little.  I was figuring large spleen or low glucose, both of
which ended up being fine.  Took care of his dental work & decided to
keep an eye on him.
 
He started losing weight and this became serious.  In six short weeks and
and no answers in sight, he was failing fast and had developed a walnut
sized mass in the area of a kidney, lost his sight and the use of his
back legs.  He was fighing all attempts at meds and didn't even want his
"soupies" anymore.  He was not strong enough for surgery.
 
It became painfully obvious that I had to let him go, so we spent the
weekend cuddling, eating anything he wanted if he wanted it, sipping warm
water and getting all the neck, ear and back rubs he wanted.  Mostly, he
slept next to my heart and got a lot of Mommy kisses on his little head.
We helped him cross yesterday morning.
 
Possum same to us as a stray who was found crossing the street at
midnight in a thunuderstorm.  A lost, soaking wet little ferret.  The man
who picked him up was kind enough to put a "found" ad in the paper, but
knew nothing about ferrets.  He wanted to keep Possum if no owner came
forward.  Not liking the description of "most laid-back ferret I've ever
seen" and "in a cage in my garage" in 95 degree summer, I managed to get
the guy to let me come take a look.  Of course he was laid back, the heat
was killing him and he was full of fleas and ticks.  $50 persueded the
man to give up the ferret and was the start of Possum's life with us.
 
His new Daddy, ever-so-creative with the ferret names, called him Whitey.
His new Mommy called him Powder and eventually knick-named him Possum
for "Playing Possum" by sleeping so hard he appeared to be dead.  Thus,
Whitey-Powder-Possum became out longest-named ferret in the household.
He was a gentle boy and until lately, a good sized ferret.  He loved back
rubs.
 
Possum used to hang out and share kibbles in the same baby crib as
Houdini who recently crossed the bridge.  I am sure that she will be
happy to help you greet both Calvin & Possum.
 
Please tell him for me that I'm sorry he was so sick and that I bothered
him so with with medecine he hated.  Tell him the time we spent saying
good-bye meant so much to me and he will always have a special place in
my heart as my little cuddle bug.  I hope to hear that you find him
bounding across the bridge in a nice robust body with energy he has not
had in a long time.  He might need some training wheels under his heavy
little back end when he tried his wings the 1st time!!  We've always
called him "lead bottom" as that's just the way it was distributed on
him!
 
Jerri Carel
The Ferret Haven
Louisville, KY
[Posted in FML issue 4475]