To all who have lost their beloved fur kids lately, I would like to send
my sincere condolences.  I've not been able to keep up with them, being
in school now, and with the loss of 3 littles ones this month.  Know tha
you are all in my thoughts.  Our regular Outlook email is down, and so am
using internet, which is why the odd address.  Anyone who wants to reach
me, though, can do so with the regular email addy;
[log in to unmask]
 
Bubbles & Calvin
 
Bubbles came to us in the "4 Pack", the group of New Jersey Girls that
Julie Fossa had brought home with her.  Larry had been introduced to them
when he took 3 of the Crew for their Lupron shots, and Julie had told me
she had some kids we might want to adopt.  Larry came home and talked to
me, Julie sent me pictures.  We were pretty certain they'd come here,
but a duo came first, Shadow & Ghost.  Then came Bubbles, Maria, Bianca,
and Regan.  Bubbles had had a chordoma on her tail, and so had a little
'docked' tail, not unlike Bilbo's.  When we met the girls at Julie's,
the first thing Bubbles did was crawl up my pant let and nip my ankle!
Then she became fascinated with Larry's leg, and continued to go for his
ankle.  Naturally, they came home with us.  They all settled in quickly,
and were 'the girls'.  My two Amazons, Eowyn & Arwyn, would pace around
the girls' cage, as if to say We rule here.  We knew all four girls were
going to need adrenal surgeries, and Bubbles and Bianca went first, on
February 12 Larry said that Bubbles' breathing was a little quick, but
no problem-not only did she have adrenal, but she had a tumor on the
pancreas that had to be removed, but she did just fine
 
Bianca was done, and he put the two girls in their travel cage to come
home.  The vet had given them pain meds to make them comfortable, so they
were resting.  Larry came to get me after work, I went up to see if they
were rousing, but didn't want to disturb them, so went back downstairs.
He went up to move them over and I heard him call me upstairs.  Bubbles
had left us, gone to the Bridge on the trip home.  Bianca had stayed
curled around her, and she was still warm.  Her necropsy showed
hypertrophic cardiomyopathy-her little heart just gave out on her after
surgery.  Both of us were so upset, me for many reasons.  I'd failed to
talk to the girls before their surgeries about the Bridge, and although I
know Bubbles found it with no problem, I've kicked myself many times.  I
know I told them they were having surgery, and they had to come home to
me, but I failed her on that part.  We both knew even if we'd checked on
them when I got home, she was already gone.  And now the four pack is
now a three-some.
 
Calvin, ah, Calvin.  Calvin and Suzy Derkins were my Christmas present in
1997, original members of the Crew of Merry Mayhem, two that helped to
start what we do now.  Family couldn't figure out what to do for me, I
told them of a pair of kits at the feed/pet store, so down we went.  Tiny
red cinnamon jill, hood sable gib-small enough to hold both in the palm
of your hand, and so home they came.  They couldn't eat hard food, so we
softened it for them.  I have pictures of two tiny furballs in a carrier,
and I remember them racing around, going under doors and scaring the
living daylights out of us.  Calvin loved the camera.  If he knew it was
on, he was right there.  When we lost Suzy to metastasized lymphoma we
took Calvin and Kit to see her, before she was helped to the Bridge.  Kit
knew something was up, but Calvin refused to accept it.  He'd bump noses
with Suzy, move away to get her to play.  When she didn't, he wandered
off, as though to say, no, this isn't going to happen.  He wouldn't
hardly acknowledge her after her spirit had run to the Bridge.  He
adjusted well, had others to keep him company.  Calvin was my Mr. Robin
Williams, a real clown.  He'd dance, jump, loved it when I blew soap
bubbles.  To hang with the cats was something he loved, and when we moved
into the house, he was first in line for the tube down the stairwell, and
thru the one in the living room.  He was so full of life, loved it, loved
his chicken gravy.  I remember as a baby he would suck on another
ferret's ears.
 
I heard one crying one night, got up and there he was, tiny little kit,
death grip on the ear of the other ferret, his eyes closed, little paws
moving.  One time I had a bowl of fruit, was sitting on the bed.  Suzy
came up to investigate, stole a blueberry.  Calvin, not to be outdone did
the same.  It was hysterical watching them play with the blueberries, and
when they both popped them, the looks they gave me were priceless.  But
then they knew what to do, and I almost didn't get a single blueberry --
they were having more fun stealing them, rolling and then popping the
darn things!  Our daughter had this huge, purple horse that I'd won for
her at a fair, and one day I saw it moving down the hall way, all under
it's own accord.  I snuck up, and there was Calvin.  Horse's ear firmly
in his teeth, body pulling backwards for all it was worth.  He looked up
at me as if to say WHAT????  It's mine, it's going to be hidden.  Same
with my Bouncing Tigger.  You know, there's nothing like seeing Tigger,
feet moving, his voice singing the Tigger song, moving rapidly along the
floor under ferret power!
 
Last year Calvin had to have his left adrenal out, and he recovered
beautifully.  Then we found lumps under his front and back legs.  To the
vet, diagnosis of lymphoma, so we gave him a shot that the vet said could
hold him 6 months to a year, and Calvin was back in action.  About a
month and a half ago I found more lumps, not only under the legs, but
the neck, and his adrenal was back.  We attempted the injection again,
but suddenly he started gaining weight in the abdomen, and began to lose
his ability to walk.  He'd just look at me sometimes, as if to say- Mom,
something's not right.  I'd carry him downstairs, give him his gravy,
talking to him.  So we made the decision to have adrenal surgery done,
as our vet said this would help, and he could see what was causing this
weight gain.
 
Yesterday, 2/20/04, Calvin had his surgery.  His poor spleen was peppered
with lymphoma tumors, and his right adrenal was the largest the vet had
ever seen.  It was so huge it was into the liver, going into the kidney.
All the vet had to do was touch it and the blood flow was occluded.  And
so came the decision I had to make.  Did I have them close him, keep him
for another month or two and watch him whither, did we attempt radical
surgery and possibly lose him, or did I do him justice and let him go to
the Bridge.  Larry was in the waiting room, and I went out to tell him,
he looked at me and knew what I'd say before I ever said it.  I couldn't
let my Calvin suffer.  And so my Calvin slipped the surly bonds of earth,
and went to see his sister, and all the other members of the Crew of
Merry Mayhem.  I'd talked and talked to him, kept telling him, not yet
buddy, not yet, the days before surgery.  But I also told him of the
Bridge, knew Suzy was waiting, along with Socks and the other 17 Crew
Members.
 
After they closed him I got to hold him, and I talked to him, even though
I knew he was already at the Bridge.  We'd had Bubbles' body wrapped and
kept, as she'd just come home from her necropsy a few days before, and
Larry went to get her so they could be cremated together.  When I had
said all I could to Calvin, I wrapped him in a towel, and they took
Bubbles to be with him.  Even though they were never cagemates, they were
Crew members, and they'll be cremated together, ashes in one pouch, a
special pouch for two.
 
Sandee and Sara-ferret, would you please, again, check on some kids for
me?  Bubbles made it to the Bridge on the 12th.  She was a sable, with
a full tail now.  I don't know if any of the New Jersey kids that went
before her were there, but as she was a member of the Crew of Merry
Mayhem, I know they were there.  Socks would have been first in line to
have greeted her, with many more there.  And then yesterday, I know there
had to be a party with the Rainbow Bridge Coalition of the Bridge meeting
him.  Suzy Derkins probably had a bowl of blueberries waiting, and soap
bubbles had to be in abundance.  Tell Bubbles I'm sorry I forgot to tell
her of the Bridge, and please, tell Calvin how much I miss him, how very
much I loved and how much I miss him, as do all the others.  Genie,
Conan, Mookie and Fang, the original members left, were looking for him
last night.  Tell Bubbles that even though we didn't know each other
long, she'd stolen a piece of my heart also.  Please tell them both I'm
so sorry I couldn't have saved them, that they're gone.  Please let
Calvin know how very much he's loved and missed.
 
Rebecca & the sad Crew of Merry Mayhem
"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy, and taste
 good with ketchup"
"Support bacteria, it's the only culture some people have"
[Posted in FML issue 4430]