Hello,
 
I've received quite a few responses of condolences for Easel's passing, and
would like to thank everyone personally but thought I'd do so by writing a
bit of an update of my and my ferrets' lives here.
 
Easel had been coughing for several months, but so had Noodle, and I
assumed they were both allergic to something in the house.  Both coughs
passed, but Easel's returned, so I took her into the vet and we returned
with antibiotics.  After reporting to the vet that those didn't help but
the cough wasn't getting much worse, we didn't really pursue until months
later, when the cough was more constant.  However, she never slowed down
until the immediate end and never developed ascites; sometimes it's hard
to tell with these little critters.
 
Potpie's now 6.5 and still cranky and spunky despite slowing down some;
today we had her out on the porch while enjoying morning coffee and she
entertained herself by stalking the neighbor's cat.  Said neighbor-cat was
less than amused, and didn't quite grasp the concept that sitting on the
porch furniture equated safety from ferret, thus keeping Potpie well
entertained.  The other day, while ferret-sitting for a friend, we had
Friday, Noodle, and guest-ferrets out on the porch during coffee, and
*they* entertained themselves by digging up the neighbor's plants.  Friday
additionally entertained herself by falling down the steps; all four were
caused undue distress by getting their whiskers mucked up in cobwebs.  I
displayed little sympathy; Friday's favorite game now is to nip my ankles
and then wardance away when i start jumping around.  :)
 
Last, a few words about Easel.  She didn't have any favorite games or toys,
because everything made her wardance.  Getting woken up was always a long
chore (something I'm sure many of you sympathize with) and had to be done
in stages: first, startle awake.  Squint.  Yawn.  Doze off again.  Hang
paws and head over edge of hammock.  Doze off again.  And so on. :)  She
was always there to greet me at the entrance to their room and always had
kisses for elbows and feet (but get her near your nose/lips/earlobes and
you'd have new holes for jewelry!  we think she was near-sighted, and so
entranced by soft-appearing facial features that only a CHOMP would serve
as an identification method).  She only had three legs - she was missing a
rear leg - and as a result travelled by hopping around like a bunny.  She
was never quite stable on hardwood floors, but that made wardancing that
much more fun.  She was the only ferret I've ever seen whose own wardancing
made her so excited that she had to wardance more.  I was wrong about no
favorite games - she loved being swung around while riding on the back of a
towel.  And last, she had the silliest blank stare of any animal I've ever
seen, but it was adorable and appropriate, as she was one of the silliest
animals I've ever had the pleasure to know.
 
Thanks again for all of your kind notes.  I'm glad that my stories of my
ferrets have given so many people such entertainment.
 
Melissa, Potpie, Noodle, and Friday.  Rest peacefully, Easel.
 
- [log in to unmask] -    This is a coin hold of great beak bird style. -
[Posted in FML issue 2754]