Blossom came into my life shortly after I got Rosie, my 1st ferret.  I had
a notice on a bulletin board in a pet store, (little did I know that that
note would seal my fate & start the addiction & love of ferrets) "looking
for unwanted ferret", to be a friend to Rosie.  I got a call from a guy
who had what he said was a 2yr old female.  He loved her very much but
had cats, cats had kittens, kitten & cats were going in & out of house &
bringing fleas in with them.  They were getting on the ferret, they didn't
know what to put on the ferret to keep the fleas off so they were giving
her a bath about 3-4 times a week, so he said.  I said I would take her.
Joey went to get her & brought her home.  Tiny little champagne colored
sable, beautiful face.  Her coat was thin & brittle, she had a rat tail.
So very sweet.  What was her name?  She was so loved that they had never
named her.  Can he call me once in awhile to find out how she is doing,
because he really loves her & will miss her so much.  Of course he can,
anytime he wants to.  Did he ever?  No!  She was on Purina cat food.I had
Rosie on Shepherd & Greene because that was what Rosie was eating & at that
time I didn't know about different foods, or the Ferret Store where they
carry so many brands.  She dug right into the new food.  No problem.
 
I named her Blossom, thinking she would get a nice new coat & tail fur &
"blossom" out.  She & Rosie hit it off right away.  Both had been solitary
ferrets.  Rapidly after Blossom, came several more ferrets.  Blossom got
along with them all, George, QT, Sadie, Cocoa, Bart, & Caffie.  These were
in her "group".
 
It was soon determined that Blossom was not as young as I was told.  She
more like 6yrs old.  My "Little Old Lady Fert" as she became affectionally
known.  Her body may not have been young but her heart was.  She romped
with the rest of them.  Blossom had a few problems & had a few surgeries &
came through all with flying colors.  She had her left adrenal gland out
last year, after going totally bald except for her head & shoulders.  She
was still beautiful to me.  She was still bouncy.  I will never lose the
memory of her in the vets office, I had her out of the carrier & she was
war dancing & bouncing all over the place, her bald little self, so dear,
so cute.  I was scared that would be the last time I saw her, because she
was on the elderly side & I wasn't sure she would come through the surgery.
She did.  Her beautiful new coat started to come in shortly after that.
Soon she was covered in glossy, soft fur...........except for her tail.
Then it started, a hair here & there & filled in at the base of her tail.
 
Then it stopped.  Her right gland was affected so she went on Lupron
injections, once a month.  After her second shot, fur started to sprout on
her tail again.  It was coming in so fast you could see it grow.......well
almost.  In the morning there wasn't anything there & then in the evening
she had a good inch of new growth.  It was coming in then up & down her
tail, but then it tapered off to a hair here & there.  Then again it
stopped.  We think the Lupron had stopped doing much good.  I knew my time
with her was limited.
 
The last couple of days Blossom seemed a little weaker but still perky
enough to do some dancing.  Since everyone had an upper respiratory
infection, I put it down to that.  Appetites had fallen off of everyone.
They all were eating & loving their chicken but not eating too much of the
kibble.
 
This morning when I took her group out of the cage, I had to look for her,
she wasn't ready to go as usual.  She didn't want to come out & felt so
light & fragile.  I put her down by the dish of chicken but she turned away
from it.  By the time I had the litter box cleaned out, she was still right
where she was.  I had noticed someone had thrown up in the cage & since she
was the only one that wasn't jumping around I believed it was from her.
 
I picked her up & it seemed like she was hardly breathing.  In fact several
times I thought she had passed away.  A hurried call to the vet letting
them know we on the way & a rush to get there.  Blossom was in a towel in
my arms, she was so quiet.  I don't know how many times I thought she had
passed away on the trip there.  A twitch of a whisker would let me know she
was still here.
 
Doctor examined her, & felt an lump.  He thought she might have an
obstruction.  I told him she had never chewed on anything she wasn't
suppose to & I knew it was a tumor.  Then we had to decide if she was up
to surgery or not.  It wasn't much of a choice, she was going to die if
she didn't have the surgery & she had to be given a chance.  A tumor was
found, her liver was damaged & she had adhesions on her intestines.
Between that & her adrenal problem it was decided to let her go.  She was
8 years old.
 
My sweet bouncy Blossom.  I know that George was waiting for you, you were
close to him.  I also know that you finally have fully blossomed & your
tail is full & fluffy.  I wish I could see it, but you have always been the
most beautiful Blossom of all to me.  Dance on little girl, with all of
your joy.  Tell George, Dakota, Samantha, Sammy & Max that they are still
very much in my heart, as you will always be.  And if you could, would
you please whisper in God's ear that he shouldn't call any more of your
brothers & sisters to him for awhile, mom is having a real hard time coping
with so many leaving here right now.  Dance on little girl, as you will
forever dance in my heart.
 
Lynn & Clan War Weasels
[Posted in FML issue 3367]