We lost a little spirit last night after a tough day.
 
Some of you remember Crusty (aka Flower aka "Crustina")
 
She was featured in the MaFF Fuzzy Papers Spring Summer 2004 under the
"Meant to Be" story, she was also the Cheerio Chomp Champion at the 2004
Summer Event among her other MaFF Event Awards.  (See article at
<http://www.maferrets.org/> under newsletters for her picture and story.)
http://www.maferrets.org/fuzzy/TheFuzzyPapers_Spring2004.pdf
 
She was my first rescue girl & my first adoption girl and the first
ferret article I ever wrote for the Fuzzy Papers.
 
Yesterday was a bad day.  Crusty didn't fair well and we were not
successful in getting her out of shock.  Around 6:30 pm she started to
hemorrage and the black tarry stools turned to bright red.  Thru many
phone calls back and forth to California, Eve, Kevin and I all sobbing
made the necessary decisions to give her wings.
 
While it was so very sad it gave me an interesting perspective, the
ultimate definition of the "Circle of Life".
 
She was found as a stray and brought to the Randolph Animal Hospital, she
came home with me "for the weekend", they called her "Flower" after the
Bambi story and she became "Crusty" after she stole a piece of pizza
crust and ate it up before I could take it away from her.  Crusty's only
ferret friend she made at my house died suddenly of pneumonia a week
later.  Eve and Kevin had lost a ferret and their remaining ferret didn't
like any others.  It took a month of play dates introducing them in the
tube for them to make friends.  After Pepita and Crusty became ferret
sisters, they were inseparable.
 
Some how she knew it was her time and saved Kevin and Eve them heartache
of her going.  In the end it was her and I at Randolph Animal Hospital,
she snuggled against my neck as I whispered to her about the bridge and
how we all loved her so.  Somehow everyone's prayers eased her to sleep
as she crossed the bridge.
 
The whole staff had tears for her as she was the first ferret they ever
rescued as well.
 
I will surely miss her but in the end we were together.
 
And now it's a new day and a new ferret boy named Milo is on his way to
me, so I'll pack away my sadness for her and be glad to be able to help
him.
 
Diane W.
[Posted in FML issue 5098]