Bridge Greeters, please be on the lookout for my sweet boy, Buddy.
 
It is with great sadness that I report that I had to help him leave for
the Bridge last week.  Buddy was over 7 years old, and his poor body had
become too weak and tired to house his spirit any longer.  He had had
ADV since he was just a few months old, but had also developed adrenal
disease and lymphoma.  In the end, I suspect it was the lymphoma that
took the greatest toll on him.
 
Buddy was a wonderful boy.  He was from Elly's second litter, and was
one of her 'Hooligans'.  Five of the boys from that litter were called
the Hooligans, because their mischief caused great chaos wherever they
went.  It wasn't that they were bad - they just had a knack for creating
trouble.
 
Buddy was the largest of his siblings, and had a beautiful and
expressive face.  He earned his name because he became Wolfie's best
friend - his buddy.  As a result, Wolfie became an honorary Hooligan.
 
Buddy shared a large cage with his mother, Elly, and Wolfie, and one of
his brothers.  The other 2 Hooligans were in a separate cage, but in his
play group.  Unfortunately, one by one, they all left too soon, leaving
Buddy by himself.  Elly was the last to leave him, and Buddy mourned her
passing last summer for a long time.
 
After Elly's death, Buddy chose not to associate with any other ferrets.
Maybe he was just afraid of once again having to deal with loss.
Instead, he chose to spend his time exploring, and also found time to
sit with me and be loved on.  He was never a cuddler, but for the last
year he has liked to come and lay beside me and have me pet him and
scratch his belly.
 
Buddy is survived by his sister Belle and one brother, Bo, as well as
various nieces and nephews.
 
Please help him find his 3 brothers who have already reached the Bridge,
Hooligan, Rolling Thunder, Kevin, as well as his best friend Wolfie and
his momma Elly.  I am sure that once he is reunited with his brothers,
the Bridge will never again be the same.  Fortunately, Elly is good at
keeping them from doing too much damage.
 
Buddy was the last of my ADV+ ferrets, and now I am faced with the task
of cleaning up from ADV, with the hope that next spring I can finally
safely bring a kit or 2 into my home.  It has been a long trip for me,
but I would gladly continue being an ADV+ home if I could just have my
kids back.
 
Although I may now once again be free of ADV, that does not mean I will
stop my fight to raise money for ADV research and my quest to educate
other ferret owners about the dangers of ADV.  I made a promise to
Hershey 7 years ago that I would continue working until ferrets and
their owners no longer needed to worry about the dangers of ADV, and I
intend to keep that promise.
 
For those of you that are new to the FML, or who may not remember his
story, you can read about Hershey and my promise to him at:
      http://help4adv.terrabox.com/mem-Hershey.html
 
--
Danee DeVore
International Ferret Congress Health Issues Coordinator
http://www.ferretcongress.org
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit: http://www.ferretadv.com
You can help fight ADV!
Visit: http://help4adv.terrabox.com/
[Posted in FML issue 5364]