In thirteen years of sanctuary work, we have seen a few ferrents who
were truly devoted to the little ones they brought to us. I will share
their stories.

A young college-age girl surrendered her two ferrets who were just
under the age of two. She made us promise they would stay here & not
be adopted out. We asked her if she would be willing to volunteer for
two hours a month, to volunteer a bit, & visit Snickers & Bacardi &
play with them. We wanted her to remain in their lives. Patty came
nearly every single Sunday for two years, when she had to move away
to complete her schooling. This young woman became like a daughter
to me, and a wonderful friendship was formed because of her ferrets.
Snickers & Bacardi are still with us.

A ferret friend who worked extremely long hours had a little heart
patient who needed monitoring, and special care. Bringing Daisy here
was a decision of love--and Daisy died here, comfortably with us.(Daisy
was pictured in a pink cuddle cup in the FML calendar, a few years
ago.) Down the road, our friend had an eight year old adrenal kid,
blind, deaf, & insulinomic, who LOVED to play on the floor with other
ferrets, in a pile of un-rolled paper towels!! When Tuffy`s heart
became bad & his appetite wasn`t the best, it might have been an option
to "just put him out of his misery"--but oh how he still loved to
play---so she brought Tuffy here, for however long he had, due to her
long hours at work. Tuffy gained weight, got better on his meds, lived
another nine or so wonderful months. He inspired people at every turn
of the road. His mommy was very generous to us, & came to visit her boy
regularly. (I will never open a roll of paper towels, and not think of
Tuffy, tunneling through them, and having a ball...) Our friend also
rescued two elderly ferrets from a pet store, where they had been
dumped. The ferrets were bonded, & very ill, so they came to us for
help, until they could get on their feet. Our friend could not be there
to do special feedings every three hours, and would never have been
able to get up every three hours in the night & still be able to meet
the heavy demands at work. One of the ferrets died a few days later,
despite all efforts, and the other grieved so badly for her that we
nearly lost him, as well. He recovered, and bonded with some of the
ferrets here, and his mommy came for visits (from two hours away!) as
well as generously supported our sanctuary. The ferret needed surgery,
and our friend covered all of the bills. Bongo lived to be nearly eight
years old--and before he died, he got to enjoy being a real ferret. You
may remember the story of Bisquit--the ferret who accidentally got into
the clothes dryer on a Sunday morning. Bisquit came here to get well,
with the help of one of our board of directors, who drove Bisquit the
second half of the journey. Bisquit got to go home two weeks later. Our
friend became our GOOD friend, over the years--and we have become very
bonded, sharing in the lives of her kids. We babysit for her whenever
she leaves town, and we cared for her kids when she underwent surgery.
She is now one of my two best friends, and like a sister to me. I love
you, Lisette :)

Last story-- Another ferret friend`s life was thrown into the blender
when his marriage blew up. The house was for sale, and the real estate
person thought that six ferrets would "really put people off, and
possibly discourage a sale." Two of the ferrets had medical issues.
Because things were so crazy in his life, we offered to take the
ferrets until things settled down a bit. He surrendered them, so we
could make medical decisions, and schedule vet visits, but we planned
to foster them back when he got his apartment, after the house sold.
The house wasn`t selling. Things got nasty with the divorce. A bitter
battle ensued. The months ticked by. All the while, the man drove an
hour EVERY SATURDAY to scrub the sanctuary floor, dress his kids` cage,
play with his babies, and have lunch with Kurt & me. One by one, as the
ferrets developed more health issues, he paid the vet bills, and the
cost of their meds. He brought bottled water & baby meats every week.
One by one through the years, his kids left this earth---in my arms...
He saw, on a weekly basis, what we go through here--and he really
became our friend. (This is the man on our board of directors who
dropped everything & drove Bisquit the second half of the journey, so
we could save him.) He is our other best friend, and is like a brother
to me. Gregg is ferretless now, but continues to support our sanctuary.

Lives touch for a reason--and it is refreshing to find people who truly
are commited to their pets and want the best for the animal --whatever
that may be. I wish there were more people out there like these--for
they are my heroes.

Love,
Zoo

[Posted in FML 7166]