My first ferret - who was also the first ferret I'd ever met - passed
away three months ago yesterday, May 16, 2003.  I've avoided writing this
because it was just too hard!  But it's about time I did this, I owe it
to her.
 
I was in New Jersey Pets in January of 1994, getting some stuff for my
dog, as I recall, accompanied by my (now ex) boyfriend and his two young
sons.  The boys spotted a glass enclosure full of baby ferrets and were
fascinated.  So the sales person reached in and picked out a tiny baby
sable girl and placed her on the floor.  She began to run and the boys
chased her.  I admonished them not to scare her, but the sales person
assured me that she was enjoying it and wasn't afraid.  What did I know?
Although I'd had many species of pets all my life, for some reason I'd
never seen a ferret before.  So the boys of course wanted to take her
home and dad said yes.  In my then totally ignorant state, I figured,
"Sure, I like rodents, why not?" So we proceeded to collect all the stuff
the sales person said we needed: cage, food, food dish, water bottle, a
tiny pink collar with a bell, litter box (pink, of course), hammock (also
pink), and probably more stuff I've forgotten about - plus a book on
ferrets for our edification.  The sales person had told us that ferrets
had a naturally musky odor, so we dubbed our new pet "Clover," thinking
that a sweet-smelling name would help!
 
At the time, the boys lived with their mother in New Jersey, their
father lived in a loft in NYC, and I lived in my NJ apartment.  Somehow
it was determined that little Clover should reside with me.  So began my
ferretification.  From the ferret book I soon learned that ferrets were
not rodents, of course, and were quite intelligent little creatures.
Which I didn't really need the book to tell me - Clover soon clued me
in!  I spent the weekends in NYC, and always brought Clover and my dog
Tor along.  Tor was fascinated with Clover, and would spend long hours
watching her in the cage.  At first I thought he wanted to eat her.  But
as I carefully introduced them, I found out that he really wanted to play
with her, and despite being a large dog (a Pit Bull and German Shepherd
mix) from a tough background, he was extremely gentle with her.  I could
write a book on all the fun times and adventures we had together -
Clover, Tor, the boys, my ex and I - and eventually several more ferrets.
But this is already getting long... (Some of my posts on the subject
should be in the fml archives.)
 
One thing I learned from the ferret book was that they are gregarious
animals.  So when Clover was about six months old, I made another visit
to NJ Pets and brought home Alfalfa, a beautiful silver mitt baby.  I
still remember the day: I plopped him in the hammock next to a sleeping
Clover, who woke up and started licking him all over, as if he were her
long-lost baby.  They immediately bonded and remained close buddies all
their lives.  Even though they both got on well with the additional six
who eventually joined the "business," their bond was special.
 
Clover was always a petite little lady with a very feminine way of
asserting herself and remaining the matriarch of the clan.  Clover could
walk into a room and command your attention with her bright little eyes.
She had a way of standing there and nodding her head to let you know what
she wanted.  Al grew up to be a big boy with a cantankerous personality.
Al had a lot of health problems, and became my first ferret with adrenal
disease.  He later had insulinoma and a host of other ailments throughout
his life.  He went through two surgeries and lots of medication.  It was
amazing that he lived to be almost eight when he passed away early this
year.  Clover, OTOH, remained healthy and robust all her life (unlike
several of my others).  Until Al died, that is.  Then she began to lose
weight, and a couple months later was diagnosed with kidney failure.
Sub-Q fluids and a special diet perked her up for a while.  I kept
telling her that she had made it through a bad winter and couldn't leave
us in the spring.  But she eventually got so weak that she couldn't stand
up.  She had lost interest in even her favorite treats, and on May 16th
I made the painful decision to help her to the Bridge.  When I buried
her little body next to Al's grave, under the Hydrangea bush, it seemed
fitting that Lilies of the Valley, Wisteria and the other delicate spring
flowers were in bloom.  Sweet blossoms for a sweet little lady were laid
on her grave.  Clover wore the same tiny pink bell collar for her entire
eight-and-a-half years, and I kept it to remember her by - not that I
could ever forget her.  It still has her scent.
 
Sandee, please make sure that my little Clover Girl has found her
lifelong pal, Alfalfa, who passed away this past January.  I love to
think of them as healthy, whole and happy, playing together again, where
I will some day join them.
 
Nancy and critters - still missing our Clover Girl and Big Al
[Posted in FML issue 4243]