Many of you know the stories of Byte-me from the posts over the years
but here is her story.
 
I wanted a ferret so began to learn about them.  With only a little
knowledge I bought Byte-me from a store, she was less than 8 weeks old
and a tiny ball of fur.  I bought a rabbit cage and had a towel in there
for her to sleep on while a cage kit came from the Ferret Store.  She
would 'help' me building the cage as I bought another and yet another to
make a very big cage with tunnels, multiple hammocks and all kinds of
things in there.
 
\s time passed I felt she needed company so in came Nibble-ed.  The two
bonded after a bit.  Byte-me loved to get under the love seat and I would
roust her out from under.  One night I rousted her out and unknowingly
set the legless couch down on her.  She was half under and half out.  I
didn't know that and found her 20 some odd minutes later.  She was
totally limp, lifeless and for all intent she was dead!  I was devastated
and held her as I paced for at least an hour as I patted her.  She was
dead.  Just before I was going to put her in a plastic bag to freeze to
have her stuffed I noticed her chest slightly heaving!  She was
breathing!  I think my petting her was a form of CPR that revived her.
It took all that night for her to even be able to lift her head and she
would not sit still unless my hand was on her so I slept very carefully
guiding my little animal in recovery.  It took days for her to return
to being normal but she did, her rib cage had a lump where bones healed
somewhat out of place and she would run with a strange gait but she
survived.  A horrid lesson for both of us.
 
Byte-me was my first ferret.  She loved to chase the harness bells as I
dragged it across the floor, loved to sleep with me every night and I
loved to have her there.  She would be hiding somewhere when I went to
bed but invariably about 10 minutes after I got into bed I could hear
and feel the clawing of her scrambling up under the bed spread to 'her
side' of the bed where she would sleep with me till morning where she
would get up like an alarm clock and bob her nose on my face right on
queue before the alarm clock went off.  Amazing animal!
 
Over the term I had 7 more ferrets, all rescues and they all passed
leaving Byte-me alone again.  I sorely miss all the others but my very
favorite was Byte-me.  Her name is a computer name but she 'earned' it
where as a kit she bit so much I nearly got rid of her, but all at once
she stopped that and we were friends for life.
 
Byte-me had an enlarged spleen and then grew tumors in her lower mid
section.  She would most likely survive surgery but that would also not
lengthen her life.  It was very hard and sad to watch her degrade over
time.  She became totally blind but knew her way around.  When I took
her outside she would explore some but would find me by smell and come
to me climbing up my pant leg and shirt 'asking' me to take her back
in or if I had shorts on she would just lay at my feet.  She taught me
Ferret Language, and I could tell what she was telling or asking me.
 
I knew her time was close so I took a bunch of pictures of her, more than
I had in the past and I have over 1000 pictures and movies of her.  The
one in the calendar was a once in a lifetime shot where I had the zoom
in just right, the focus and her positioned in the LED screen just right
and she stopped moving for that instant I took the shot.  A classic for
sure!  Some person here in Richmond e-mailed me stating that picture was
of the most beautiful ferret he had ever seen !!  That comment still
warms me to tears.
 
She was just another ferret, but was MY ferret as I was HER human.  I
sorely miss her coming to visit me bobbing her nose on my foot asking to
be picked up as I work here on the computer, and the many other things
she did with me over the years.  I miss her coming to the cage door as I
walked by, the way she 'asked' for a little TLC and attention from me.
Such a sweet and gentle little creature.  She would kiss me being very
careful to not touch me with her teeth rolling her lips back so only her
tongue would briefly touch me.  Her feet padding over me during the night
was a priceless experience and one I mess for sure.  God rest that little
animal and may she be there when I go !
 
So that is the story of Byte-me, in part.  Please buy at least one
calendar, Byte-me is giving one last gift to me, you and the shelter
kids with her candid pose in the wild.  The pic was in the woods here
in Virginia taken about 2 weeks before she died.  A treasure for sure.
 
Gordon, Mr. Clean and Rug Lumper
Missing Podo, Bud, Nibble-ed, Kodo and Byte-me
[Posted in FML issue 4983]