Or maybe I should say O wise and wonderful Bridge-greeters?  You both do
such an excellent job, and we hoomins really appreciate all the hard work
you do for us.
 
It s taken me a long time to be able to write this.  You may remember our
three weasels that crossed the Bridge between September and November of
last year Phoebe, Quincy, and Walton well, losing them was hard enough.
Then, in early December, our Valentine had to go in for a surgery, and
started to go downhill.  He started losing weight, but was eating and
drinking normally, and had lots of energy.  The vet said he had
insulinoma very badly, so we opted to get his second surgery shortly
thereafter, hoping that it would help him recover faster.  What a
mistake.
 
He never really recovered from that, although he came home for eight
days.  One morning, after a night he spent pacing up and down the levels
of his cage, I woke to find him cold and spasming on the cage floor
Having just spent time at our local shelter with a ferret in similar
condition, I knew there was no time to wait.  I rushed him to our vet,
and begged them to take care of him until the vet arrived.  I called
every hour to check on him.  When I called at noon, they told me he had
passed on five minutes before.
 
There is so much I wish I hadn t done.  Please let him know that his
daddy and I miss him very much, and that his brother Romeo (sadly, the
last of the original business of five) is doing well, but misses him too.
Let him know that we found his battery-powered weasel-tail under the bed
yesterday, and that it holds a place of honor in his siblings hidey-hole.
Tell him that even though I wasn t with him in the flesh when he passed,
that I thought of him every moment, and that I think of him every day.  I
miss the fact that all of my plastic straws stay in their cups.  I miss
his aggressive, both front feet planted FIRMLY on the face, face kisses
and how he always went for the eyes, and how we always let him even
though it hurt.  We miss his bright dark eyes, his beautiful white coat,
and his rough and tumble antics.  Let him know that I can t listen to
Into the West by Annie Lennox without thinking of the day he died and
that this isn t the end.  He s only sleeping, and we will meet again.
 
Thank you both so much,
Caitie
[Posted in FML issue 4481]