After losing my Drag and Slim Shady, my first paralyzed ferrets, I said
I never want to go through that again, the pain of losing such special
ferrets, but if I did I told my vet I hope its a female so we don't have
so many issues with the urination problems.  Soon after I received a
called from a local Petco, a baby ferret was returned, the owners said
they didn't want her anymore because she just stopped using her back
legs.  I'm sure she stopped using them because she was injured, but
they didn't care, she was no longer "perfect".
 
I went to the Petco to pick her up, bracing myself for the heartache of
another paralyzed ferret, and all the while telling myself I would not
get so emotionally attached, so when she passes away it won't hurt so
much.
 
They brought me to the groom shop where they had her in a cage there, I
looked in and saw a beautiful little silver blaze face looking back at
me.  That was it, I already loved her.
 
On the way home I talked to her, I told her she was going to be OK, and
that I loved her and I would take care of her.  I made a promise to her
to make her life the best that it could ever be.  All the time I was
talking to her and driving, she was looking at me.  Meadow has to be
squeezed twice a day and given a bath twice a day,and her bedding changed
twice a day.  She was high maintenance, So I started calling her the
princess, Chyna monkey was still alive at that time and she still reigned
as queen so Meadow had to be the princess and it fit her.  Meadow was
named after a character on my favorite show the Sopranos, she is the
daughter of a very wealthy mobster, a spoiled princess like my Meadow.
It fit her to a tee.
 
Over time our bond grew more and more each day.  We talked every morning
and night and when ever I was in my room, her cage was next to my bed.
When I talked to her she would cock her head as if she understood my
words.  I would lay in bed at night and watch her lay on her back and
play with her toys that hung from her cage, she would play until she fell
asleep.  I would watch her eyes start to close and her little paws slow
down until she was finally asleep.  I can't begin to even tell you how
that felt, the feeling that came over me watching her go to sleep.
 
Every morning I would wake and see her looking at me and if she could
have talked she would have told me to get my butt out of bed and take
care of her.  The funny thing is, is that she did talk to me, with her
eyes, her expressions, We had a communication that I have never had with
any other ferret I had taken care of.  Meadow and her story was know
across the US, I never had a ferret that touched so many peoples lives
like she did.  She had a fan club of sorts, she received presents not
only at Christmas but all throughout the year.  It was a joke on how
many presents she would get every year.
 
If you met Meadow you fell in love with her, if you never met Meadow you
fell in love with her, she was special in her own way.
 
She was brave, smart, loving, and was dealt a rotton hand in life but
never showed that it bothered her.  She played with her friends,
Godzilla, Annie Bones, Pez, (Annie and Pez both passed away this year),
and all the other ferrets in her family.  She never met a ferret she
didn't like.  Meadow loved carrying little stuffed toys and crochet eggs
around the room to hide them.  She was like the little sister to her
ferret family and they all looked out for her and loved her very much.
 
I could go on forever about Meadow, telling you all about her amazing
life.  but by now you get the pitcher on just how special she was.
 
She was famous, she has been in Ferrets Magazine and was in the FML
calander.  She was a "star", she was my shining star.
 
Last Monday, October 3rd, Meadow passed way, it was unexpected, and she
passed in her sleep.  It was peaceful.
 
The pain I feel is tremendous, almost unbearable.  There is an emptiness
in my life that seems will never go away.
 
At night I lay in bed and look up at her empty cage, and I miss her I
really miss her.  And sometimes out of the corner of my eye, I actually
see her.  I see her looking at me, waiting for me to take care of her.
I want to thank everyone who has helped me make Meadow's life a little
better, she loved being showered with gifts, a true princess life she
had.  A package came the day after she died, it was a box of goodies from
a wonderful shelter friend Riza, it was for all the shelter ferrets, and
of course Meadow was mentioned in the card.  I haven't had the heart to
really look through the box, not wanting to see things that Meadow would
have loved.
 
I'll never forget you Miss Meadow Soprano, I was blessed to have had you
come into my life.
 
I love you,
Momma CJ
24 Carat Ferret Rescue And Shelter
"where ferrets are treated like gold"
[Posted in FML issue 5023]