My first memories of Yod He Vawhe, or "Yods"(pronounced like "modes") was
when we met his owner to release in a parking lot in Chesapeake, near the
NC border.  She was moving to Alaska and was getting rid of her ferrets -
three she couldn't find homes for because of behavior problems.  Yod He
Vawhe, Dijon and Pele were their names - two black roan mitts and a sable.
Yod He and Dijon were brother and sister and couldn't be separated - but
Dijon bit hard, so no one wanted them.  Pele was a slight sable girl who no
one chose.  She opened up the carrier and I remember seeing these black,
bright eyed ferrets with impossibly and equally black noses!
 
They were 7 months old - picked up on May 21, 1994.  Yod He Vawhe was an
outgoing, personable ferret who never met a person he didn't like.  He
quickly, along with the others, fit into my house.  I adopted these three
from the shelter for my own.  Yod He loved stairs and the great outdoors,
enjoyed going for walks and took readily to a leash.  We also found him to
be an escape artist - he was quick to dash out, and the open faced stairs
of our condo were no match for his talents.  He decided on the coldest day
of the year in 1995 to venture out during an ice storm.  He went down 3
flights of stairs, through the parking lot, across a street and into a
retirement community's parking lot, where he must have then decided it was
too cold and turned on his charm to get people.  It worked.  He was picked
up and taken to a vet where I was able to get him back.
 
He went to his first show in 1995 - and we ended his "career" in November
1997 - a Grand Champion by one standard and a Bronze Tier by anothers' -
but the ribbons never mattered as much to me as he did - he was my buddy,
my friend and a constant companion.  He loved the boat trips on the Cape
May - Lewes Ferry, and won the hearts of many travelers with his big, black
nose and kisses.  He has his own "First time sailor certificate" from the
ferry and the stairs were his favorite.  He had an elusive quality - "face
appeal" that the normal reaction was "aww he's soo cute!".  He was a "star"
in the video, "Kids against Rabies", put out by the Virginia Beach
Environmental Health Department.  He was on TV, during a pet fashion show.
He was one of the furry stars in the Virginia Beach SPCA's Celebrity
Fashion show and silent auction, benefiting the SPCA.  He loved people, and
everywhere he went, people loved him, too.  He was a ferret ambassador, an
extrovert with love and kisses for everyone.
 
Yod He developed adrenal gland disease in December 1997 - right side.
Debulked as best as they could, but didn't regain his hair.  He was put
on Lysodren in January 1998, with good results.  December 1, 1998, we did
another adrenal surgery and this time it was a success.  His hair almost
immediately began to regrow.  He was himself again - happy, playing and
active.  I let him outside on a balmy day in late December, to see how he
had done it - the stairs.  He blithely hopped down the steps to the second
floor, where he found some flower pots with dirt in them - then he jumped
in and started digging happily - suddenly he wasn't a silver anymore - he
was all black and very proud of it.  He suddenly became ill on January 15,
1999 - and was taken to the vet.  We tried our best, but it wasn't meant to
be - Yod He must have been done here, and had places to go yet.  He left me
on January 16, 1999 at 8:00 pm.
 
Its hard to imagine how much I miss that little boy.  His persona, his
cuteness, his lovingness, his kisses.  He left a huge whole in my heart by
leaving.  I can't believe that he is gone and that I will no longer see him
wardance or feel his charm.  I keep looking into the cage that he shared
with Dijon expecting to see two black noses and two pairs of black eyes
peeking out of the hammock, not just one.  Yod He, my friend, my companion -
I will see you again, I hope.  You were the star that burned so brightly,
but oh so briefly in the sky.  And I will miss you - always.
 
Yod He Vawhe - 10/28/1993 - 1/16/1999
 
Lisa, Head Ferret
The Ferret Haven "By-the-Sea"
URL: http://www.kozykingdom.com/ferrethaven
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[Posted in FML issue 2560]