Princess came to my shelter, Pet Pals, in June of 1993.  Her history was
typical of a ferret being turned in to a shelter:
 
A young man by the name of Joe Rodriquez bought a ferret from me in June of
1991.  The ferret, Archie, was a light silver, and born April of 1991.
Princess, born in May of 1991, was bought as a companion ferret to Archie a
few months later.  She originally came from a breeder (JBF in Leesburg,
VA).  Joe was a high school student, and when he decided to go to college,
his parents didn't want the ferrets left behind, so they came to my shelter.
 
Now, it is not my policy to break up pairs, but Princess was already
developing cateracts at two years of age and Archie had become a striking
dark eyed white.  I had incorporated them into my personal ferrets, since
Archie was of my breeding stock (long ago neutered).  They lived with other
ferrets, and after awhile, bonded with other ferrets.  In April of 1994, I
met a family that had a ferret and was looking for a companion, so I let
them adopt Archie.
 
I kept Princess because she was the most even tempered ferret I had ever
seen.  You could do anything to this ferret and she would not bite.  She
loved being held, even by strangers, and soon became my show-and-tell
ferret for pet shop demos and other events.
 
In the Summer of 1996, I had to select which ferrets I wanted to keep as
personals and which I had to adopt when I closed down my full service
shelter.  I sort of set a criteria to keep ferrets from my breeding program
and the really elderly that would be close to impossible to adopt.  Though
Princess was 5 and still healthy and active, she had bonded with other
ferrets that I could not part with, so she became a keeper.
 
In 1997 Princess developed signs of adrenal disease.  I took her in for
surgery in December, and the vet found a tumor on the right adrenal wrapped
around the vena cava.  There was no way to take it off, so it was partially
removed.  I figured Princess would have several months to a year to live,
and watched her for signs of anemia in case the vena cava started to become
constricted.
 
Princess regrew her fur, and jokingly became called "The EverReady Ferret",
because she was always on the move until her old bones required a nap.
Blindness never stopped her.  she even took Best Handicap in 1997 at a
ferret show, plus other places for best dressed.  She was "Dances with
Ferrets" and "Pocahantus", depending which movie was popular a the time.
 
In November 1998, her companion, Nanuq Neufcent, died in his sleep in their
cage.  I thought for sure she would pine away and die of loneliness.  Not
Princess.  She was content to live alone, and occasionally play with a big
brute by the name of Buckeye (6 years old) and sleep with him when he
finally settled down.
 
During the last week I had noticed Princess having trouble walking, so I
put her cage in my utility room where it is warmer.  She had long ago
stopped using the litterbox so I had papers in her cage and changed them
daily.  Monday, it appearred she had dislocated her shoulder - I popped it
back into place and she walked on that leg.  Tuesday I noticed she had a
prolapsed rectum, so I gave her some gruel and added a bit of medication.
The next day, she was no longer round and hard in the belly, but soft and
gushy.  She was also so figity that I thought it could be she was
uncomfortable and maybe in pain.  Today, I noted she had not pooped in 24
hours, her nose and paw pads were bright red, and she could not support
herself for long when she tried to walk.  I made an appointment with the
vet to send her to the rainbow bridge.
 
Having a ferret live to 8.75 years with as few problems as she had is
great.  Princess did get ECE in 1993, and it was active in my home for many
years afterwards.  She never had a relapse.  Princess did pig out on Duck
Soup when her companion had to have lasix served to him hidden inside his
serving, but she was a short, stout female of the chocolate persuasion.
She never let her blindness get the best of her.  She was a role model for
ferrets and took her show-and-tell job very seriously.  Most of the
neighborhood kids who came to visit the ferrets asked for her by name.
 
Princess will be buried in the rose garden once Spring gets here and the
ground thaws.  She leaves behind 11 ferrets who, with the exception of one,
never interacted with her.  Buckeye has his cage buddies, so there is no
loneliness left behind, just a spot in my heart.
 
Rest in Peace my EverReady Ferret.
[Posted in FML issue 2949]