A Special Ferret's Life, by Pamela Troutman Grant
 
The starting place was a ferret show in West Virginia, September 1989.  I
was a newlywed.  My now ex-husband had two children from a previous marriage
and all four of us were at this ferret show.  I had started a ferret shelter
in 1988 and was placing ferrets in new homes at this event.  Towards the end
of the day, a woman came to me with this beautiful silver mitt ferret.  She
had been disappointed in how he had shown and wanted to give him up for
adoption.  His name was Hob Goblin, an intact hob that had been bred by her
in Ohio, and was born June 5, 1989.
 
My step daughter immediately wanted him, and I too was captivated by his
looks.  I'm very fond of mitt ferrets.  So I took what would have been the
adoption fee from my pocket and adopted him myself.  He was renamed Pokey by
my stepdaughter, but I kept the surname of Hob Goblin for show purposes.
 
Pokey grew and became a part of my breeding stock.  He competed in shows
sponsored by the International Ferret Association (IFA), where he became a
Supreme Grand Champion before the organization folded.  He also competed in
Ferret Unity and Registration Organization (FURO) shows, but was past his
prime to make the blue ribbons required to continue in the Masters levels.
 
To my pleasure and surprise, he did best in independent ferret shows.  The
points didn't amount to much, but Pokey always came home with a ribbon.  At
exactly the age of seven, he took Best Alter in the Great Lakes Ferret
Association's show on June 8, 1996.  He also captured Best Silver Specialty
there as well.
 
I decided to have Pokey's portrait taken when he was five years old.  I have
two poses to remember him - one he was perched in a small white rattan
chair; the other he is in a little red Radio Flyer wagon.  You can tell by
his stance that he is defiant to some extent, and that was the way he
treated death.
 
Pokey started having problems walking recently.  I was checking his blood
glucose with my meter, and it was never at a really low level.  Sometimes,
he was found drooling, but that usually involved an empty food bowl.
Earlier this month, I noticed one of his anal glands looked impacted, so I
took him to the vet.  It was expressed with great difficulty, and he was
placed on Amoxicillan.  In ten days, his bottom was tender, his stools were
liquid, and he was feeling fairly miserable.  I took him to the vet where he
received injections to take down the swelling and to combat an infection.
Unfortunately, the spirit was willing, but the eight and a half year old
ferret's body was growing weaker by the day.  Finally, Pokey decided to stop
eating, and his body could no longer regulate heat.
 
His last night with me, Pokey would not settle down - he wanted me to hold
him.  I placed him in a snuggle sack and he slept next to my bed that night
in my laundry hamper.  He woke up cold and I knew it was time to call the
vet for the last trip.  He is at Heavenly Days for cremation as I write
this, and I selected a small red and black box, which his wagon portrait
complements.
 
Pokey leaves behind his cage mates, Nanuq and Princess, his
great-great-great-great-granddaughter Mia Darling, plus ten other permanent
resident ferrets.  He leaves a large hole in my heart.  I have loved every
ferret I have had the pleasure to care for, but certain ones are special.
 Pokey has been in the top spot for more than eight years, and it is
difficult to go to the cages and not look for him.  I've already addressed
another ferret in the house by his name by mistake.
 
If anyone is thinking of making a donation to my shelter in the future,
please consider sending a check to Morris Animal Foundation instead, in
Pokey's memory.  We'd both like that.
 
Pokey Hob Goblin Troutman-Grant
6/5/89 - 10/21/97
[Posted in FML issue 2102]