Hello ferret lovers, I haven't written much but I would first like to say that reading all of your letters have been both heartwarming and helpful to me. I have recently had a very trying time with my beloved fuzzies and my story is somewhat long, and for that I apologize. I feel it is time to let go of my sorrows. If you do not want to read this please feel free to scroll down... I was befriended by two beautiful sables, (which I hate to say, I bought from pet stores). For 3 years, Sampson and Sassafras, both gave me so much happiness. I moved to NYC a year ago, and had my first child, Zachary. Both the ferrets and my son found friendships in each other over time, so much that I trusted them to play together whenever they wanted. My babies were the best ferrets that anyone could ask for...never a nip, always cuddled in bed with us and really showed their trust and respect for both my husband and I. To get on with the story, Sammy was always an escape artist. We were always finding him near the door waiting for his big moment. One terrible day this summer, he escaped as my husband was coming in from a bike ride.(Carrying his bike through the door blocked him from seeing Sammy). I feel this is partly my fault. We moved from MA, where every corner store was ferret-friendly. We would often take our fuzzies out for walks, but when we moved to NY, we were strongly advised by many(including our Vet)that we should keep them inside. The search for Sammy ended that same day, when we posted an ad at the nearby pet store. The owner informed us that one of our neighbors had retrieved Sammy right outside our door and that he intended to keep him. We went door to door and talked to everyone in the neighbor hood that we could with no luck. With no other leads, we left our name and number at the pet store in hopes that our selfish neighbor would feel guilty and reviel his identity to us. When we didn't hear anything after 5 months, we decided it was time to move on. Poor Sassy was very lonely and we felt she needed a playmate. We posted ads online, looking for another ferret and a week later a woman contacted us. She told us she had two girls that needed a home, because her son was allergic to them. I gladly adopted the two, and finally, Sassy became her old self again. Both ferrets seemed in good health when I got them, but the woman did not have any medical information for me. Just last week, one of my new babies, Sydney, died in her sleep. We had her for only 3 weeks and had no indication that she was sick and decided not to have an autopsy done. We will probably never know what sickness she had. Before I had enough time to get over her, Sassafras got sick. She was lethargic and wasn't eating. We realized that after a few hours, her condition was very serious. Frantically, I called the emergency clinic and told them the story. I was afraid of a virus that Sydney might have been carrying. The vet advised me to monitor her overnight and bring her in in the morning, which we did. He thought she might have a flu, since our whole family at the time was sick with it. The vet the next day told us that we would have to leave her there and assumed it was Canine distemper, although she was up to date on her shots and I strongly disagreed with him. Anyway, I called later that afternoon and the Vet said she had a complete liver failure. He told me I would have to take her to a specialist, because there was nothing they could do for her. His assumption was that she was born with this condition. I tried to get her into a specialist that day. Being in NYC, the only option given to me was the Animal Medical Center in Manhattan. They wouldn't give me an appointment until 2 days later. Still very upset, I tried to reach my Vet again to ask for a second opinion. At this time, I learned that the clinic was closed. This upset me, to learn that my baby was alone and no one was monitoring her, especially when they advertise as being a 24 hour clinic. Sadly enough, Sassy didn't make it through the night. I was relieved to discover that my baby at home, Zoe, was not in danger of a virus. But at the same time, I don't know if I will ever get over the loss of my best friends. I apologize again for this dragging on so much, but I feel much better just to share my story with all of you. Thanx for reading this. Sincerely, Veronica [Posted in FML issue 2933]