It is with a heavy heart that I tell everyone that JB finally succumbed to a fairly long battle with insulinoma yesterday evening. He was special, and an attempt by me to avoid the same disease that had killed our first ferret Rocky. JB was born into an exclusive business of ferrets in Maryland on November 26th, 1995. We heard about him at the AFA Show in December but he was still a child, too early to be separated from his parents so we waited till the New Jersey show in March of 1996 when Pam Troutman brought him north for lead ferret Squeekers and myself, and we went South from Massachusetts to interview him. What we found was a great big muscle bound athlete decked out with a beautiful sable outfit complete with white ascot and a pedigree that goes back further than anyone that we ever knew. Holly Cyr of FARI thought so too and almost lured him away, but Squeeks and I had first refusal. Squeeks talked to him in the Sherba bag while I listened outside. At one point JB made an intemperate remark and Squeeks called him on it (bit him quite hard too). JB to his credit promptly apologized, Squeeks forgave him, and that was that. We named him John Bear Fertipton Ferret (Remember the Millionaire TV program?) and he was promptly dubbed JB. We soon discovered that JB was a bit of a coward and was compensating by over reacting to the smallest of inconveniences. He also was developing the hormones of a teenager. Both of us had our homes threatened when he pushed Susie's twenty pound antique lamp off of a table and broke it. Thank goodness for super glue. Also there was the small matter of a scent which announced to all that a FERRET!!!! lived here. JB for some reason was also absolutely drop dead terrified of bath tubs. A kitchen sink was okay for a bath, but he became a raging monster in the other. We gave him lots of love, he was neutered at the age of seven months and we all soon settled into that routine which causes the days and then the years, to pass too quickly. Squeeks was operated on for insulinoma and then after two years died of adrenal disease at the age of eight years. JB settled into his new 'position' of responsibility to replace Squeeks, mellowed a lot, and learned to stay quiet in my jacket on morning walks, while not blowing any smells at all. He became a special ambassador for all ferrets and participated with Peaches and our guest ferret Buka in several events to tell the public about them. A year ago, during his annual exam, a blood test unexpectedly showed low blood sugar. Dr. Karen operated and we started him on prednisone. He was just fine again for a year, but suddenly about a month ago, started refusing to take any more. Sometimes we could trick him, but then he started refusing food sometimes as well. Peaches at the moment is reveling in her new found freedom as a single ferret, newly possessed of all the attention. We guess that she is two years older than JB, is a Marshall Farms ferret, was diagnosed at about the same time, and is so far still taking her medicine and enjoying life. Life is certainly not predictable..... JB had lots of spunk, and I do miss him (and his occasional ferrety smells) just an awful lot. [Posted in FML issue 3256]