hi all, I'm sad to report that Tia, our oldest, and the first ferret we ever had, passed away in her sleep this morning. Tia was the best ferret ambassador there ever was. She would even win over "ieew, what's that a rat?" people, in only a minute or two. She was alway small, and that made ever cuter and more endearing. She was the always sweet, never ever nipped at anyone, and always found the litter box (until the very end, when she started losing control of her back legs). When she was young, she used to perform the most amazing and unbelievable shelf climbing and pocketbook opening tricks. We put in a box this morning with her collar, a small blanket, and her favorite toy. Each of the other ferrets came and gave her ferret kisses on her ears. Even one of our cats came and patted her on the head with his paw. She had had a partial pancreaotomy a year ago last October, and therefore beat the average by three months - just like her, to be a little more determined. She's the main reason we have four other fuzzies. We loved her dearly and miss her terriblty already. sadly, mark & midge (and the four remaining fuzzies). [Posted in FML issue 3305]