Blossom came into my life shortly after I got Rosie, my 1st ferret. I had a notice on a bulletin board in a pet store, (little did I know that that note would seal my fate & start the addiction & love of ferrets) "looking for unwanted ferret", to be a friend to Rosie. I got a call from a guy who had what he said was a 2yr old female. He loved her very much but had cats, cats had kittens, kitten & cats were going in & out of house & bringing fleas in with them. They were getting on the ferret, they didn't know what to put on the ferret to keep the fleas off so they were giving her a bath about 3-4 times a week, so he said. I said I would take her. Joey went to get her & brought her home. Tiny little champagne colored sable, beautiful face. Her coat was thin & brittle, she had a rat tail. So very sweet. What was her name? She was so loved that they had never named her. Can he call me once in awhile to find out how she is doing, because he really loves her & will miss her so much. Of course he can, anytime he wants to. Did he ever? No! She was on Purina cat food.I had Rosie on Shepherd & Greene because that was what Rosie was eating & at that time I didn't know about different foods, or the Ferret Store where they carry so many brands. She dug right into the new food. No problem. I named her Blossom, thinking she would get a nice new coat & tail fur & "blossom" out. She & Rosie hit it off right away. Both had been solitary ferrets. Rapidly after Blossom, came several more ferrets. Blossom got along with them all, George, QT, Sadie, Cocoa, Bart, & Caffie. These were in her "group". It was soon determined that Blossom was not as young as I was told. She more like 6yrs old. My "Little Old Lady Fert" as she became affectionally known. Her body may not have been young but her heart was. She romped with the rest of them. Blossom had a few problems & had a few surgeries & came through all with flying colors. She had her left adrenal gland out last year, after going totally bald except for her head & shoulders. She was still beautiful to me. She was still bouncy. I will never lose the memory of her in the vets office, I had her out of the carrier & she was war dancing & bouncing all over the place, her bald little self, so dear, so cute. I was scared that would be the last time I saw her, because she was on the elderly side & I wasn't sure she would come through the surgery. She did. Her beautiful new coat started to come in shortly after that. Soon she was covered in glossy, soft fur...........except for her tail. Then it started, a hair here & there & filled in at the base of her tail. Then it stopped. Her right gland was affected so she went on Lupron injections, once a month. After her second shot, fur started to sprout on her tail again. It was coming in so fast you could see it grow.......well almost. In the morning there wasn't anything there & then in the evening she had a good inch of new growth. It was coming in then up & down her tail, but then it tapered off to a hair here & there. Then again it stopped. We think the Lupron had stopped doing much good. I knew my time with her was limited. The last couple of days Blossom seemed a little weaker but still perky enough to do some dancing. Since everyone had an upper respiratory infection, I put it down to that. Appetites had fallen off of everyone. They all were eating & loving their chicken but not eating too much of the kibble. This morning when I took her group out of the cage, I had to look for her, she wasn't ready to go as usual. She didn't want to come out & felt so light & fragile. I put her down by the dish of chicken but she turned away from it. By the time I had the litter box cleaned out, she was still right where she was. I had noticed someone had thrown up in the cage & since she was the only one that wasn't jumping around I believed it was from her. I picked her up & it seemed like she was hardly breathing. In fact several times I thought she had passed away. A hurried call to the vet letting them know we on the way & a rush to get there. Blossom was in a towel in my arms, she was so quiet. I don't know how many times I thought she had passed away on the trip there. A twitch of a whisker would let me know she was still here. Doctor examined her, & felt an lump. He thought she might have an obstruction. I told him she had never chewed on anything she wasn't suppose to & I knew it was a tumor. Then we had to decide if she was up to surgery or not. It wasn't much of a choice, she was going to die if she didn't have the surgery & she had to be given a chance. A tumor was found, her liver was damaged & she had adhesions on her intestines. Between that & her adrenal problem it was decided to let her go. She was 8 years old. My sweet bouncy Blossom. I know that George was waiting for you, you were close to him. I also know that you finally have fully blossomed & your tail is full & fluffy. I wish I could see it, but you have always been the most beautiful Blossom of all to me. Dance on little girl, with all of your joy. Tell George, Dakota, Samantha, Sammy & Max that they are still very much in my heart, as you will always be. And if you could, would you please whisper in God's ear that he shouldn't call any more of your brothers & sisters to him for awhile, mom is having a real hard time coping with so many leaving here right now. Dance on little girl, as you will forever dance in my heart. Lynn & Clan War Weasels [Posted in FML issue 3367]