I just found out that my friends Pete & Annette, who are not members of the fml, just lost their second ferret, Chicky, on Friday, after losing Tucker less than a week before Christmas. Tucker and Chicky were the reason I became friends with Pete & Annette about six years ago. Pete was the manager of the dive shop where I had just been certified as a diver, and over the course of his selling me a small fortune in scuba diving equipment (!) we discovered that we had both recently become ferret parents. Pete and his then-future wife Annette had two albino ferrets named Tucker and Chicky, who then began regular play dates with my first two ferrets, Clover and Alfalfa. Over the years, we took turns watching each others' crew during vacations and holidays. My crew eventually grew to six, but Tucker and Chicky remained a duo, and an inseparable pair. Tucker got sick with bronchitis last fall, and just never quite got over it. He had repeated bouts. Medication, special feedings, lots of TLC, etc., just didn't bring him back. He kept getting weaker and weaker, until his will to live was just gone. The following is from Pete's email on December 20th, telling me the news: "... he had no energy even with the medication, vitamins, love and wet kibble we have been giving him. Two days ago he stopped eating and refused everything. Yesterday morning Annette called me at work to say that Tucker was not doing well at all and when I got home we determined that he had to be put down as he did not want to walk and he was clearly starving himself. We both spent a good long time letting him know how much we love him and how much he has enriched our lives. One more wonderful furball has passed on to the big throw rug in the sky. " Chicky had her own health battles, but was holding her own. She had an adrenal tumor removed over a year ago, and had never regrown all of her hair. But overall she was pretty spunky. But after Tucker left, she pined away for him and stopped eating. Extra attention and forced-feedings didn't stimulate her appetite; she wanted to join Tucker. So, on Friday, that's what she did. Two little bundles of joy, mischief, and fun have left this realm and crossed the Bridge. Sandee, please watch for them and show them where the dryer tubes are, those were their favorite toys. Chicky's favorite trick was luring big boy Tucker into the tube after her, then flying out the other side as only a petite little athlete can, and coming back around to attack him from behind. He was so big he couldn't turn around in the tube to fight back, and she had him! Then there was the round fuzzy cat bed that Tucker would stand on edge and roll around to use as a stepping-stool to someplace he was not supposed to be. That was a big kick for him, getting into those forbidden places! And a good belly-scratch... These two will certainly be missed here, and I'm sure they're already making new friends at the Bridge! Nancy and critters [Posted in FML issue 3676]