This morning I had a glimpse of how I would handle my old guy, Moose, passing away... Moose is 7 years old and has been battling very soft stools for close to a year now. I've spent close to $2,000 on this poor guy between medications, ex-rays, barium swallows, exams, blood tests, everything except surgery. Where he is 7, I hesitate to put him through that unless absolutely necessary (and safe). Anyway, he's stopped eating a few days ago and I put him on a bland diet of baby food. He's on Amoxi, Biaxin and Pepto, he's now grinding his teeth something awful. He's been coming to work with me over the last few days so I can give him Pepto, babyfood and Pedialyte every few hours. Fortunately I work in the High Tech industry, so they encourage "odd behavior" so I exploit that by bringing in my ferrets! Good thing the CFO is an ex-ferretguy. Anyway, yesterday was a particularly bad day for Moose. I fasted him for some blood tests, yet he started vomiting what I am assuming was saliva. Every time I'd feed him, he'd just grind his teeth. This morning I woke up and went to find him to give him is breakfast. He was asleep in my closet, snuggled up in a pair of sweatpants with two of his buddies. I reached in and felt him, he didn't move, and he felt somewhat cool. I wasn't sure if the heat that I did feel was from the other ferrets. He didn't stir at all or open his eyes as I moved him. I picked up all three ferrets, in the sweatpants and brought them back to bed with me. As I held the group of ferrets, both Critter and Gus nuzzled Moose and licked his ears. Critter was licking his ears almost frantically as if to say "wake up". I felt Moose again and just couldn't tell if he was with me or not...I didn't want to disturb the whole group, just in case, I wanted them (and me) to be able to snuggle Moose and say their goodbyes. As I held them, I felt waves of sadness but yet also felt joy that Moose passed comfortably, in his sleep, cuddled close to his buddies. As my emotions were battling it out, I was thinking to myself that I should call the vet and tell them that I was going to bring Moose in for cremation, I should call my boss and tell him I was going to be late (or not in at all) I hugged Moose a little tighter and still felt no movement. I was thinking that I'm not getting up just yet, I'm going hold him a little longer. He was never a cuddler, he preferred to follow you and beg for treats rather than be held. Seven years old, and I finally get to hold him quietly. As I gave him another hug, his dear little eyes opened and he sighed. Okay, that's my cue...get my butt out of bed, heat up the baby food, get out the meds, get the Pedialyte...Moose is still in town! Amy Critter, Rascal, SusieQ, Moose, GusGus, Little Buster, Tequila Missing the original Buster Brown...still [Posted in FML issue 3741]