Dear Sandee: I am so sorry that I have only been a lurker for such a long time now and don't post except on sad occasions.....well, this is one of those times again. There are so many of you who may not know me because you are new members and there may be some old members who may remember me... I am writing this to you with tears in my eyes and a very sad and heavy heart......we have just lost another of our precious little ones earlier today.....I am at such a loss for words and not myself right now, so bare with me in case something doesn't sound right. Our precious baby boy Friz would have been a year old on November 24, 2003.....his story. Friz came to live with us approximately 3 months ago (August of this year).....we live in a small isolated town and every once in a while one of us has to go out of town for medical reasons.....I have been very ill this year and was going for treatments once every six months.....well during my second treatment we went and stopped in at the Super Pet store in Thunder Bay which is where we go for our medical stuff....it's about 1/4 of the size of Toronto (small city) anyway....we have come to know the girls that work there in the small pet department and whenever we go to T.B. we always stop in to see if there are any fuzzies there and to get our fuzzy fix while we are away from home.....the one girl there apparently thought of us first because she knew we had 8 fuzzies and she asked if we would be willing to take her two babies and without hesitation we said yes and that we were honoured and thrilled that she would think of us.....she knows how much we love and care for our fuzzies and that her two would be going to a loving and caring home.....well, I had explained to her briefly about my situation and that I would be coming in every month so she said that she would wait until my August treatment before parting with Friz so we said that would be fine because I know how hard it is to let go and give them up under certain circumstances....her situation was that she was going off to College and her parents didn't want to take care of them and she was going to be real busy at work, working a lot of hours so she could help put herself through College and she wouldn't have much time for her two babies....well one of her babies was about 8 years old and sadly enough he passed away about two weeks before our trip in August when we were going to pick him and Friz up.....she also felt that since we had so many fuzzies that he would be happy because he was such a bouncy little fuzzy and wanted to play but her older one Pong just laid there most of the time and wasn't much for playing.....well in my heart I believe he was happy with us even though it was for a very short time.....he learned how to be a fuzzy....he never knew how to drink out of a water bottle and he started doing so well, mind you we still had a dish with water in the cage at all times so if for some reason he couldn't get water from the bottle the dish was always filled with fresh water for him and the others in his cage......he also learned how to jump for example from the couch to the table and to climb.....he was also a big boy so I'm sure his weight didn't help either but don't get me wrong he was big but a very healthy boy.....he never ever once bit anyone....he was so gentle and loved to have his head scratched and his big belly rubbed.....oh how I miss him so terribly.....my husband is just beating himself to death over this and it was an accident.....poor Friz was so quick at times and I guess my husband never saw him and when he got up from his recliner he must have been under the back of the chair at the time and when he got up and the chair reclined back because it was a rocker/recliner I guess it came down and hit Friz and hit him on the back of his neck and crushed his chest.....my husband and I aren't sure exactly what and how because I was upstairs in bed I'm not feeling very well coming down with a cold and he was downstairs watching TV because on top of all this I guess when it rains it poors.....we just happen to have a dark cloud hanging over his right now because my husband also lost his job back in Sept./03 for no reason other than personal too long of a story to get into....him and another co-worker but they are fighting it with their Union....anyway this is not what I needed now and just before Christmas and possibly about to loose our home and everything but anyway sorry to go on and on but he got up to pick up our son from school for lunch and we figure this is when it happened and sadly enough Friz never made any sound...even if you accidentally stepped on his foot or tail like all our others do and my husband is so upset that Friz never made a sound or anything but we kinda think that he most likely died instantly.....I honestly hope that even though it was a short time that he was with us but that he was very happy.....when he learned how to bounce around and play with the others he would every now and then chortle but that was the only time.... now before this gets much longer Sandee could you please see that our precious babies Booger, Maxi and Maxine who are at Rainbow Bridge and never knew Friz come and meet him and get to know him when he arrives.... he is coming with his early Christmas present a green mouse and a pink chick and his rubber pliers.....the three of them will have to show him around and make him feel very comfortable and at home......would you also tell Friz how terribly sorry we are for what happened and his father hopes that he can forgive him for what he did......all of us here including his brothers and sisters he has left behind miss him very much.....please let him know that he will always hold a special place in our hearts and we will never forget him....we have some wonderful memories that we will treasure and hold dear to our hearts forever. Sending lots of love to you my precious little baby boy.... love from your Mom, Dad, Michael and your fuzzy brothers and sisters.... Star, Snowball, Buddy, Prince, Shark, Lady, Pepper, Bear and Princess who came home with you back in August when we picked you up both you and her became such good friends within a few hours.....so how could we not bring her home with us. [Posted in FML issue 4336]