Greetings all. I have some sad news to relate. Osmar died last Wednesday night / early Thursday (Dec. 4) morning. He was a four year old ferret who was very active and playful. Up until 2 months ago. then he underwent emergency surgery for an obstruction. Then a month ago he developed a very severe set of gastric ulcers and inflammatory bowel disorder. Over the last month he went from 900 grams to about 430. Last Wednesday night he got very sick around 12:30. I cleaned him up and the cage, gave him fresh bedding and put him back into the cage. I checked to see how he was doing as soon as I got up Thursday morning. He had died some time during the night. I've been through this 2 times before. But this one has been difficult. I really thought he'd make it. Essentially Osmar chose us, we did not choose him. When I first saw him in the pet store, he became quite attached to me, literally. I had held him very briefly and then put him back in the cage. He began jumping up (he always was quite the leaper) and managed to catch my thumb. Actually one of his canines became embedded in my thumb. With Wendy's help we managed to get him free from my thumb and I sneaked back to the car so the staff wouldn't see me bleeding. We brought him home with us shortly thereafter. He fit right in with the other three. And when he didn't Ryoga (bless his little soul) would beat the tar out of him. He was a small ferret. Osmar did not grow much after we brought him home, he was always about the size of a female. Shortly before getting Osmar, we had rescued a lovely chocolate male who had been severely neglected and abused. Augustus did not know how to be a ferret. Osmar taught him all Augustus needed to know about ferrethood, and helped him integrate into the business. Osmar was the only one who could keep up with Possum and became her main playmate when Ryoga and Augustus became too sick to play. Possum and Osmar would riot all over the entire house, up and down the stairs and all through the main level and the upstairs. He loved tunneling through the bed and ambushing you. It made getting dressed in the morning interesting to say the least. He loved tube games of all sorts. He'd be in the tube waiting for the right point to ambush you, but he would get so excited, his tail would be going like a propeller. Osmar loved stashing himself in my dresser drawers. I'd open the top drawer and find him nestled in my socks or t-shirts or my underwear. Needless to say I was not too pleased with that one. When he first started climbing up the dresser he'd make a horrendous racket. But as time went on he learned how to climb better and better so that he would not make much noise at all. At times it was a bit of a startle to see his little head with this huge ferret grin (as if to say Look how smart I am) pop out of the top drawer. I had to seal and latch my upper two drawers to prevent him from getting on top of the dresser and throwing everything off of it. He'd also stash his treasures beneath the bottom drawer of my dresser. This included the occasional coke can, anything resembling a plastic blister pack (memory packs were particularly vulnerable that made upgrading our computers a challenge), and anything else that struck his fancy. He was also absolutely convinced that blueberries were good to eat, and was always disappointed when he bit into one. Then he'd look at me as if to say "You rat you deceived me." One of his favorite activities was rim patrol while I had my morning shower. While I was showering he'd jump up on the rim of the bathtub and almost march along the rim until I was done. Then he'd wait until I put a towel across the rim and he's climb down to sample the left over water. Once in a while when I just started the shower, his aim would be off and he'd land in the shower itself. If I did not have soap in my eyes I'd rapidly scoop him up and put him outside the shower. Then he'd spend a few minutes furiously cleaning himself. Osmar had also mastered the high art of the ferret dance. It was the purest dance of joy. And he'd break into it at any time, and at times for no reason at all, just for the sake of joy. He'd ambush you on the bed and then dance so hard he'd fall off the side. A moment later he'd climb back up and do it again. Osmar was very intelligent and affectionate. He was a great little guy. I am very much going to miss him. Now the house seems too quite and lonely now that he's gone. larry -- Larry C. Lyons ======================================================== Life is Complex. It has both real and imaginary parts. ======================================================== Chaos, Panic and Disorder. My work here is done. [Posted in FML issue 4356]