Or maybe I should say O wise and wonderful Bridge-greeters? You both do such an excellent job, and we hoomins really appreciate all the hard work you do for us. It s taken me a long time to be able to write this. You may remember our three weasels that crossed the Bridge between September and November of last year Phoebe, Quincy, and Walton well, losing them was hard enough. Then, in early December, our Valentine had to go in for a surgery, and started to go downhill. He started losing weight, but was eating and drinking normally, and had lots of energy. The vet said he had insulinoma very badly, so we opted to get his second surgery shortly thereafter, hoping that it would help him recover faster. What a mistake. He never really recovered from that, although he came home for eight days. One morning, after a night he spent pacing up and down the levels of his cage, I woke to find him cold and spasming on the cage floor Having just spent time at our local shelter with a ferret in similar condition, I knew there was no time to wait. I rushed him to our vet, and begged them to take care of him until the vet arrived. I called every hour to check on him. When I called at noon, they told me he had passed on five minutes before. There is so much I wish I hadn t done. Please let him know that his daddy and I miss him very much, and that his brother Romeo (sadly, the last of the original business of five) is doing well, but misses him too. Let him know that we found his battery-powered weasel-tail under the bed yesterday, and that it holds a place of honor in his siblings hidey-hole. Tell him that even though I wasn t with him in the flesh when he passed, that I thought of him every moment, and that I think of him every day. I miss the fact that all of my plastic straws stay in their cups. I miss his aggressive, both front feet planted FIRMLY on the face, face kisses and how he always went for the eyes, and how we always let him even though it hurt. We miss his bright dark eyes, his beautiful white coat, and his rough and tumble antics. Let him know that I can t listen to Into the West by Annie Lennox without thinking of the day he died and that this isn t the end. He s only sleeping, and we will meet again. Thank you both so much, Caitie [Posted in FML issue 4481]