Just when you think it'll never happen to me, it happens. Last night, for no apparent reason, and after years of happy, peaceful coexistence, my son's Husky suddenly, and without warning attacked and killed Baby Girl. It was over in a heartbeat, and happened right in front of my eyes. I have cried my eyes out and racked my brain as to why he did it, and what was he thinking. She must have dropped a Sugar Pop on her way upstairs (she loved them after supper), and he is very protective about his food. He must have seen it and been going to get it when she turned around to retrieve what she had dropped. I heard a thrashing noise, turned my head and she was convulsing in a pool of blood. I cradled her in my arms and cried to her, caressing her while she struggled for her life, but her skull was crushed and in a few seconds, she crossed the bridge where she'll never have to worry about that hairless little rat tail, or where she's going to find her next Sugar Pop or raisin. Baby Girl was a rescue. All we've had are. When we were running the shelter, we would invariably fall for one or two and they'd know that they had found their forever home. She showed up on a lady's back porch one night the summer of 2002, and my son, the animal control officer for our city, went and got her. We were in Alaska on a cruise, and called home and he said, "oh, by the way, you have a new ferret." She was so tiny but her heart and her eyes were the biggest in the universe. She would take every step I took, and for two years I went nowhere without her by my side and under foot. I don't need to tell you people how much I loved her. If you have ferrets, you know. If you don't, you wouldn't understand. Sandee, please tell Baby Girl I love her. I don't think she could hear me in her last moments in my arms as her little body struggled across the bridge. Tell her Dakota didn't mean it, he just reacted. Tell her Widget already misses her, and has looked for her all day today. Tell her her daddy sits here crying like a baby while he types this, but needs to tell someone. Tell her to look for Scooter, and Major Burns and tell them "Hey!" for us. Tell them we miss them and love them as much as we came to love her. How is it that you seem to get along with one of your kids maybe better than another, but you find the same amount of love for the fur covered members of the family?? Sorry this is long. Take care of your pets, and give them a squeeze for Baby Girl tonight. Never, I mean never take your eyes off of the larger animals that share your home with you and your ferrets. Enjoy them while you can. They so quickly can be taken away. Baby Girl, I'm sorry. I loved you, and miss you. Tuck Kemper "If you can read this, thank a teacher; ... If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier." [Posted in FML issue 4590]