Sometime during the wee hours of the morning on 7/14/04, my old timer Critter left for the bridge to meet his long time buddy Rascal and his shorter time buddies but missed just the same, Moose and Buster. Critter was the start of my ferret addiction, my 30th birthday present from my fiance. We had a long standing joke/disagreement. Me saying I would have a ferret and he would buy it for me, he adamantly saying, not a chance. Well after about a year of this, he surprised me by saying we were going to the pet store to pick my ferret. It was love at first sight. Critter was such a joy that on a bad day at work, I would drive 25 minutes home to spend 10 minutes playing with him and drive 25 minutes back to work. Just to see his wonderful little face would turn my whole day around. I hated to get out of bed in the morning, so Jim would put Critter under the covers and he would do those baby ferret obnoxious things like toe biting, foot scratching so I couldn't resist, I'd just have to get up and play with him. Then after a very brief time, Critter realized that it was a nice warm place to sleep, so he'd just curl up beside me and go to sleep (So much for that alarm clock). So for the next 8 years I did not sleep without him curled up beside me. If I wasn't in bed at the usual time, he would put himself to bed (my bed). As he got older (about 7ish) he started declining. He still made it up to bed, if he didn't do it himself I'd help. He started having accidents in bed, but was miserable sleeping alone so I made sure that he had a sleep sack and a towel to lay on so he was still on the bed, but not under the covers. My fiance and I bought a house in November with a "ferret free bedroom". So Critter had to start sleeping with his own kind. He was beginning to have trouble getting around, not eating well, grinding teeth. For over a year we tried every test, treatment, exploratory and homeopathy to try to relieve his tummy troubles. They persisted. I began hand feeding him months ago plain old TF and water, his appetite improved greatly, but the rest of him declined. The last several weeks he could hardly move on his own and needed daily baths as he wasn't getting out of his sleep sack quick enough to get to the litterbox. I also needed to put ointment on his tail as it was getting raw from being wet. I prayed for him to pass peacefully in his sleep. I've helped a few ferrets to the bridge and did not want Critter to suffer the stress of the needles etc. I waited for a sign, but his appetite continued to be good, he was strong but not coordinated enough to travel more than a few feet on his own. Every morning and night after work I held my breath as I stuck my hand in his sleep sack to see if he was still with me. I didn't want to lose him, but didn't want to see him miserable. He didn't seem to be in pain or unhappy. Just content to sleep and be fed. Sunday I noticed his breathing had sounded a little funny so I braced myself and thought this is it. But he still kept chugging on. Monday evening he didn't seem to want to eat. So I thought, this is it... Tuesday morning he was still with me. I made the heart breaking decision that I'd have to help him cross the bridge. So Tuesday I made an appointment with the special request of a non injectable sedative to lessen the stress of it for him. The appointment was for Thursday at 5:00 pm. I went home from work heavy hearted, hoping against hope that maybe my beloved Critter passed on his own, happy in his bed. I got home, reached into his sleep sack, his little head popped up looking for dinner. I went and made his dinner. He ate quite a bit, probably about 1/4 cup of the soup. I gave him his bath and wrapped him up in one of his favorite sleep sacks and we snuggled on the couch. I hugged him and asked him why he was fighting so hard, Rascal was waiting for him and I couldn't bear to watch him like this. He gave a little Critter sigh and snuggled deeper into the sleep sack. I stretched out on the couch to watch a movie with him curled up beside me. Sometime after midnight I drifted off to sleep with my Critter by my side. I woke up around 4:00am and Stroked Critter's head, it was cold. Critter had passed away, snuggled up close beside me for one last nap. Being 4:00 am it all had a surreal quality, I tucked him into his absolute favorite sleep sack, along with his favorite toy into a lovely box that I bought months ago knowing that this was going to happen. We buried him on that cold, drizzly morning in our front garden along with the ashes of his dear departed buddies. I have the strangest mixed feelings, I am sad, missing Critter. But almost joyful at the way he passed. It is exactly what I wanted for him, both of us snuggled up on the couch for the night. He died as he lived, loved with my whole heart. Rest in Peace Critter (5/7/96-7/14/04), you had a long and wonderful life. I'm so happy you and Rascal are together again. We've been together so long it's so strange not to see your wonderful face. We send a bit of our hearts along with you, give our love to Rascal, Moose and Buster as well. Amy SusieQ Tequila Vin Dweasel Gus Buster [Posted in FML issue 4575]