My very first girl ferret has left for the Rainbow Bridge to join her old friend Sam. The two of them were dumped at a feed store over 8 years ago. My husband, who passed away last year, gave them to me for my birthday because "I'm tired of taking you several times a week to visit them!". They came in a small rusty cage and I didn't have a clue how to take care of them. I got the "Dummies" book and one part jumped out at me....it's better to have 3 ferrets than 2 ferrets...SO I phoned a place called the Oregon Ferret Shelter....and got 2 more.... because I thought well if 3 is better than 2 then 4 must be GREAT. It was..... As I cradled sweet tiny Socks last night, knowing the end was near, I thanked her for starting me on this incredible journey. I talked to her about when I first saw her and Sam...it was love at first sight. I thanked her for being so patient with me while I learned how to care for her. I told her that it was because of her and Sam that so many more ferrets had found their way into my heart. Some of them would have died if it hadn't been for my love of ferrets that grew after she entered my life. I told her that she was responsible for me rescuing ferrets....but then she already knew that. She laid her head on my heart and fell asleep. Socks was sweet and sassy, just enough of both. The only one she ever bit was me and the only time she ever bit was when I changed her bedding, just once a week....every week. She never broke the skin and it was always on the elbow when I was half in and half out of the old Midwest cage and I couldn't do a darn thing about it. Her dear friend Sammy will be going bonkers when he sees her walking up the Rainbow Path but her cagemates Tyki, Maxine and Treasure are missing their tiny "grandma". They didn't even mind when she forgot where the litter box was when she got older. They just got into a regular routine of keeping watch where they stepped. They loved her and she loved them. After Sam left for the Bridge they had welcomed her into their group which at one time was quite big. Now it is one less. Nancy and her 11....... hoping God is done calling her furkids up to Heaven for now [Posted in FML 7269]