Another good-bye

We had to say good-bye to our beloved ferret, Louie, yesterday.  And although very sad, we're thrilled that he lived out his full life (typical life span tends to be 4-7 years, and he made it past 7). He was the last remaining ferret out of a group of 4 that we adopted 7 years ago.  When the last of his siblings passed, he made a new friend in Wilma.  Every morning, I would let Louie out of his pen and he would have freedom to run around the house.  When it was time to bring him back to his room, Wilma would follow us upstairs and the two of them would wander around for a bit more, with Wilma gently (most times) nudging him with her huge head when she wanted him to go in certain direction.  Then I would pick him up, she would give him a Wilma kiss (think kissing a cow or manatee), and he would get his morning treat and go back to sleep.  She was quite lost this morning, searching high and low for him.  I wish I could explain it to her.

I have owned ferrets off and on (mostly on) since my junior year in college.  Out of those years, I went for a 4 year period without after the death of my first ferret, Maverick.  Nora started the cycle again by surprising me with a new ferret, Ripley, smuggled into California (where they are illegal - don't ask, stupid law) from Oregon by friends of ours.  There was another 2 year respite after Ripley's untimely death from cancer (he was 2), but since then we have enjoyed life with another 7 ferrets -- each of them with their own unique personalities, and some full of "piss and vinegar" as Nora would say.  Oh, the stories we could tell.

But the time has come to shut the door on the ferret era.  Good-bye Little Man.