Post by kpaz on Aug 24, 2012 12:17:10 GMT -5
I got my first ferret right after I had handled them for the first time. I went with some friends, and I had never been interested in going near them because I thought they smelled and they’re vicious. But my friends all wanted me to join them in playing with the little critters, so I did. I wanted to hold the little light colored one, but every time I went to grab him this tiny, fierce dark ferret would latch onto my hand, and it hurt. Finally we distracted the little one, I got to hold the little light ferret, and my friend bought him on a whim. So I had my first ferret, Goomba. I had never had a pet before, so I turned to the internet, bought ferrets for dummies, and did as much as I could to have a crash course on how to care for my first pet. I realized my schedule the upcoming semester was going to be really busy, and I expressed to Daniel that I was concerned he might get lonely. The next day, Daniel wasn’t home at his usual time, and I was getting worried and annoyed. He would answer his phone and say that he was busy, and he would get there as soon as possible, which just made me more annoyed.
When he finally did get to my house, he was holding his hands behind my back. Expecting flowers, imagine my surprise when he presented a cardboard box with holes in it. He also gave me a receipt showing that a FN142 was on its way to my house, and another one showing an air purifier (my parents had been very worried about the smell). It was overwhelming and incredibly generous. I opened the box to find Goomba’s friend, and there it was, the little devil ferret, staring back at me. He was confused as to why I wasn’t trying to hold her and play with her. He said “It’s a little girl! She was sleeping and she was so cute!” I forced a smile and we made our way to Goomba’s cage.
From the beginning, it was obvious Ellie was going to be the alpha. She tackled Goomba so fast, I didn’t know what to do. I kept thinking what did I get myself into? I didn’t want to rehome her but she bit, she was “mean” to my Goomba, and she had a serious attitude. I scruffed and hissed at her consistently, constantly worrying that I had taken on too much.
Five months later, I was sitting on the floor, studying art history, when an odd thing happened. My little demon child walked up to me with so much purpose in her step, crawled onto my lap, and curled into a ball. My heart stopped, then was pounding furiously, it was like a breakthrough that I never thought would happen. After that moment, Ellie was through and through a momma’s girl. She loved to cuddle, she demanded cuddles, she groomed my eyebrows and eyelids, she gave me kisses on my nose and cheeks. She took care of Goomba, although made sure he knew his place, not that he ever put up a fight.
When Pippin came into the picture, she was a force to be reckoned with. Pippin took her dominance attempts as play, dooking and dancing as she hissed and muttered to herself. She was trying to show him that she was the boss, and he didn’t give a hoot. I thought she would hate him forever. But as time passed, the hissing turned to dooking, and soon they were inseperable. He followed her everywhere. Everywhere. She would clean his ears, they would play in the tunnels, he was her little wingman when she was getting into as much trouble as she could. Ellie was probably the smartest of my crew, quick as a whip, and crafty as h*ll. But she was the most affectionate. She loved her boys, she loved her humans. She would sleep on the pillow beside me, lay on my feet when she knew I had to leave for school.
Sometimes she coughed. I took her to the vet for it twice, but both times they told me she was so healthy, she could be a poster ferret. She acted that way, for sure. But the past week I’ve heard her cough once a day, if that. Just this weird cough, not in a cluster, just a single cough. I feel like in the back of my mind I had a bad feeling, but she was so incredibly alert and bright, and I pushed the thought away. I don’t know why I did that. I thought, surely, with my track record with the boys, Ellie would be beside me the longest. I trusted that. But the past few days, something felt off, even though nothing looked off. Last night we were playing, she gave me kisses, got into trouble, same stuff as always. I went upstairs and did homework for an hour, went downstairs to feed them, and she was already gone. She wasn’t around anything, no signs of trauma, no blood, no vomit, no stools or urine. It was like she had just fallen asleep in the middle of the floor. The second I opened the door everything felt wrong though. And every minute since then has felt like an hour. I am completely heartbroken. She was my baby, she was my cuddlebug, she was the one ferret who I KNEW truly loved me back. She was the motivator, she cheered up the boys, she got them to play with her and each other, she was their caretaker. All this time I have been wondering how Ellie would take it if one of the boys got too sick, and now…I’m so lost. She tied my crew together, she always cuddled with either Goomba or Pippin, and Goomba and Pippin never cuddle unless Ellie was part of that pile.
Goomba sniffed her, took two steps back and messed himself. He ran around the room, digging at the blankets, the toys, anything. He came back again, sniffed her. Walked away. He reached his paws at my arm, asking to be picked up. I scooped him up, he gave me one heartbreaking, long look, and slumped his weight in my arms. It felt like forever, just holding him. He has always hated to be held. Eventually he got up, and tried to get down so I let him. He went back once more, nudged at her ear, and lay beside her with his head on her chest. He then laid almost all the way against her for a while, gave one last, huge sigh, got up, crawled into the cage, and went to sleep.
Pippin wanted nothing to do with her. He would barely sniff and run away, hiding under the blankets and would not come out. We tried to help, but he didn’t want any of it. Eventually he tentatively sniffed her up and down, over and over, and laid his head on her paws, then curled up in a ball and trembled a bit. We pet him and he fell asleep after a while. He woke up, sniffed her once more, and crawled into the cage to curl up next Goomba.
There is an aching hole in my heart right now. Everything is wrong. I can’t even believe this. She meant everything to me. She was my strong, healthy girl. I’m worried about my boys. I miss my Ellie. I got no kisses this morning. No one tried to stop me from going out the door. No one tried to run out the door. No ruckus. No little barks after big stretches. Just silence. I can’t stand it.
I love you Ellie bear, my baby girl. I’m so lucky to have had you in my life. I’ll miss you so much. </3
I have so many pictures. I want to choose all of them.
The moment I knew we had bonded:
Recent picture of Ellie and the boys( on right):
Ellie and her wingman (on right):
My sweet girl:
When he finally did get to my house, he was holding his hands behind my back. Expecting flowers, imagine my surprise when he presented a cardboard box with holes in it. He also gave me a receipt showing that a FN142 was on its way to my house, and another one showing an air purifier (my parents had been very worried about the smell). It was overwhelming and incredibly generous. I opened the box to find Goomba’s friend, and there it was, the little devil ferret, staring back at me. He was confused as to why I wasn’t trying to hold her and play with her. He said “It’s a little girl! She was sleeping and she was so cute!” I forced a smile and we made our way to Goomba’s cage.
From the beginning, it was obvious Ellie was going to be the alpha. She tackled Goomba so fast, I didn’t know what to do. I kept thinking what did I get myself into? I didn’t want to rehome her but she bit, she was “mean” to my Goomba, and she had a serious attitude. I scruffed and hissed at her consistently, constantly worrying that I had taken on too much.
Five months later, I was sitting on the floor, studying art history, when an odd thing happened. My little demon child walked up to me with so much purpose in her step, crawled onto my lap, and curled into a ball. My heart stopped, then was pounding furiously, it was like a breakthrough that I never thought would happen. After that moment, Ellie was through and through a momma’s girl. She loved to cuddle, she demanded cuddles, she groomed my eyebrows and eyelids, she gave me kisses on my nose and cheeks. She took care of Goomba, although made sure he knew his place, not that he ever put up a fight.
When Pippin came into the picture, she was a force to be reckoned with. Pippin took her dominance attempts as play, dooking and dancing as she hissed and muttered to herself. She was trying to show him that she was the boss, and he didn’t give a hoot. I thought she would hate him forever. But as time passed, the hissing turned to dooking, and soon they were inseperable. He followed her everywhere. Everywhere. She would clean his ears, they would play in the tunnels, he was her little wingman when she was getting into as much trouble as she could. Ellie was probably the smartest of my crew, quick as a whip, and crafty as h*ll. But she was the most affectionate. She loved her boys, she loved her humans. She would sleep on the pillow beside me, lay on my feet when she knew I had to leave for school.
Sometimes she coughed. I took her to the vet for it twice, but both times they told me she was so healthy, she could be a poster ferret. She acted that way, for sure. But the past week I’ve heard her cough once a day, if that. Just this weird cough, not in a cluster, just a single cough. I feel like in the back of my mind I had a bad feeling, but she was so incredibly alert and bright, and I pushed the thought away. I don’t know why I did that. I thought, surely, with my track record with the boys, Ellie would be beside me the longest. I trusted that. But the past few days, something felt off, even though nothing looked off. Last night we were playing, she gave me kisses, got into trouble, same stuff as always. I went upstairs and did homework for an hour, went downstairs to feed them, and she was already gone. She wasn’t around anything, no signs of trauma, no blood, no vomit, no stools or urine. It was like she had just fallen asleep in the middle of the floor. The second I opened the door everything felt wrong though. And every minute since then has felt like an hour. I am completely heartbroken. She was my baby, she was my cuddlebug, she was the one ferret who I KNEW truly loved me back. She was the motivator, she cheered up the boys, she got them to play with her and each other, she was their caretaker. All this time I have been wondering how Ellie would take it if one of the boys got too sick, and now…I’m so lost. She tied my crew together, she always cuddled with either Goomba or Pippin, and Goomba and Pippin never cuddle unless Ellie was part of that pile.
Goomba sniffed her, took two steps back and messed himself. He ran around the room, digging at the blankets, the toys, anything. He came back again, sniffed her. Walked away. He reached his paws at my arm, asking to be picked up. I scooped him up, he gave me one heartbreaking, long look, and slumped his weight in my arms. It felt like forever, just holding him. He has always hated to be held. Eventually he got up, and tried to get down so I let him. He went back once more, nudged at her ear, and lay beside her with his head on her chest. He then laid almost all the way against her for a while, gave one last, huge sigh, got up, crawled into the cage, and went to sleep.
Pippin wanted nothing to do with her. He would barely sniff and run away, hiding under the blankets and would not come out. We tried to help, but he didn’t want any of it. Eventually he tentatively sniffed her up and down, over and over, and laid his head on her paws, then curled up in a ball and trembled a bit. We pet him and he fell asleep after a while. He woke up, sniffed her once more, and crawled into the cage to curl up next Goomba.
There is an aching hole in my heart right now. Everything is wrong. I can’t even believe this. She meant everything to me. She was my strong, healthy girl. I’m worried about my boys. I miss my Ellie. I got no kisses this morning. No one tried to stop me from going out the door. No one tried to run out the door. No ruckus. No little barks after big stretches. Just silence. I can’t stand it.
I love you Ellie bear, my baby girl. I’m so lucky to have had you in my life. I’ll miss you so much. </3
I have so many pictures. I want to choose all of them.
The moment I knew we had bonded:
Recent picture of Ellie and the boys( on right):
Ellie and her wingman (on right):
My sweet girl: