by Katie Rice
(Port Orange, Florida USA)
Glory was my first ferret. I had been wanting a ferret for a while. In December 2007, a few days before Christmas, I told my sister-in-law that I would like to get a ferret and she agreed (she loves ferrets too!) … so we went to Pet Super Market and they were sold out.
So the next stop was Mr.Petman and it was in that store that I met Glory for the first time. We walked in and there were three albino ferrets in a cage.
Only one was awake and I picked the ferret up to have a look. It was a female albino ferret, fixed and descented. She was about a year old, even though the store told me she was four months old.
I didn’t mind she was a year old and that night I brought her home. She was a little timid, so excited that she didn’t eat very much. My brother fell in love with her. Everyday she would crawl into my arms and go to sleep. At night she slept in my bed (just like a cat or dog).
Being a preschool teacher, I had two weeks off so I was able to enjoy two full weeks with my new ferret. Every day I loved her more – she was a blessing. During that time we took her to the vet for an exam. The doctor confirmed she was a year old, and she was healthy. I remember when the vet tech held her she was shaking so much they couldn’t take her temperature.
The two weeks went by quickly and I had to return to work. I felt sad, because I wouldn’t have as much time with her. Little did I know that night would one of the very last times with her.
I went to work the next day and I came home wanting to see my ferret, but when I got home….she was nowhere to be found! I found out while I was gone at work someone had left the door open and she ran outside.
I panicked! I searched the neighborhood and not a trace of her. After a few weeks, when I was giving up, my sister-in-law saw her in the yard! Anxiously, I ran and there was my poor ferret, in bad condition. Skinny, starved, dehydrated, both eyes crusted shut, an abscess on her face, and most of her nose covered in dirt and snot.
We rushed her to an emergency animal hospital, and they kept her overnight. The next morning I was hoping to take her home but they told me to take her to my vet for further care. We took her to my vet and they took her in. I was anxious all day about her. About four in the afternoon my vet called me at work. She told me my ferret had canine distemper(a respiratory virus, some dogs contract it, and it doesn’t hurt them. If ferrets contract it, it is very deadly and they never recover.)
She suggested that I have her put to sleep, because she had been on antibiotics for twenty four hours and there was no improvement. So my sister-in-law and my twin sis and myself went to the vet to say our last goodbye.
I came into the room and Glory was brought in. She was wheezing, coughing, and very weak. Her condition broke my heart. I sobbed.
The doctor left the room to let us say our goodbyes. My sister-in-law held her, and then she passed her to me. At this point I was trying not to cry anymore, Glory reached up and began kissing my chin. I broke into even more sobs and I held her close, dreading the fact I was actually saying goodbye to her. And then I passed her to my sister, and she was crying as much as I was.
The doctor came back in, and she had me hold Glory while she was putting her down. Glory flinched and went limp. I cried all night and we buried her in the backyard. I will never forget her, she will always be in my heart, forever. And when I go to heaven one day, I will reunite with her. And that day will be a joyful day.
