Fuzzy Wuzzies

I don't know if I have mentioned before that we have a lot of ferrets. In August of 2001 we ended up purchasing a ferret from a local "exotic" pet store. My daughter named her Cupcake, after a mini stuffed bear that she was fond of. Over time, our love for Cupcake led us to get more ferrets, house rescues, and become much more involved in learning about the little critters.

In the last two years, we've had a few older friends that we've rescued or gotten from a local shelter. A pair we got from a local guy that was moving, named Charlie and Darwin, were our first official rescues. They were destined for the local shelter (Ferrets Unlimited), but we simply couldn't give them up. We renamed Darwin to Grover, and Charlie to Bubbles. To make a long story short, Bubbles wasn't with us for long (she had lymphoma and adrenal disease), and Grover left us in March of 2005. Both were exceptional friends. Another ferret, from FU, was Betty (originally named Ms. Sebastian - I think I misspelled that). She, too, passed in time. She was likely 12 years old or more.

Today, we have eight fuzzies. Three more were rescues - two from a very POORLY MAINTAINED pet store (they were adults that were given up), and another from a neighbor who's teenage owner wanted to give her up. So, Romeo and Cocoa (I think it was Cocoa) becaome Telly and Oscar. Fancypants kept her name because she was so boisterous that no other name was fitting. We usually just call her Fancy.

The other five are long term friends - Cupcake, Daisy, Burt and Ernie were the original fab four that we'd had since 2001 and 2002. Princess Buttercup was our first shelter friend from FU, who is likely 6-7 years old at this point.

Due to the short life span of ferrets, and a slew of terrible diseases they can get, owners end up in a constant state of despair, especially when they own multiple ferrets of varying ages. What happens is, every 6-12 months, another ferret begins the inevitable decline of health. Currently, our oldest friend, in terms of companionship, is sick. Cupcake, one of the sweetest friends I've ever known, is quickly deteriorating.

Cupcake has graced the pages of Julie's Flickr site and our various blogs, Web sites, screensavers, and character profile icons for many years.

I don't know how much longer Cuppy will be with us. It's hard to accept that any friend of this kind is at that point in their lives. It's difficult when you can't explain to them what's going on and why these big humans can't do anything for you. Owning ferrets is a very rewarding relationship. They are unique creatures with more personality than other pets that I have had. But, it's not without heartbreak.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Cupcake:




Hopefully she'll be OK.