- Joined
- May 9, 2002
- Messages
- 12,685
I just got the call from my wife that our ferret, Gruntz slipped away over the night. She found him curled up outside his bed on the floor of his cage, gone.
In all honesty, it's probably for the best. Over the last year or so, Gruntz (named so because he would always grunt or chuckle as he nosed around new things) had developed adrenal disease. This is a common fate for ferrets from mills as they fix them at too early of an age and cause testosterone flair up in their later years. This causes them to become aggressive, lose their hair, and have several itchy spots well up on them that they will scratch raw. We found that a mixture of melatonin and ferret vitamins as a couple dashes of children's oral anti-allergy medicine calmed the effects some. He was bald and kinda itchy, but he was himself and not aggressive.
However, over the last few months he had taken a turn for the worse. He was having a harder time making it to the paper where he would relieve himself. he had also developed a noticeable catch in his step as his musculature was starting to weaken. He was still very much active, and loved his medicine time as well as his food (actually all the way up to the day he died), so I didn't want to take him in to have him put down. I wanted nature as well as himself to decide when it was time. I will be honest though, every evening as I put him to bed I would whisper to him to just stay asleep. He didn't have to keep hanging on. Looks like the hard-headed little bastard finally listened
He is in a better place now.
I got Gruntz on a whim in 2001. It was November, and I had just moved into my first apartment my junior year of college. I had transferred to be with my girlfriend, soon to be fiance, and now my wife
However, her lifestyle was busy, and I really needed someone to keep me company. At any rate, I decided to go ring shopping in November for a surprise engagement on Christmas. I had some time to kill before i met with the jeweler, so I stopped in at a pet store to look around and play with the animals. There he was. Little heathen jumping and romping with others. I had to take him home.
Over the next several years I gained a college education, a fiance, a new apartment, a house, a wife, and finally a dog. There by my side through it was little Gruntz. I had him with me through every major change in my life.
God rest you, my furry little friend. You were loved.
I sincerely hope that if there is a God, a Creator, a Big Heart that He takes pity on we simple minded animal lovers whose wiring is so crossed that we prefer the company of His furry critter domain over the two legged variety. Keep your choir of angels, even your 72 virgins, just send me to where the good dogs and other great pets go...Hell, maybe none of us are that worthy
Thanks for reading, friends.
In all honesty, it's probably for the best. Over the last year or so, Gruntz (named so because he would always grunt or chuckle as he nosed around new things) had developed adrenal disease. This is a common fate for ferrets from mills as they fix them at too early of an age and cause testosterone flair up in their later years. This causes them to become aggressive, lose their hair, and have several itchy spots well up on them that they will scratch raw. We found that a mixture of melatonin and ferret vitamins as a couple dashes of children's oral anti-allergy medicine calmed the effects some. He was bald and kinda itchy, but he was himself and not aggressive.
However, over the last few months he had taken a turn for the worse. He was having a harder time making it to the paper where he would relieve himself. he had also developed a noticeable catch in his step as his musculature was starting to weaken. He was still very much active, and loved his medicine time as well as his food (actually all the way up to the day he died), so I didn't want to take him in to have him put down. I wanted nature as well as himself to decide when it was time. I will be honest though, every evening as I put him to bed I would whisper to him to just stay asleep. He didn't have to keep hanging on. Looks like the hard-headed little bastard finally listened
He is in a better place now. I got Gruntz on a whim in 2001. It was November, and I had just moved into my first apartment my junior year of college. I had transferred to be with my girlfriend, soon to be fiance, and now my wife
However, her lifestyle was busy, and I really needed someone to keep me company. At any rate, I decided to go ring shopping in November for a surprise engagement on Christmas. I had some time to kill before i met with the jeweler, so I stopped in at a pet store to look around and play with the animals. There he was. Little heathen jumping and romping with others. I had to take him home.Over the next several years I gained a college education, a fiance, a new apartment, a house, a wife, and finally a dog. There by my side through it was little Gruntz. I had him with me through every major change in my life.
God rest you, my furry little friend. You were loved.
I sincerely hope that if there is a God, a Creator, a Big Heart that He takes pity on we simple minded animal lovers whose wiring is so crossed that we prefer the company of His furry critter domain over the two legged variety. Keep your choir of angels, even your 72 virgins, just send me to where the good dogs and other great pets go...Hell, maybe none of us are that worthy
Thanks for reading, friends.
