Goodbye Truman

Last weekend our ferret took a sudden turn for the worse and we had to say our goodbyes. We've had him for six years, so it was pretty sad. Such a little rascal of a boy. Unlike other ferrets we have met, Truman never even attempted to bite a single person, not once. His favorite past-time was tipping over trashcans and going through the contents that spilled out. Once he stole a Hershey's kiss and became so excited by the shiny treasure he had taken that he couldn't even decide what to do with it (normally ferrets stash their treasures in a corner somewhere). Instead, he just hopped around and did a little dance with the chocolate in his mouth. Our favorite Truman memory was the day we brought him home. Ferret cages cost a small fortune (especially since we were full-time college students) and so we had the ingenious idea to buy a small dog crate at a fraction of the cost. We hung a hammock in there and a little litter box, scattered some toys about and gave him food and water. Then, when his "house" was just perfect, we put him in and welcomed him to his new ferret suite and closed the door, waiting to see what he would do. He walked in, sniffed around, seemed pleased, and then...he walked right out. Through the bars. We had totally underestimated how skinny he was. He was so nonchalant about it, too. He didn't have to squeeze through or expend any effort at all. We felt so stupid. Needless to say, we had to upgrade to a real ferret cage, and he loved the attached tunnels. He also loved his hammocks (he wore one out so we got him another one and he would just go back and forth between the two, he loved them so much) and slept for the majority of his life. But his waking hours were full of mischief, snuggles, tumbling around with the cat, and playing hide-and-seek with the dog. Sometimes he would squeeze under the furnace or behind furniture and the only way to get him out would be to squeak his little hedgehog toy. He always came running to the sound of that toy squeaking, no matter where he was or what he was busy doing. It was his siren song. Truman, you were such a good boy and we miss you very much, stinkies and all. Taking a bath...we LOVE that little face --KC