Thanks for Little Friends

Two of the many things I'm thankful for today are my furry housemates, Lenny and Squiggy. These little poop factories teach an otherwise asocial hermit to love and care for some other being. Russ at Tac Jammer expresses this feeling much better than I can. His story reminded me of Ripley's last days, except that there could be no happy ending. You see, Ripley was truly a geriatric ferret, living at the edge of the average lifespan of nine years. When she got very sick, I took the day shift taking care of her while her owner was at work. She wouldn't eat her food, so I whipped up some sick ferret goop using a recipe out of Ferret magazine: oatmeal, sardines with oil, and water in a blender. Using a medicine dropper, I force-fed her at first, then she warmed up to it and slurped it out of the cup herself. Eventually, she was up slinking around, albeit very shakily. Amazingly, she lived for, I think, six months on this diet and Jon's tender care until her body decided it could run no more. Ripley's cage has new tenants now, and I'm sure Jon's giving the boys an extra thankful hug today.