Roller Coaster...

I started this year thinking this was the year of me and the year things would fall into place but it seems while I've had some amazing highs (including my Euro-trip which I just returned from late last night) it's also been filled with some cavernous lows. Last night on my way home from the airport my dad told me that my other ferret, Peach, had to be put down last Saturday. She wasn't doing very well before I left for my trip but after taking her to the ER and getting some meds and looking after her like I was an ICU nurse, she seemed to be getting better - walking around and even playing with me. I was hoping the worst was over and she would start coming around. But I guess things turned last Saturday and my mom and some friends took her back to the ER where she had to be put down. Once again I'm plagued by the fact that I wasn't here and what's worse is that I was having an amazing time in Europe while she was going through this. Life is an asshole sometimes.


















Peach was an amazing ferret. Where Zelda seemed to typify ferret behavior - crazy, hyper, hilarious and rebellious - Peach seemed to have been destined to be a cat. She liked sitting in laps, having her belly rubbed, eating, sleeping and had a general urge to lounge. Unlike Zelda, who surged around with reckless abandon, Peach always seemed to analyze the situation and if it took too much effort she would either move on to something else or - my favorite - lay down in the middle of the floor spread out like Superman determined to get as much relaxing in as she could before she went to sleep.


















Her best characteristic by far was how much she loved her sister. She would always look after Zelda no matter what. She always kept an eye on her and protected her - always sleeping on top of her, using her bigger body to keep Zelda's Mary-Kate physique warm. They were from the same litter so I can't be sure who came out first, but I'm convinced it was Peach. One time Zelda got into a drain hole in a basement and when I came downstairs to check on them, Peach was standing vigilant outside the hole staring down chirping and all I could think of was how on earth we were going to get her out without a jackhammer so I grabbed Zelda's squeaker that she always came to and when she finally came out, covered in mud, Peach bounced up to her, smelled her, and started cleaning her off.

She was never the same after Zelda died and I know she was depressed about losing her. Not to get too deep, but I'm a pretty religious person and while I'm not sure what happens when we die, I am confident that they are finally hanging out together. It sounds ridiculous but I guess that's what faith is. I love her and I miss her and the world is much lamer without the two of them in it.

As always, go big or go home. Carpe diem.

-M, p, z & shredder

Euro stories to come soon.

The Legend Of Zelda...

I hate when people close to me call me in the afternoon. It's always bad news. Yesterday my dad called me to tell me that one of my ferrets and best friends, Zelda, passed away in her sleep. My parents have been housing the ferrets since christmas and my dad told me last week that Zelda was looking a little lethargic but then a few days ago said she seemed to be fine and back to normal, but then called yesterday with the bad news. Ferrets typically live between 6-8 years and she was about 6 but developed an Adrenal Disease close to 2 years ago.

Zelda: June 2003 - February 7th 2009




















I've never lost a pet before. It's unimaginable. Zelda was the most charismatic person or animal I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. She was always full of energy and curiosity, never afraid of anything. She would bum rush anyone who got in her path and then lick them to death. She never had time to cuddle because there were always a multitude of things to get done like ripping up toilet paper and hiding candy and getting into any drawer or cabinet or closet door that might have been closed, just in case there was something in there that she hadn't seen before. She was a lover and didn't hate anything but baths and getting her nails clipped. She's been with me through a very large chunk of my adulthood and was there when I turned 21, when I finished college, when I moved around several times and through all the things that life brings. She has lived in more cities than most, going with me from Ann Arbor to Lansing, to Port Huron, to New York, to Detroit and back to Lansing, and she was happy no matter where she was.

She was always going full speed never afraid to do anything. I got her when she was just a few weeks old and I remember on the day I brought her home, within 5 minutes I was already worried about her. One of the first things she did was climb up my screen door all the way to the top with no apparent way to get down. If you've never seen a ferret, they have a knack for going full speed ahead and never thinking about the outcome, and I can remember her clinging to the top of that screen door looking for me to show her how to get down, not waiting for an answer and trying to figure it out herself. I got her down, but I know that if I hadn't and she would have fallen, she would have taken it like a champ.

This is the first time anything had ever died that I have been responsible for and it's killing me. I feel like it's my fault and I hate that I wasn't there when it happened. It's heart breaking. I'm worried about her sister/best friend Peach, who has no one to cuddle with at night anymore. It's amazing how much of your life your pets become, and how much you love them and worry about them and care about them and the amount of people that care about them. These two little ferrets had the love of me, my brother, my parents and my past roommates and friends. I hate losing her, but I got to spend 6 years with her and enjoy her life with her and she brought so much to my life. If everyone lived life like her, the world would be a much better place.

May she rest in peace and love.

"don't you worry, there my honey
we might not have any money
but we've got our love to pay the bills

-M, p, Z and shredder