R.I.P., Mr. Woozle
After a long fight, Mr. Woozle could fight no more. He never bounced back from the bout of E.C.E. he contracted a month ago, though he had good days and bad ones. He beat insulinoma / pancreatic tumors last year, but got terminal liver cancer this year and we all knew it was a matter of time. He spontaneously began bleeding from his rectum,
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Mr. Woozle had had a bad night, but the next morning, he seemed to be feeling better. He ate, drank, was alert, and then he settled in for a nap in his convalescent area in the basement.
Since he seemed as if he'd be occupied with being unconscious for a while, I took poor neglected little Murph out for some one on one time on the second floor. Murphy had so much pent-up energy he was leaping straight up and out of the bathtub (unusual!) and practically vibrating in place. (The ferrets like to play in the tub, because their jingle balls rebound and they can splash in a little puddle of water if I let the tap drip for them.) He ran and dooked and played and wore me out, just watching him. After about 30 minutes, he got his second wind and started again.
It was at this point that I heard a scuffing noise on the stairs.
The little old man had awakened, spotted me missing for the first time in ages, and climbed down off of his sickbed table all by himself and then climbed two flights of stairs, also by himself. He was filled with purpose!
Imagine the effort. He did the equivalent of 20 chin-ups to climb all those steps by himself. That's not easy for an old ferret even when they aren't feeling sick. He was preparing to hoist himself up the last stair when I caught him and rushed to pick him up.
When I picked him up, he sighed, happily and relaxed. He wore himself out to be near me because when he woke up, it was the first time I wasn't there, at any hour of the day or night, to hear his collar bell jingle and to talk to him and check on him immediately.
Seeing that determined little face peeping up at me squashed my heart to pulp. He loved his mommy.
There may have also been a touch of jealousy / sibling rivalry. :) He got cuddles (and, after five minutes of trying to keep up with the baby and then deciding he was now too pooped to play), he sat on my lap as Murphy kept doing tub laps and playing with his toys.
He had a couple of good days in a row, where he had the energy available to pull pranks and stunts like this.
He had a lot of personality.
It's a comfort to have Murphy, but it is so hard to let my little old man go.
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