I am literally at a loss this afternoon. My little girl, Lucy died today.

^Lucy

A light sable ferret, she was a daily source of joy for me. She loved to romp and play. She often stole my fleece sweatshirts and claimed them as her own. A terrible ankle biter, she had no fear of big things like dogs or vacuum cleaners. Her tail would poof like a bottle brush and she'd charge after them with vigor; really having to concept of how tiny she really was.

But when you picked her up for a snuggle, she give little kisses. She especially loved my chin and nose. Have you ever had a cherished pet stick their little tongue straight up your nose? It's a very strange sensation, often discouraged but couldn't be helped. If she was going to snuggle in my arms Lucy was going to reward me with the cleanest nostrils in the county.

Here are a few of her foster siblings

^{Old Man, Bear and Evie}

The Crazy Ferret Lady

At one point, I was called "The Crazy Ferret Lady" because I had adopted ferrets, rescued others and then people were dropping them off at my house because they didn't want to take care of them anymore!

I had ten ferrets running around my house during a short period of time. A few of them had come from abusive homes and were nasty biters until they were rehabilitated with loving attention, good food and plenty of run around space. A few of them were mature or too sick to find foster homes.

The journey of caring for ferrets came soon after my father died. I was in such a pit of despair I could barely find joy anywhere. In fact, I could barely work because of my depression and migraines. I told my husband I needed a pet and the next day I went to a local ferret rescue and adopted two: Evie and Stevie.

^{Evie. And that's Twilight trying to eat through the bars.}

Don't let those adorable little teddy bear ears fool you! Evie was a vicious thing. I have scars on my hands from her. But she had been returned to the rescue three previous times and I could tell she had been severely beaten in the past by her behavior. Of course I took her home! Stevie was just an infant - barely a month old. What I didn't know at the time was Stevie was very sick with Pancreatic cancer. She died in my loving arms two months after I brought her home.

Their antics, thievery, and playfulness gave me permission to laugh as I grieved the worst loss of my life.

^{Twinkie and Old Man}

I wrote a hubpage article about ferrets back in 2014.

Are you ready to adopt FERRETS?

Lucy

Just under 5 years old, Lucy and her cage mate, Baby Bandit, came to my home from a family who was "moving".

^{Baby Bandit}

Truth be told, when I picked them up, there was absolutely no indication of their humans moving, but there was a very pregnant woman who answered the door as well as her adorable new puppy running around the house. But hey...I didn't go there to judge. I went there to take those precious furbabies home.

Of the fuzzies who have crossed the rainbow bridge, Lucy is the only one who did not die in my arms. I found her in the cage snuggled up in the sleeve of a requisitioned sweat shirt. I've only got three fuzzies now. They still bring me joy but Lucy was my snuggle bear - and my nostrils will never be so clean again.

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The content is sad and personal that I didn't want to tag anyone in particular.

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My fur baby crossed the rainbow bridge today 🌈