by Barbara Ludt
The phone call came over nine years ago. It was on a Sunday. The
wildlife rehabilitation hospital where I volunteered had just taken in a ferret. But the weekend intake staff were calling me just "as a
courtesy"...as this ferret was dirty, filled with fleas and "BIG & MEAN." They said they would euthanize him immediately and "save me a trip" to pick him up. Something in my brain alerted me with, "NO...not *this* one!" So, I said, "Thanks.....I will drive down immediately and save you from having to euthanize another animal. I'm on my way...."
I was relatively new to ferret rescue back then; so I just signed the
release forms upon arrival at the facility and headed home with the
seemingly ferocious animal inside a small, dimly lit carrier that I
dared not open for a peak. There was all kinds of slamming, knocking,
scratching, and hissing emanating from the carrier.
Oh, my! What had I done? Had I gotten in too deep by accepting this
ferret on behalf of our Miami shelter? Well, I knew this ferret required an immediate flea bath and would need to have a "quarantine room" set up for him. My husband's large bathroom served that purpose. The bathtub was lined with some old towels and, with intense
anticipation, I opened the carrier door to await the frenzied escape of what surely must be the Evil Ferret of Doom.
Out popped EMMETT.....joyfully twisting his big, strong body in great
leaps of delight. Eyes twinkling. A happy-go-lucky smile across his
big, broad face. I had never seen such a powerfully built ferret as
he! He raced around his slippery enclosed oval track rivaling A.J.Foyt at Daytona. No mean ferret he...just youthful exuberance
misinterpreted! (Although people always first concluded that EMMETT was so named after a football player; my husband named him after one of our favorite Christmas shows "EMMETT OTTER'S JUG BAND CHRISTMAS"....sleek and muscular as an otter with such a kindness of Spirit to warm one's heart.)
Back in those days, it was standard operating procedure for me as a
volunteer to bring each rescue down to our Miami facility for further
evaluation and initial exam, etc. by our Shelter vets. This was
naturally done with EMMETT. We didn't realize he had already stolen our hearts and our minds would soon follow. However, as visitors to the Miami Shelter started meeting EMMETT everyone wanted to adopt him.
Several tried, but he just didn't get along with other ferrets and was quite a handful. Even one of my best friends, Carin Riley, tried
unsuccessfully to integrate him into their multiferret household. By
then, Bill was missing his little Bathroom Buddy who would hop in and
out of the bathtub with ease and pop his head up over the tub sides
trying to engage Bill in play. We were next on the Adoption list to
give EMMETT a try with our little fuzzy family of three females and one blind male. No go! The Girls were firmly entrenched as a unit and didn't want no big hulking dude--however handsome--out during their playtimes. Thus, started "rotations" in our household.
EMMETT ended up being a lovingly wonderful "Good Will Ambassador" at our public educational seminars. For years, he stole the show at both the Miami and Fort Lauderdale Pet Expos...making hundreds of new friends for ferrets. His photos appeared in The Miami Herald, The Fort Lauderdale News with children, dogs and even pot-bellied pigs; and in the local TV spots covering the events. He was the star of Future Veterinarians Club meetings; Wildlife Care Center Board Meetings; and was "unofficially" banned from participating in Ferret Fun Matches held annually by our Shelter after he toodled away with half the prizes one year: CERTIFICATES OF MERIT for the Largest Ferret, Longest Ferret, Heaviest Ferret; Most Photogenic Ferret; and WINNER of the Tube Races; Maze Races; Brown Paper Bag Escapes; Sock Stealing; Soda Bottle Bowling and Yawn-A-Thons!
EMMETT started our second "clique" of ferrets...once numbering 14! He
was the "Gentle Ben" of ferrets. Healthy as a horse for nine years.
Just a few months ago, he was started on Pred as a result of a low BG.
Always game for a Game. Yesterday morning (Sunday, June 5, 1999), I found EMMETT, our beloved #1 Son, had died peacefully in his sleep--curled up in a favorite fuzzy donut.
As my husband so eloquently wrote, "EMMETT died the way he needed to.
He was big, strong and strapping right up until the end. He would not
have wanted to die a little each day. It was better for him to go in
his sleep, comfortable, and still the leader of his group (which now
numbered only three others). EMMETT was not the type who wanted anyone to worry about him."
We will miss EMMETT immensely; but he leaves a lasting legacy of
happiness, friendship, joy and gentleness of Soul. For this we celebrate EMMETT's Life as one well and truly Lived.
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