Well today has been the day I have known was coming, but been dreading all the same. For the last couple of weeks, Big Butts Buttons has been breaking it to us, as gently as she could, that she knew her time was coming to head up to the bridge to be re-united with her brother, Munchie.
She has been determined to do lots of little trips round the house, I guess to check every thing was in order, and she was determined to make sure both Suz and I stopped for some long cuddles, which was unusual for her, as normally it was a quick stop to check if you had anything good, a sniff of the ear, or if she thought you deserved it, a nibble of the ear just to keep you on your toes, then it was off to “Her” bed, the Fish I made a few years ago to sleep.
Over the last week or so though, we noticed how she had got more and more restless, more wobbly on her back end, and become really picky about what she would eat, along with not being able to climb up and down things like she could.
Buttons has been with Suz and I through everything, she came to our first Great Dorset Steam Far, saw us get engaged, then was there for us when we got married. When she came to us, she and her brother were such timid things, and to be honest, we really thought they would be a pair of ferrets that lived here, but we would never get to see much of. Munchie settled in with the other ferrets quickly, but Buttons took a lot longer to make friends, and remained a loner, just cudling up with her brother. At some point, she set her sights on Smartie, and they seemed to start to become good friends, but unfortunately, Smartie got Adrenal and turned very aggressive towards her, resulting in us having to separate her out. To be honest, it turned out to be best thing we could have done, as she soon became such a total character and loved living with the humans. She was also the perfect ferret when it came to litter training, to the extent she would sleep under our bed, but run all the way down stairs to use the litter tray by the front door every time. Just as we started to see her real side, she got an abscess in her inner ear, and to be honest, I was sure we were going to loose her as it was touch and go for a while, Luckily, she pulled through, and apart from an imbalanced caused by the infection, she was back to normal. She did have one quirk as a result, when trying to run in a straight line, she would in fact go in a large arc, and when she realised she was not where she was originally heading, she would always give you a look, asking why you had moved. Like Munchie, she loved her walks, but she also liked meeting people as well, She loved the steam fairs, and really enjoyed the evening life, having hugs, and cuddles, and generally showing off, sometimes even partaking in a drink with old friends when ever she got the chance.
Buttons the Cider Drinker
She has given us so many ferret stories over her life, being the only ferret to break into a cage, taking the Carpet Shark to a ridicules degrees, and being a royal pain in the backside to have a drop of mums milky drink each night before going to bed. She has also had her fair share of nick names over the years, but my favourite were “soup dragon”, after her antics after becoming addicted to her soup each night, and the more common BBB, Big Butt Buttons, for being so rubenesque.
Last night, I was asleep, when I thought I felt something attack my foot which was hanging out of the bed, I awoke thinking that Galaxy had somehow got upstairs, but no sign. I decided I had dreamed it but as I was awake popped to the loo. When I got back, she was waiting by my side of the bed and climbed onto my foot, so I picked her up, where she cuddled into me, and went to sleep on my arm for quite a long time, I have no idea how long, as I dozed, but eventually she decided to get back down, and returned to her own bed.
Today, she wanted to go upstairs, but could not climb them herself, so kept on at me to take her up. I did, and left her to find her bed. About an hour later, while I was sorting out stuff in the tumble dryer, she came back down to see me. She kept getting in the way, and was so desperate to be picked up. I had to keep moving her out of the way, to finish loading it, but she would not leave me alone, and in the end, I picked her up, and came and sat down with her for a few minutes. She cuddled straight into my chest, and looked me in the eyes, giving me a big sigh. She looked so content and happy, and it wasn’t until a couple of minuets had passed that I realised that with that sigh, she had left us to see her brother.
Thanks BBB, you have been a great companion for the last 8 years, and we will both miss you so much.
Carpet shark Video The great escape Video Rock climbing video
