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alonewiththemoonRonan was too ravaged by the combination of IBD and ulcers to keep on going. When I saw him during Angell's visiting hour on Friday morning, he was clearly pleased to see me, but the effort of being pleased exhausted him. Still, he pushed his head into my hand for scritches and asked me to pick him up and hold him, which was unusual for him. He never much cared for being held, though he liked to be close to us. I feel pretty sure that he was saying goodbye. It took a long couple of hours for me to get M on the phone; I didn't want to let Ronan go before M had a chance to say goodbye but I hated the thought of him suffering. When I saw him again a few hours later it was painfully evident that Ronan had just given up and was ready to go. He was gone before all of the barbituate overdose was quite injected.
Some of you might remember that he was found wandering in Lawrence the day of that thundersnowstorm two Januaries ago. We had just lost Pan, and the woman who was fostering Ronan (at that time called Stormy) knew that I was looking for a new companion for Seti and a new ferret for us to love. Seti and Ronan hit it off right away, although poor Ronan was so portly at the time he had difficulty keeping up with Seti. That never really changed, Seti could literally run rings around him, but Ronan was gung-ho about playing and Seti was considerate of his limitations. I think Ronan probably spent most of his time in a cage in his first couple years of life, and so it took him a while to figure out that he could run and climb and do all those ferret things that a ferret should be able to take for granted. It was a wonderful thing to watch him blossom and grow as a ferret and develop a real personality, and I treasure that we were able to give that opportunity to him. Although as I said above he never much liked to be held, he would lie at our feet like a little dog and wanted to be where he could see us. I think he knew that he had it good.
Although he was in a lot of pain at the end, I am relieved for his sake that this did not drag on. Less than three weeks ago he was running and bouncing around the house, so his experience of pain was short compared to the rest of his life with us. I mentioned in this journal a few weeks ago that I dreamed that Pan came back and was playing happily with both Seti and Ronan. I think my instincts knew that Ronan wasn't going to be with us much longer, but I am glad that I have that mental image in my head.
One of his odd endearing habits was that he liked to lie on the floor in the hallway between our bedroom, dining room, bathroom and study. I think it was part of liking to see everything that was going on. Sometimes he would just curl up in the middle of the floor and fall asleep--very unferrety, but very cute.
Goodbye, sweet weasel.
Some of you might remember that he was found wandering in Lawrence the day of that thundersnowstorm two Januaries ago. We had just lost Pan, and the woman who was fostering Ronan (at that time called Stormy) knew that I was looking for a new companion for Seti and a new ferret for us to love. Seti and Ronan hit it off right away, although poor Ronan was so portly at the time he had difficulty keeping up with Seti. That never really changed, Seti could literally run rings around him, but Ronan was gung-ho about playing and Seti was considerate of his limitations. I think Ronan probably spent most of his time in a cage in his first couple years of life, and so it took him a while to figure out that he could run and climb and do all those ferret things that a ferret should be able to take for granted. It was a wonderful thing to watch him blossom and grow as a ferret and develop a real personality, and I treasure that we were able to give that opportunity to him. Although as I said above he never much liked to be held, he would lie at our feet like a little dog and wanted to be where he could see us. I think he knew that he had it good.
Although he was in a lot of pain at the end, I am relieved for his sake that this did not drag on. Less than three weeks ago he was running and bouncing around the house, so his experience of pain was short compared to the rest of his life with us. I mentioned in this journal a few weeks ago that I dreamed that Pan came back and was playing happily with both Seti and Ronan. I think my instincts knew that Ronan wasn't going to be with us much longer, but I am glad that I have that mental image in my head.
One of his odd endearing habits was that he liked to lie on the floor in the hallway between our bedroom, dining room, bathroom and study. I think it was part of liking to see everything that was going on. Sometimes he would just curl up in the middle of the floor and fall asleep--very unferrety, but very cute.
Goodbye, sweet weasel.
