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| In July of 2002 we were contacted by a family that had 2 ferrets. They were having a baby and didn�t have time for the ferrets anymore. We picked the ferrets up and found two happy healthy boys that were well loved and well cared for. Their names� Dozer and Chompie.
Chompie got his name cause of his overbite. Dozer came in with the name of Weasle but we changed that to Dozer just cause he was so big. October 2002 they found their forever home with their new mommy Kayla. They loved their life and their new mommy. What was even better was whenever she would go away we would get to ferret sit! So we got to watch the kids �grow up�. April 2003 Dozer had surgery to remove a tumor (hemangiosarcomas) on his front paw. They removed the tumor but it grew back quickly so within 3 weeks he was back in to have the toe removed. He recovered just fine and was back to himself within a couple weeks. |
| January 20, 2005 I picked up the boys for a long visit with us. Kayla had broken her knee cap and couldn�t care for the boys until she healed. So, to our house they came for a visit.
February 22, 2005. Tuesday I woke up and came out to the front room and found the back door didn't shut and lock all the way last night and our screen door is messed up� so they could get out. I ran outside and found Zeus (permanent shelter ferret) wandering lost in our neighbors backyard to the left. They had a small terrier dog and I had thought if a ferret got over there he would hurt them� but he didn�t. I yell and wake up Shawn to tell him that we have kids loose outside. I run to the neighbors and pick up Zeus and hand him to Shawn. Then I look quickly for any others running around the yard. Didn�t see any. Ran back to the house and did head count. 5 ferrets had gotten out. Zeus (old guy with adrenal and insulinoma), Tonka (Shawns baby), Chocolate (my baby and Tonkas girlfriend), Dozer (boarding for owner with Chompie), and Harley (boarding for owner with Sandy). So I call into work and say I�ll be late (yeah sure, going to find 4 ferrets in just a couple minutes!). Oh yeah and of course it�s raining! We start looking. After � an hour I realize that this doesn�t look good. I call Chris. It�s our 1 year anniversary�. He comes flying over (lives in another town) to help with the search. Before he gets here, Shawn finds Chocolate. We are out with squeaky toys cause most ferrets will at least respond to them. Chocolate responds differently to them than most� she cries and would run to the �baby� and then would have to lay on the baby to comfort it and her. Well, she finally poked her head out from where she was hiding� in the nice comfie chair that use to be in the house. They dug a hole in the back of the cushion and would sleep there.. and that�s where she was. It was sitting on our carport. One down� 3 to go. |
| I put a �lost ad� in the paper and we continued to search from house to house and all the desert land near us. Nothing�but we continued to search and put up more flyers.
On February 28, 2005 his mommy Kayla called. She was upset of course but somehow, found it in her heart not to blame us for what happened. We talked for a little while and are going to keep Chompie here until we had found Dozer ok or until we could get him socialized with other ferrets. Chompie depended on Dozer for so much. |
| Then one week to the day.. March 1, 2005 Animal Control calls. Someone had dropped Dozers body off on her door step. He had been killed by a dog from what she could tell.
She asked if it would be ok that she go ahead and dispose of him because it would be too hard on us� At first I said ok� but after calming down some� I called her back� We will pick him up and take him to the vets to be cremated and returned to us� so that we may give him back to his mommy. Shawn picked up Dozer and had to view his body to make sure that it was him. He called and told me it was. He took Dozer to the vets to be cremated. |
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Dozer wasn�t afraid of anything. He loved people and ferrets and would push over our cats and dogs (who are all use to being around ferrets). He loved Chompie and always made sure he had someone to play with. Dozer also loved his mommy very very much. Whenever she would come back to pick the boys up they would gladly go into their carrier and lay down. Dozer is missed not only by me, but by everyone that knew him or knew of him. |
| �Dearest Dozer� please forgive me for not protecting you as I should have. Please know that I love you and would die for you if I had had the chance. Please know that you are always on my mind and in my heart. I am sorry my dear friend.� Joanne and Shawn |
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| Dozer |
| Chompie |
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| After 2 hours of searching and a false alarm. I saw Tonka. He was at the neighbors house to the right. He was on their carport. Chris stayed on one side while I went to the other side. He hid under the car but with a little mommy coaxing he came out enough for me to snatch my scared baby up. Brought him home and showed him his girlfriend Chocolate. He went right into the cage and curled up with her and everyone else and went to sleep.
We all started concentrating on that house, hoping that the other two would be close by. We searched the back yard, the shed, every where. (all with owners permission). Then we went to the next house� they had several old sheds with openings in the back. We searched that� without owner permission cause no one was home. And sorry, I wouldn�t wait. We searched until around 8 pm. It was dark and there had been no sign of them since around 10 am when we found Tonka. I had already made signs and posted them. Called the school near us, called Animal Control (who was also trying to help us � love small towns). We knocked on doors talked to neighbors out and about. Talked with kids coming home from school�. Everything we could think of. I ended up walking the streets again at 1030 pm. I couldn�t sleep knowing my babies were out there in the cold�. But didn�t find anything. I laid down for a bit but never really slept. At 6 am I got up and went back out looking. When I got back home I called the local radio station that does Lost and Found Pet Announcements. They had me on the air talking about missing ferrets within just 2 minutes. At 7:30 a.m. I left for work. Shawn called me at 10:30 a.m. The neighbors across the street found Harley. He had gotten into their enclosed patio and was under their hot tub. Man does that boy know how to keep warm! Shawn said he was ok. I asked him if he put him in the cage and he said no, he �put him in front of the food bowl and he hasn�t stopped eating!� LOL That�s my Harley. So� we had one baby left out there in the cold big world� Dozer. |
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