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My ferret managed to get out of his leash on a walk, way back in April, and I finally gave up searching for him, through various means/financial rewards, and finally broke down and bought another one, wishing and praying that would help with the healing, the pain, the haunting. Haunting: those thoughts that never ever go away, of what became of him, is he in good hands, is he being abused, does he have enough food and water, maybe he'll still be returned, etc.
Now when I take this new one, who took to a leash instantly, on the walks I took with my other ferret, I can't stop thinking of the nights I walked my other one, and there I go again on my haunting treks! Grrr! There's times it can be absolutely heart-wrenching!
I'm considering retiring to another city next year, and I'm wondering if the haunting will follow me to the next city! When I lost a loved one, back in 1994, I moved from that city, trying to escape the memories, and it certainly helped!
If you lost your pet, in the past, never recovered it, how did you deal with the haunting aspect? Did it ever go away? Did a replacement help matters?
I was once in the hospital for 4 months--back in 1994. My dog got out from under the fence and disappeared. I swore my husband got rid of her cause he never liked her but he swears she just ran away. I got her at the pound and she never did learn to come when called and was pretty much an escape artist. Still after all these years I wonder what happened to my sweet Sarah.
You just have to accept that you will never know and put it in your mind that somebody fund your pet and gave it good care. Letting your mind go to horrible thoughts will do nothing but torment you.
For some reason some ferrets love to relocate.
I adopted one ferret from a animal control officer who found her on the boardwalk at Santa Cruz.
She once escaped from our house and was gone for one week. We became aware she was missing when a neighbor asked us if we knew anyone with ferrets. I rushed in and counted (we had 8) came out and said we were missing Daisy. Our ferrets were all free range with access to the whole house.
Jerry had seen her in his garage, this was a garage that you could not walk thru with so much junk. Jerry lived 12 houses away from us. Finally the night before Thanksgiving I placed a carrier in his garage with her old blanket and a bowl of her food. Jerry called us at 4am, said she was in the carrier and he closed the door. She gave me attitude, you could see it in her eyes, she said "hey I did ok, I found a blanket and food without you".
When Daisy came to us she was picked on by our boy Gizmo, every time she laid down and got comfy he would come along and want her sleep space, she would squeal and get my attention, I would bring her to bed and put her on my pillow with me. She ended up sharing my pillow for over 5 years.
I have many pets who return and visit me in my dreams, I have learned to play with then instead of lamenting their loss.
You will never forget, there will always be a sadness for that loss. What is more important is that you do not let it consume you, do not let it send you into a depression, and do not obsess over it, because that is when it becomes unhealthy. It has been awhile since that loss, 6 months. I certainly think if it were going to be found or found and returned to you it would have happened by now. So you have a new ferret, which is great. You need to give your new friend all of your love and attention, and you will not be able to do that if you are obsessing about the one you lost. It isn't fair to this new ferret to not have all of your love. I think you should only move if you want to move, not to escape from the memories. I do think I would take your new ferret on a different route for its walks and not the same way you went with the other one.
Taking my ferret on different walks is quite a challenge in this increasingly xeroscapic city, where the water department gives home owners a big rebate to convert their yards to desert landscaping. Green grassy areas are harder and harder to find! I'm thankful I live in a townhouse community that still reveres green grass and we have it everywhere!
I work the nightshift, so my walks with my ferret are usually early morning hours. So what areas are left in this city that are still grassy: The University of Nevada Las Vegas has lots of grass left, the Hughes Corporate Center, some parks within 5 miles of my house, all areas I walked my last ferret. But when we go a distance away from the house, in the car, we don't always walk where there's grass, like the downtown area, but I always like to find areas he can roll around in some grass.
So, finding others area, untrodden with my other ferret, isn't that easy!
I'm sure others who have lost a pet, replaced it, have gone thru the comparison stage, secretly hoping the new animal will be a duplicate of the one lost, but I realize and accept the fact that's not going to hapen.
This new one has interesting, funny quirks the last one didn't have, and that makes up for the other missing quirks. I've never had a ferret that loves water like this one, to see him splash around in water, fearlessly wading into water up to his neck is something my other ferret would never consider doing, and I believe this ferret is half-duck!
My new ferret walks like he's on Meth, and at 62 I just can't run that fast to keep up with his desired pace, so I'm hoping this one will eventually slow down and take some time to smell the roses!
I am so sorry to hear of your grief. I can't answer your question, but I can offer hope. I don't know of your religious backround, so excuse me if I offend you. I highly recommend that you pray to Saint Michael for comfort and ask him to give comfort and protection to your lost ferret. I don't know if he will be found, but nothing is impossible for him. I pray to Saint Michael all the time and he has never let me down. He is my "go to' guy (angel) so to speak. I hope this helps to ease your pain.
Agree with "you'll never ever forget"... so sorry about your loss.
I had one & only one dog ever in my life.
I will never forget him nor the promise to him that he'll be my one & only.
So no replacement ever for me.... I keep my promises.
Guess what? I was on a new site for me, www.BeeHolistic.com and found this. If you try this, good luck!
www.MartaWilliams.com - Marta is an intuitive communicator who can help with behavioral problems and is really great at finding lost pets.
As long as she doesn't ask for money BEFORE the pet is back in it's owner's hands.
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