I found her late yesterday morning, curled up under a blanket with her head poking out. That’s not really normal for her, she loved deep burrows and making me dig through all the blankets to find her. I think maybe she wanted a bit of the early dawn sunlight, at the end. She was around 7 and a half years old, the oldest in the business I’ve had. She had been sleeping a lot more lately, and not playing as much, but still had a healthy appetite, so it came as a most unwelcome surprise to find her gone. But she had a long ferret life, and many wonderful ferrets and people moved through it with her.
I know I’m fairly terrible at updating this lately. It’s mostly major ferret-life events these days. But I still take pictures, and we’re going to go back across Gara’s life and celebrate it with them. Some I’ve posted before, some I haven’t, but they’re all about my dear little affectionate sweetheart, and how much I’ll miss her.
She was about a year and a half old at this point, late in 2014. She and Millie really tussled over that gator. Both loved to hide away in it. And both were very grumpy when you opened it’s jaws and waved a camera around 
About 6 months later, in early 2015. That’s a bulk pasta box. She was inside it digging at the back wall, and the camera flash seemed to really surprise her. I always laugh at this one, feels a bit like a ‘shocked’ meme 
Ferret leftovers! Thanksgiving of 2015 
Possibly the best picture of a ferret I’ve ever captured, during Thanksgiving of 2015. She held that pose for me until I was done. 
She and Millie were occasionally spoiled. And not just by me! This absolute unit of a hammock is courtesy of my aunt and the cousins, during a Thanksgiving visit in 2016. Gara and Millie seal of approval! 
I tried to get her to wrestle with my hand all the time. She instead always wanted tummy scratches and to give kisses. 
Rudely awakened one afternoon in early 2017 when I got home from work. Still cheerful! 
Apparently I smelled different, as she was quite interested in sniffing around. 
Spring of 2017. She loved to beg for escape from her palatial play room 
More begging to come out! This is shortly before traveling to see the cousins at Thanksgiving in 2017. This was after we’d lost Millie, and she was feeling lonely. 
But soon thereafter we adopted DB into our family! This is early 2018. Notice the trend of her still wanting out? I think she’d have wanted out even if she had the whole apartment to roam. 
Got home from work and found them cuddled together! Unfortunately, they moved before I could get camera into position. Well, DB moved. Gara was the epitome of comfort here. 
A new toy appear! In early spring of 2018, the turtle hideaway joined in on the playtime fun. One of the few times I got her to play inside it and not just run all over it. 
She wants out so badly here. Pity there’s not an open door the next level down…oh wait… 
Woke her up for some of her meds post-dental surgery, in April of 2018. She might be slightly stoned here. 
A syringe of carnivore care slurry. She’s not too keen on it, but this was right after her dental surgery in April 2018. She got hand fed and waited on hand and foot for almost 2 weeks! 
I dared to remove the food bowl to wash it, while they slept. Came back to see this. 
Summertime 2018 visit to the cousins. Cuddles! 
Off to see our wonderful vet for a wellness check in fall of 2018. Their travel carrier is pretty nice. It always has at least one hammock, sometimes even two! But as usual Gara wants to be where she’s not allowed. 
Out, damned fence! Out, I say! – Lady Polgara, fall 2018. 
A couple days later. I got a lot of pictures of this sort during that time, saying hi to them both before leaving for work. 
Wellness check with our vet again, early spring of 2019. Gara has her DB blanket and is quite content in the carrier for a change! 
Late spring of 2019. I had been finding them sleeping in this kitten bed frequently, and embarked on a quest to get a picture of them before they woke up! (spoiler alert, I failed adorably) 
Moments before disaster, in winter of 2019. Pretty sure DB is about to get tackled. 
Christmas Day kisses, in 2019. You best believe she got treats! And new blankets to nest in (not pictured). 
She pretty much teleported out of the bed. They were snuggled so cutely, as well! January, 2020 
Better luck a few days later. Awake, but still cuddled! 
She’s mid-motion here, in escaping. She generally could not sit still if I was trying to point that weird camera-thing at her, it seemed 
Here we are in May 2020, with her in the middle of her patented lick-lick-chomp maneuver. My shins were her target of choice for that. 
End of June, 2020. She wasn’t too energetic, but this was shortly after I extracted her from my PJ pants leg where she was chomping away 
Later that same night. This is the last picture I have of her. She was spending more and more time sleeping, and while I still went and played with her I was in the moment and not using my camera. I regret not getting more in the last month, but that’s a regret I’d have even if I had a hundred recent photos. 
Goodbye sweetheart. We had 7 happy years together, but it’s never enough. We’ll miss you.