My Daughter Zylia said at the age of 8 that she wanted a ferret more than anything else. I did not. I ended up paying $650 for him and his cage.

Weeks earlier I asked Zylia the source of the 2 bruises on her back. “I fell.” She lied. When she told me she wanted a ferret I said, “Tell me the truth about those bruises and you will get your ferret. By that time she had been living with me for 100 days and her mother had lost custody of her in court.

“Mom hit me. “

Fin arrived a few days later. He was with us almost 2 years before he walked off while I was cleaning his cage on a warm Labor Day Weekend Saturday.

We put up posters and a woman called to say that her dog attacked Fin who died on the way to the vets. The woman was weeping when she told me. Zylia was weeping when I told her.

Fin was the happiest animal I ever met. Getting out of that cage was the highlight of his day. He would bounce around the floor and play fight with Ned the cat.

I just really liked him because of what he represented to Zylia.

A life free from abuse and supported and loved for who she is.