The Legend of MomoBella

If you knew anything about MomoBella, you knew she was a feisty and fierce beast. Her beautiful white hair and large dark eyes were intelligent and dangerous. I always said that, of the three, it would be MomoBella that could survive the encounters of the wild. It would be her wits and keen mind that would find her shelter and food. And, while I have never encountered true fear in any of my ferrets, Momo's boundless bravery would win her a dinner three times her size.

I kept hoping that Momo would go peacefully. That I would wake up one day and she would be gone. But I suppose cancer doesn't work like that. Or, if it does, that's not how it worked this time.

Momo has always had a strong and aggressive personality. She has always had a nasty biting habit, a habit that has left many of my loved ones with life-long scars. In fact, what Momo is mostly known for is her biting habit.

She bit the UGA intern when I brought her in to first check up on the strange black bulge on her ear. It got her ten days quarantine. Come to think of it, I think she also bit the referring vet before that.

And today, as her last action, she bit again.
She lashed out, quick as a viper, and created two perfect little holes on one of our veterinarian's arms. If for every person Momo has bitten turned into some sort of vampire-zombie, Momo would have an army.

I love Momobella.
This week has been hard on me, but this has been the hardest. Taking in my little girl to make sure she doesn't have to hurt anymore was a decision I was thinking on for weeks. Honestly, it wasn't until I spoke with my friend Stormy, MomoBella's first mommy,  that I could actually face the facts.

I knew that Momo was miserable. And that was the deciding factor. Momo was miserable and that wasn't fair.

But what you always have to remember is how much all of this heartache is worth it. And it was. I love Momo. I will always love her.

She was good at giving kisses, especially if that meant you were going to stop holding her and put her on the floor soon. She loved to play and romp. The boys had been infatuated with her. One of them used to get sad when she decided to play with the other, and then Momo would get frustrated when the boys decided they'd rather play with each other than her.


When I first got Momo, Stormy told me this hilarious story about how Momo would drag her cage-mate, Stinky Pete, out of bed to play with her. Imagine how thrilled I was when I saw her doing it to Rudyard too!

I have a lot of good memories of her. Even the chomps on Chomps Day are good memories to me.

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UPDATE (4/14/13):

This is from Stormy:

"My beautiful, bitey girl. How grateful I forever am that she had a whole wonderful life, full of love and THE TASTE OF HUMAN FLESH. The second half of her journey could not have been spent with a more fantastic creature- yourself. I love you so fiercely for taking her in and not letting her suffer a broken heart when Stinky Pete died and she was all alone. I can never thank you enough for being a gracious and caring mother to her when I no longer could. Do not worry that you made a poor decision, she told you it was time. Thank you again, Clara. You are as special as she was. I love you."

Additionally:
"Did I ever tell you that she tricked us into adopting her? On separate trips to the pet store, she had given Jim and I kisses. What we did not realize is that we were being tasted. Clever girl. ♥"

Thank you Stormy. I am always going to be grateful that you gave me the chance to know and be with Momo.

The love and support I have received from friends has been great and wonderful. Thank you all so very much.