REMEMBERING SPICKET...
If tears could build a stairway,
And memories a lane;
I'd walk right up to heaven,
And bring you home again.....
Ms Spicket: July 5, 1994 - January 30, 2002
SPICKET'S STORY:
Spicket, my very first hedgehog, was a gift to me from my partner Randy. I had wanted a hedgehog for some time and when she handed her to me I was thrilled! What a beautiful little girl she was, with her bright eyes, shiny quills, stubby little nose and the cutest little buck teeth! :) From the beginning
Spicket was one of those very huffy little hedgies......and even with our
best efforts, was not overly fond of human contact. Despite this, she
was a constant source of delight with her clown-like antics and unending
charm. As she matured, I bred her twice and she not only produced lovely
babies, but was the best mommy one could ever ask for. In addition, she
was very generous and trusting of me handling them, even at a very young
age.
As Spicket grew older, she began to
mellow out and accept being held and cuddled. She would rarely quill up,
and never, ever bit me. Spicket had somehow transformed into one of those rare hedgies who
just soaked up as much love and attention you could bestow upon her, and
I delighted in each and every moment spent kissing her tummy, her paws and her
sweet, sweet face when we spent our cuddle times together. If I was having a
bad day, I could always count on her to make me feel centered and loved,
and put things back into perspective. It was very difficult not to smile
at that priceless face with those large buck teeth of hers :)
Spicket fell ill over the Christmas holidays and was shortly
thereafter diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Medicine seemed to
help her for awhile, but this past Wednesday as I got her up that morning so
we could spend the day together, I sensed something just wasn't quite. She laid on my chest, eyes wide open the entire day, constantly watching me instead of closed in sleep like she usually did.
Around mid-afternoon, I was watching tv, and stroking her lovely soft quills, when something made me look to her. What I saw many of you may scoff at, but it was as if she was rising up to walk, and yet she was not moving. It was as if she had become two entities. This happened twice, and only fleetingly. I did not take my eyes off her the rest of the day. At appx 5:30 Spicket’s breathing became more labored. I held her close, and told her for the thousandth time how much I loved her , that it was ok for her to let go, that her mommy would be fine and how wonderful the journey she was about to take would be. At 5:45, Wednesday, January 30th at the age of 7 years and 7 months, my prescious Spicket took 3 final large breaths and died in my arms.
There are no words sufficient to describe the love she gave me in her lifetime. I am blessed that she was here to spend so many with me, and yet, that doesn’t help ease the terrible sorrow that I feel now. No matter how much or how little time, it is never enough, is it? I sit here now, steeped in my memories of her, I sleep with the hedgie bag she last slept in, hoping her scent will never leave it......but knowing it eventually will. Tears selfishly flow freely at my loss, but I smile knowing she is whole and happy and with Tommy and all the others now. I wish you all could have known her, she was one Grand Lady.
Weep not for me though I am gone
Into that gentle night.
Grieve if you will, but not for long
Upon my soul's sweet flight.
I am at peace, my soul's at rest
There is no need for tears.
For with your love I was so blessed
For all those many years.
There is no pain, I suffer not,
The fear now all is gone.
Put now these things out of your thoughts,
In your memory I live on.
Remember not my fight for breath
Remember not the strife.
Please do not dwell upon my death,
But celebrate my life.
The following 2 pages contain photos taken of Spicket throughout her lifetime, I hope you enjoy them.....
NEXT
