For Tango, my HERO
The Doctors said I didn’t have long to live. So my husband surprised me the day I came home from the hospital, Valentines Day, with a heart shaped box filled with more love than I thought possible. It was the best gift of my life. One hissing, adorably cute, extremely tiny little ferret. He won my heart the moment I found the courage to reach into the box to lift this snarling, hissing, terrified creature out.
His relief was shown with such gratitude. He promptly kissed my face all over and my hands then snuggled into my hair and fell fast asleep from the ordeal. So did I.
Tango brought delight and laughter into our sad and fearful family life. He helped us to forget for a moment or two that my life was coming to an end, with little time to go. I had a morphine drip in my arm and spent most of my time asleep but when I awoke and he wasn’t there,(in my hair or anywhere else on my bed) I would panic and work my way with care to the foot and then off the bed(A BIG NO NO) carefully dragging my IV and crawling around the house ’til I found him usually under the gas stove where the pilot light kept him warm. I would collapse there and fall back to sleep until my husband came home and fetched him out returning us both to my bed.
When my time was up(or Suppose to be, all that exercise had strengthened my body so that I was in amazingly better condition and strong enough for my body to repair all my injuries I was to die from! That was only the
first time Tango saved my life.
Years later, having just settled into bed for a nights rest, with Tango curled up in my hair where he slept every night of his life, he suddenly jumped up and stood on his hind legs sniffing the air, then turned and began digging at my neck with a frantic need to wake me. At first it annoyed me and I put him down on the floor but with no hesitation he jumped right back up on me and continued trying to warn me of danger. His sniffing began to scare me and so we got up and opened the bedroom door to see flames as the smoke nearly overwhelmed us. The center of our house was on fire and the kids were clear on the other side. Tango’s early warning and persistence saved the lives of our entire family that night. We were able to put out the fire before the fire engines arrived, our losses minimal! I could not have loved him more and felt so indebted to him. Tango was my Hero.
A few more years passed and he became ill. The doctors said he had a form of cancer but considering his age, 9, with medication he would live out his natural life span without suffering. She gave him about 2 more years. Only 3 months later I awoke to find my precious little guy, had left me, while sleeping in my hair. I still reach for him on bright sunny mornings but he isn’t there.
We had almost ten years of pure joy together and he left while peacefully sleeping, all curled up comfy where he felt safe, so I let him go to God without regret. But every day He’s remembered as I still miss him so. God loaned him to me and I can’t blame him for wanting him home. He had given me back my life and brought me nothing but love and joy. I await the day I pass with great expectation of being with him and sharing our lives again.