I got my first glider from Pocket Pets her name was Jewel. The CD they sent me home with terrified me. It told me all these different ways they could die if I did not follow their instructions. Well I somehow made it a few months in without her dieing. Got freaked out a few times though. For the first few months Jewel would bite me and my hands were just covered with scratches and bites. Then suddenly she bonded to me in a few days time. It was wonderful.

At this point you should know that I have some PTSD and some other stuff like agoraphobia that made it really hard to go out in public. The whole reason I got Jewel was so she could be a service or companion animal. I made it all legal and I was able to be more free and independent. So much so I decided to go on a trip to take some classes in Tennessee. It took a while to find an airline that would allow her but she flew with me in a pouch and did great! she slept the whole way :) Anyway things were great.

I started to do more research on sugar gliders and became worried about Jewel because she had no other sugar gliders to play with. We were together many hours of each day but I felt I needed to get her some buddies.

I got a pair of girls from a vet tech and named them Baby Karat and Sassy Gem. Things went ok until my neighbors were forced out due to the fact that their apartment was a breeding ground for roaches. we shared walls so I had many visits from the icky things. My apartment complex decided to bomb their apartment to get rid of them and bombed it three times. Now I was unaware my gliders were in danger. I don't know what they used the third time but they did not tell me they were doing it. Also I did not know my babies were in danger. I left for a few hours to my grandmothers and when I came back found Jewel and Baby Karat already dead. I had to stop my screaming because Sassy Gem was still alive and I had to not stress her. I had not had her long enough and although Jewel and Baby Karat liked me Sassy Gem did not. :(

The emergency vet will only see cats and dogs so I was refused. I spent hours giving her sugar water very very slowly like 1-2 drops every 5 min. At one point I thought I had lost her but she came back. She seemed stable and I needed sleep I was soooo tired and I had surgery scheduled for the next morning. I knew how important it was to keep her warm so I thought if I put her in a shoebox with the heat rock Pocket Pets said was so great for them thinking it would help. I now suspect she might of pulled though if it were not for the heat rock. I had their ashes made into a pendent by a wonderful glass artist.

But I was so lost and I felt like a part of me, for example my arm, was cut off. Not only was I grieving so hard for my little ones, I no longer had the support I needed to brave the outside world. Jewel had been perfect! No one knew she was there but when I had an attack, she would be there for me every time. It was almost like I was normal! It hurt so much that they were gone I was unsure of getting new ones. Also want to mention that at this point I learned how bad Pocket Pets was and in turn was rather upset with them.

I spent a month thinking and countless hours crying looking at pictures and video's of my babies. One night I had been surfing the internet on gliders for 8 hours strait or so and I made a decision. I was going to try again. I contacted a breeder and she happened to have two girls that were not ready yet but she understood the healing powers gliders have because she herself had anxiety problems after the loss of her daughter. Gliders helped her heal. She gave me a price break and promised to work with them as much as she could so one or the other would be my new helper. The following month I watched them via video's and pictures grow and then drove a long time to pick them up.

I named them Teddybear and Diva. They are now 7 months old and while writing this both are inside my shirt cuddling on my upper back:) I have been training Diva to be my companion service animal for a few months now and she is doing great. Recently she has been supporting me in some new therapy, that hopefully will make her job obsolete. I hope to one day be able to go into public without her and be ok.

Don't worry, though she will be out of a job, she and her sister will always be my family. I love them so much. I am so thankful for them being in my life and causing all kinds of smiles and happiness.

Wow! What a story. So sorry for your hardship and your losses, but glad to hear everything is back on the right track and that you are getting better. It is amazing how these little guys can impact someone's life.

Yes they have made a big difference in my life. Things are hard, but they help me through it in so many ways :)