Dear Sandee, please take very special care of sweet little Scooter headed
your way.  I don't think any rescue touched me like he did.  He was only
with us a few weeks but we had become, oh... so very close.
 
Scooter was brought to me by a vet clinic where he had been abandoned.  The
person who left him said he found him wandering, but we find it hard to
believe this ferret survived even an hour on his own and was actually
dumped off by his owner.  By the time he came to us, he was in the most
pitiful shape I have yet to see.  About 4-5 years old and paralyzed from
the middle of his torso.  Whoever let him lay around for so long had killed
him.  The injury was at least 6 months old, his entire back half had
atrophied and stiffened hard as a rock, much too late for any type of
physical therapy to help him.  In addition his internal organs were
shutting down, he could no longer process food correctly and had no control
over his bowel or bladder functions.  While he was here, everyday, several
times a day I would get him out to hand feed him his duck soup and help him
potty and just hold him.  He had such a spark and so much love in his eyes
and would light up and shine whenever I came to his cage to get him.  Even
with his problems, when he saw me coming he would scoot across his cage,
drag himself over the door opening and scale me... all that effort just to
give me a snuggle and kisses.
 
He was perhaps the sweetest, most loving and most appreciative little guy I
have had the pleasure to meet and it was an honor to be a part of his life.
A few days ago, I saw the change.  The spark in his eyes left him... when I
went to his cage he could barely lift his head to greet me.  We had an
appointment Saturday morning with the vet to help him go... but in the
middle of the night, when I went to give him some duck soup, I could see
him leaving me.  He spent about 10 minutes cradled in my arms and gave me
some kisses and snuggled then went peacefully to sleep on his own.
 
My biggest help right now is knowing his body is whole again and he can
again play and scamper as any ferret should.  I miss him and am glad I was
able to be a small part of his life.  It kills me knowing how long ago he
was injured, by accident or otherwise but the most painful thing is how
long he was left laying there to suffer and
never given any medical help and then when he was so pitiful looking they
could not stand it, they dumped him.
 
Forgive me my anger but I hope the people who left him to waste away and
then discarded him like trash have a special spot reserved in hell.
 
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=87904&a=2984340&p=17943537&Sequence=300
[Posted in FML issue 3003]