Yesterday was an incredibly horrible day.  As I started letting the
ferrets out so I could begin my cleaning chores, I found Cocoa in his
bed very ill.  To make a long story short, I took him in to my vets
office and the recommendation was that he be put to sleep.  To make this
an extra hard decision, he is not my ferret, but a co-workers ferret that
I am watching while she is out of the state.  I couldn't get a hold of her
prior to my vets office closing & I couldn't (wouldn't) make the decision
without consulting.  The poor guy - he's still there with IV fluids &
antibiotics, but I have to go in today... Even though I know that none of
this is my fault, I feel so horrible like such a failure.  My friend left
here with 4 ferrets and is only coming home to 3.  However, she was very
supportive of me and was so sorry that I ended up in this position, even
said that that is why she wanted me to watch over her ferrets so badly,
because she knew they would get the right care, especially in an
emergency.  But I still feel awful.
 
I can however be proud that I took in a ferret in need about 2 months ago.
At the time she (Wheelie) was in pretty rough shape (and was staring down
the end of a rifle).  Her coat was in terrible condition and she was so
tiny.  Apparently left in her cage for weeks on end and basically ignored.
She has completely blossomed and actually has the most beautiful coat I
have ever seen on a ferret, incredibly soft & shiny.  I discovered several
weeks ago that she is an escape artist.  I had suspected somebody was
getting out during the day while I was at work, but couldn't understand
how.  Then one day while the fuzz-butts were out playing, Buddy was
chasing her and she's heading straight for her closed cage, running full
speed!  She turned her head sideways and squeezes the rest of her body
through two of the bars of the cage!  Buddy stops and in complete shock is
wondering how in the world did she do that!!!!  Checks out the cage and
discovers there's no possible way he can do that (he's nearly twice her
size).  However, Wheelie still has not found her place in the pecking
order.  She's still not fully accepted, but she's hanging in there.  Buddy
has been much more willing to play with her lately, he's just so much
bigger than she is.  Perrin flat out ignores her and kicks her out of his
sleeping spots, Buddy won't allow her to sleep with him either.  Tassie,
my 3 year old blind, deaf & sickly albino, beats her up constantly!  And
the big bad P-Bear beats up everybody and is caged alone.
 
Thanks for letting me ramble.  Had to get this off my chest desperately!
I thank my lucky stars for the FML because my local friends, while
supportive, don't get it the way you folks do.  Happy New Year's to
everyone.
 
Holly,  Tigger the Queen (cat), P-Bear, Perrin, Tassie, Buddy & Wheelie.
Also the visiting Spaz, Jasmine, Slink & Cocoa (going over the Rainbow
Bridge).
[Posted in FML issue 3648]