Hello Chris,
 
I understand your pain.  I'm Dawn and my husband is Don and we run a
small shelter in Tucson.
 
Last summer we had 3 ferrets that were given to us who were real
darlings.  One of them was Mugsy a four year old, who quickly became a
favorite of Don's, so we decided that these guys would not be adopted
out.  Don and Mugsy bonded very closely and Mugsy would follow Don all
over the house.  It was one of those special human and fuzzy
relationships.
 
Last December Mugsy started to put out a lot of urine.  It was a Friday
nite, as it usually happens with these guys.  We tried to get him in
to our vet the next day but they were booked solid.  By Sunday he was
lethargic and did not want any food or water, so we did the syringes and
force feeding bit.  We got him in on an emergency basis on Monday and
our vet said that he was in very tough shape with his blood sugar way too
low and he was extremely dehydrated,too.  She proceeded to treat him with
sub cue fluids and all.  Then she ended up giving him insulin.  He was
stabilized finally and Don said goodnite to him as the clinic closed for
the night.
 
Our vet had several patients in that nite and so she checked on Mugsy
before she went home at 1:30am.  He was sleeping comfortably, sprawled
out on his back as he loved to do at home.  When she returned at 8am, he
was gone -- over the bridge...still sprawled in his comfortable sleep
posture.  He had gone comfortably in the night in his sleep.
 
What had he died from?  It turned out to be a very rare case of
"explosive diabetes" which she had only seen and treated once before.
It only has a very small paragraph mentioning the slight posibility of
it happening in one of her medical books on ferrets.  She knew of only
3 cases it ever happening in: the one in the medical reference, the one
she had treated before and Mugsy.  It supposedly just doesn't happen in
ferrets that have never had pancreatic surgery.  But it did.
 
Don was devastated and I wasn't too far behind.  We tried to figure out
what if anything we could have done different that could have saved him.
 
There wasn't anything else we could have done.  Dr. Van was very kind but
adamant: regardless of whatever else we might have done, the outcome
would have been the same.  At least he was comfortable at the end when he
passed -- and he knew that he was cherished.
 
We have had ferrets for a long time...almost 11 years.  And we have lost
them to illness and old age.  It has not ever been for a lack of medical
attention or caring on our part.  It just happens.
 
There comes a time when we just have to let go and let God.  Not always
an easy task.
 
We have found though, that those fuzzies we still have do love us dearly
and we dearly love them.  And if we cuddle them a little closer, it's
okay.  And if some of the shelter kids don't get adopted out as quickly
as some people think they should, well that's those people's problems.
 
All we can each do is the best we can for each one, for as long as they
are with us.  That's all.
 
But hopefully, you will find, as we have, in time that's enough.
 
Let the fuzzies you have in your life now help to heal you.  They are
very good at it -- great 'ferapy.'
 
We are so sorry for you loss.
 
Head Ferret Slave,
Dawn at Hooked On Fuzzies
PS. Remember - the password to life is enjoy.
www.geocities.com/hookedonfuzzies
[Posted in FML issue 4138]