To all who have lost their fur kids, or have ill ones, my condolences.
To all who have sent me cards and notes on Cinnamon, I thank you, and
will send you a note.  The support that comes from you is greatly
appreciated, more than you can know.  Some day in the not too distant
future I'll be posting a happy story-I do have them, I truly do.
 
Fang
 
A lady where I worked at the Vet School at Purdue came up to me one day,
told me she heard I had ferrets.  She had one that wasn't getting enough
attention, she was a bit worried about her dog and the ferret, wanted to
know if I'd take the ferret, and naturally I said yes.  She brought the
fuzzy, named Taz, a week later to my office.  I reached into the carrier
to find a beautiful silver mitt girl, about a year old, looking at me
with wide eyes.  Taz' first act was to bury her front canine into my
chin!  The lady who gave her to me said she'd never bit before; I assured
her it was probably fright.  On the way home I put my hand in the carrier
to calm her, got canines buried into my finger.  I told my husband, she's
no longer Taz, and her name is now Fang.  She got me good one more time
before I could begin teaching her not to bite, but she terrorized our
daughter for months.  It was nothing to hear the daughter scream, run
into the room, see her sitting on the sink with this tiny, silver bundle
of fluff dancing on the floor, looking up at her (and we're talking a
young lady about 5ft, 10inches) Finally got the daughter to work with
Fang too, and they eventually became friends.
 
Fang was one of the original Crew members, and she melded perfectly.  She
didn't weigh over 2 pounds, was always into everything.  She loved to
come up behind you, smack into your leg and then run.  To watch her dance
was such a joy.  About three years ago she went in for her first adrenal,
and the left was large, right was normal.  But she never went back to
normal.  Her vulva remained swelled with a discharge, her coat never came
back, and her energy level never seemed to be there.  Not quite a year
later I took her back, the vet opened her up, and there was a huge
ectopic adrenal mass, along with the right enlarged.  The vet couldn't
believe he'd missed that, so out it came, debulk the right.  Her hair
grew back, energy level came back, but the vulva and the discharge never
left.  We started doctoring her for it, and eventually, after months, the
discharge left.  Then again the discharge, hair loss, lethargy, again
into surgey for a debulk.  She came back but within 6 months it seemed
she started losing hair again.  About 4 months ago I took her to the vet
and as I always do, stood in.  Her right was inoperable, adhered to the
vena cava and growing.  We discussed surgery, but my vet doesn't do
microsurgery, didn't want to attempt it in case he nicked the vena cava,
and I respected him for that-I seriously doubted I would have allowed the
surgery anyway.  So we stitched her up and I brought her home.  Julie
Fossa had gotten some Lupron shots, and a group of us were paying for
them, so I then had 3 kids going to Ohio for Lupron.  Briefly, oh so
briefly, Fang started to regrow her hair, and suddenly it was gone, she
became totally bald.  On the 9th, when I got home from school, Larry
told me to check on Fang the next day.  He didn't think she was doing
well and wanted me to see what I thought.  I went upstairs and they were
all bedded down in their hammies, and I didn't want to wake her group.
I got home from work on the 10th, first thing I did was go upstairs and
find her.  She looked at me, her eyes were huge, and I knew she was
leaving me.  All I could do was sit on the floor, crying and rocking her.
She put her poor, little baldhead on my shoulder, and I could feel and
hear her try to lick my neck.  When I could talk, I called Larry and told
him she was leaving.  I had to be in class, he told me to go and he took
her to the vet.  I told him not to leave Fang, to let his voice be the
last thing she heard.  And then I sat down again with her, talking to
her, telling her how sorry I was that the Lupron didn't work, that I
hadn't been able to save her, how much I was going to miss her silliness,
her dance of joy.  I told her that Socks, Scully, Kit, Spunky, Calvin,
Suzy, and all the other Crew were right there at the Bridge, they knew
she was coming, and were getting ready to have such a party.  I told her
she'd have her beautiful coat back, would never have to have another
surgery, and she could dance herself silly again, just like she did here.
I asked her to wait for me, she and the others that are there, so that I
can someday be with them again.
 
My family made me go on to school, and Larry took her to the vet, who was
appalled at the way the tumor had taken her so quickly.  Larry told me he
talked to her, held her, and that he saw her leave, just as he'd seen Kit
leave.  I don't often ask him to do this for me, it's normally me who
holds them, because I know how hard it is for him, but he did this for
Fang, and for me.
 
Sandee and Sara-ferret, again I have to ask you, too soon I have to ask,
to check on her for me.  She came to the Bridge on Wednesday, March 10.
You'll have seen her, a silver mitt streak, who I'm sure came war dancing
across the Bridge, singing her own private song.  I know that Socks, Kit,
Suzy, Calvin, Scully-original Crew members-Spunky, Jill, and all the
other members, who now number 21 with Fang's coming, all met her.  Some
she didn't know too well, others will be old friends, and I know the
party had to be noisy.  Cinnamon just got there about a week before Fang,
so she'll be able to help her adjust, as will the other three who came
to the Bridge in February.  Please tell them all I love them, and am so
sorry that I couldn't save them.  Give Fang an extra cherrio or raisin,
an extra helping of chicken gravy for me, and tell her how much I miss
her.  I remember after her first surgery I was worried, because she
didn't come out of it quickly.  One day her group was out, and I heard
a noise, looked at the end of the couch, and there she was, dancing all
by herself, just chuckling and laughing.  She looked up at me with those
eyes, as if to say, see, I feel so good Mom, so good.  That was then,
this is now, and I know she feels much better now, will never be ill
again.
 
Rebecca & the Crew of Merry Mayhem
"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy, and taste
 good with ketchup"
"Support bacteria, it's the only culture some people know"
 
[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 4452]