Hi all,

Thank goodness for this forum. When I first started reading years ago
I was put off by all the sad stories about injured and dying ferrets.
I liked the funny stories. Yet time and time again those very stories
have probably saved me a world of grief. So here we go again (good
ending for those worried.)

I took the entire Business (6 now) to the vet for distemper shots. We
waited a long time for the Merial Purevax to come in. I pretreated the
entire gang with benedryl and then off we went. Note to self - maybe
next time take half of them at a time! There were no dogs in the room
so while we were waiting I let Fox out and we played our usual game of
tag on the U shaped couches in the waiting room. He "runs" loudly all
the way from one end to the other while I "chase" him. When he gets to
the end, out of nowhere, there I am; so he bunches up, turns around and
flies to the other end bounding very high with each step. Now if he
really wanted to get away he would be running faster and quieter and
trying to cut and weave and get down at odd intervals. Instead he runs
the long way bouncing off the back on the corners and trying to get to
the end while I, the slow one, just have to turn slowly in the middle
and pretend to chase him with my fingers. At one point I looked over
my back because it was very quiet and found the entire office staff
standing very still and looking at us. One of the staff asked in a very
worried voice, "Do you need help catching him?" "ummm, no that's OK." I
said, while grabbing Fox with the chasing hand. "We were just playing."
They looked very relieved and went back to work laughing. That was
another reminder to me that other people don't always understand ferret
body language.

Anyway, the Business loves going to the vet - even though they almost
always get a shot while there. In Ferretland apparently going to new
places trumps pain any day. And of course they always get Ferretone to
lick during the shot so they look like they don't even notice. In fact
it is a joke in our house if a human is undergoing a painful procedure
to offer them some Ferretone. If it's really bad then the offer is to
pour on Ferretone on their tummy.

So we did the checkups and all and were going to go out to the car to
watch the frolicking six for the 20 minutes waiting time in case of
a reaction. I wanted them to be able to roam around while we waited
instead of sitting in the kennel in the waiting room. I went to the
front to pay and before Tara even got to the door Fox started throwing
up. His tongue was blue. We grabbed him out of the kennel and raced to
the back part of the office. They immediately took Fox without a second
of delay, put him on oxygen and gave him a couple of shots. I stayed
in the hallway between the back and the waiting room. One of the techs
offered to walk with me to the coffee machine and I knew they wanted me
out of the way but I couldn't leave. They let me stand by some boxes
and I was very good (considering.) They gave me a couple of updates but
it was touch and go for a while. I really thought I was losing him and
that would be unbearable. He is my special buddy. Fox won't eat with
the others in the morning; instead he waits by the bedroom door in
case I am going to let him hang out with me that day. (I have a home
office.) About ¬¿ of the time he wins and if it's a good day they all
get to come, at least for a while. Fox is easy to have as a free roam
because he hangs out with me. He goes and explores but he always comes
back and ends up in somones arms or curled in his bed next to my chair.

Anyway, an hour and a half later, they proclaimed Fox out of the woods
and let him come home with us. (Which is good because I wasn't going
to leave him there. My backup plan was to take him to our pet ER and
stay there with him overnight if the Doctor didn't think he could come
home.)

Thanks to everyone who impressed the seriousness of these reactions.
If we hadn't been so on guard I might not have had two of us there. I
might have thought the benedryl was plenty of protection. I might have
taken all six of them out to the car and gone back inside to pay. As
it was Fox received emergency care almost faster than possible and I
am sure that saved his life. And special kudos to vets and staff that
know what they are doing!

Patti
Fox - They forgot to give me more Ferretone.
Nuka - I like our doctor - she gives me nice things to lick.
Ginger - I don't know why I can't keep ALL the ferretone sticks.
Freddie - Fox threw up on my part of the blankie; I should get more
Ferretone.
Huck - I knew Fox would be all right.
Byte-Me - That was a long time. I got to sleep a lot.

[Posted in FML 5470]