Today, I had a decision to make, a decision we all dread. I just lost
my oldest boy Snuffy. He had heart disease, lung disease, adrenal
disease, insolinoma, ibd and a huge mass in his gut by his heart
that was pushing on his heart and lungs, causing him to be very
uncomfortable and he was getting worse even with Lasix. He got to the
point where he was still eating but grinding before, during and after
eating as well as grinding almost all the time now, his cough had
gotten worse and he seemed to never be comfortable anymore.

I could have tried a triple dose of IM lasix and then try Enacard but
my vet felt it was useless. I have watched him over the weekend since
his lasix was doubled and there has not been any improvement, if
anything he got worse. We made the decision to let him go and she
brought him out back to put the catheter in his front leg. She brought
him back into the room and my heart was aching with indecision. His
eyes were still alert but you could see he was happy and has not had a
quality of life for some time. I wanted to say lets not do it but we
talked some more and she said there was a chance he could drown in his
own fluids also. She showed me his gums and eyelids which were on the
purple side as he was not getting enough oxygen. I did not want to let
him go but I did and now I cannot turn back. He is gone and my heart
aches for him.

He was a little over 7 years old and I had him as a baby, bought him
from a want ad about 7 years ago for $50 when he was a few months old.
He was so healthy, never sick, looked so young, acted young until he
reached the age of 6 and everything went wrong! He started losing hair
and was scheduled for surgery. The day of his surgery, my vet did a
chest xray and she found that he had heart as well as lung issues and
did not want to chance losing him under anestesia. We ended up doing
a melatonin implant and monthly lupron shots. He ended up on pred for
insolinoma. He had IBD and was on a special mix of K/D and A/D for
his kidneys as they were starting to age too. He ended up with a mass
that just kept growing and growing and was now interfereing with his
breathing. It was pushing on his heart and lungs. He was on lasix to
remove fluid. Snuffy was such a good natured ferret and got along with
everyone.

My heart goes out to everyone in that horrible situation to make that
final decision between life and death. It has to be one of the hardest
things in life. My sincerest condolences to all who have lost a ferret,
my heart is with you and yours.

Eleanor, Donald and the 12 ferrets missing Snuffy

[Posted in FML 5873]