A couple weeks ago I went to a nearby town and got Jude. He reminds
me of a ferret of mine named Oliver that has since passed on to the
Bridge, but was the bounciest ferret ever! He never walked....he
bounced! Oliver came from the OR Ferret Shelter to live out his last
days with me. The vets had given him a month or two but he bounced
through life for another year. He was a HUGE silver sweetheart and I
miss him every day. I thought that I would never have another "bouncer"
but now I have Jude.......for a little while at least.

I saw an ad on craigslist for a free ferret almost 2 years old, with
a cyst on his face. As always, I emailed right back about taking
precautions when GIVING a ferret away.....snake owners and dog
fighters. The owner got several replies including someone that wanted
Jude for a surprise birthday gift to her husband. She emailed me and
asked if I wanted him after she took him to the vet about his "cyst".
Of course I said yes....

During the next week I got LOTS of emails from the owner with the last
one saying she called different vets but couldn't afford to take Jude
anywhere. The emails included various reasons for re-homing Jude. "I
don't have any more time for him." I'm going to college in the fall."
My new apartment doesn't allow pets", etc, etc.

When I got to Jude's home I noticed the owner had a new fancy truck. I
walked up into her very nice apartment that she had moved into 2 days
prior and saw a monstrously large stack of empty beer cases beside a
rather nice multi-level cage with a gorgeous ferret face looking out at
me. I noticed he could only move around in one small part of the cage.
I was told that he didn't use the other part any ways so it was blocked
off. I also noticed the "cyst" on his jaw was enormous.

When I arrived home with Jude, I did a lot of research and also spoke
with Chris Mathis at the OR Ferret Shelter. By the time I took him to
the vet, I already knew he had the rare cancer....squamous cell
carcinoma. It only cost $22 to confirm the diagnosis at the vet....a
lot less than all that beer. I have emailed Jude's former person (as
she asked me to) several times with all the info but have never heard
from her again. I told her in one of my emails that Jude will be
showered with love until his passing.

Jude is getting fed much better food now which he dove into the minute
I first gave it to him. I cleaned his cage and took the horrible ragged
carpet out of it. At first he only bounced around the house for less
than 45 minutes before getting tired but now he's up to 1+
hour......that's a lot of bouncing! Just like Oliver! He just enjoys
life so much! Maybe they know they have a short time and enjoy life
to the fullest.

Nancy in OR and her 17 ferrets including bouncing Jude!

[Posted in FML 6730]