I don't know about this whole give up thing.  I would never want
any of my friends, excuse me pets, to suffer, but...  More than once a pet
has pulled through.  Both cases I was a part of dealt with poisonings, but
any illness should have similar repercussions I would think.
    The first case I experienced was when our Irish Setter, who died this
year of old age, drank a puddle of water contaminated with fertilizer.  You
know, the stuff they spray on your lawn that is colorless.  They sprayed the
wrong yard.  His intestinal tract was messed up for a year or two with
intermitent diahrea problems, he almost died even with the three I.V.s plugged
into him, and he was in critical to serious condition for about two months.
He pulled through though and led a very happy life for the next eight or nine
years.  In fact he seemed quite happy as soon as he was up and about again.
     Second case.  My ferret, Mary Jane, apparently ate an entire asprin
earlier this year.  In less than a day she had lost half her wieght, not to
mention her all her strenght and bowl control.  I first noticed something was
wrong when I let her out to play and she had obviously defecated on her self.
It wasn't solid and it was bloody.  I.e., she was in real bad shape.  My vet
took her home for three nights and did the whole tlc thing up and beyond the
call of duty.  M.J., however, had given up that first night.  I was surprised
she was alive when the vet opened the next day.  Anyway, there was no way in
hell I was going to let her give up.  She made a mistake, I made a mistake,
and we were both going to learn from it together.  Today she likes to keep me
warm at night and is showing the new guy the ropes.  She turned out to be a
real trooper and she did it for me.  I even had to force her to eat.  She
tried to spit all the mush back out that I gave her, but I'm glad I didn't
give up and I would like to think she is too.
 
        Mark Van Noy  -- proud petting machine belonging to M.J.
 
---  By the way, the dog was put to sleep because his body gave out and
if the surgery was successful it would only extend his life by a couple
of months at best and he would have been in a lot of pain.  That was one
case were we definitely said, "It's O.K.  Rest now."
[Posted in FML issue 1186]