Hi guys...
 
It saddens me to report the events of this past few days.  You may recall
Cocoa Puff and Duchess, two little girls here who came from a barn in the
hot summer of '94.  Cocoa Puff initially had skin mites that caused alot of
skin problems for her, got that handled and she did great for a long time.
We also discovered she was blind, though it was certainly not a handicap for
that little one.  Then last October/November she began showing signs of
adrenal tumor.  The tumor was removed December 1st.  It was cancerous and
quite large.  All of the cancer was removed.  She was rechecked in late
March and was great, no signs of the cancer recurring.
 
Recently she began losing weight and seemed lethargic.  She saw our
wonderful ferret specialist, Dr. Roger Kendrick again last Tuesday for an
ultrasound.  The results were not good this time.  She had 3 tumors, likely
cancerous.  The vet said that surgery now would not buy us any time.  He
said she had weeks at most.  Last night I tucked her gently into her soft
fuzzy hammock and kissed her goodnight.  This morning I awakened before the
alarm (a very rare event) and something told me to get up.  I found Cocoa
Puff cool and in an uncomfortable position and breathing very hard.  She was
obviously in pain.  I woke Donna, we wrapped Cocoa and held her close to us
to comfort her and help her warm her little body.
 
The decision was made at 6:30 this morning that we would not allow her to
suffer.  It was very apparent that there was no chance for recovery.  I
called the vet, took quick shower, loved on her and packed her up, and took
off to an excellent vet 45 min away.  At 8:30am today her pain became a
thing of the past.  She went to sleep peacefully.  She is no longer with us
now, but she is happier now I am sure.  Her cancer simply took over her
little body, there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.  Dr. Kendrick
feels she was much older than 4, we are not sure of her age.  We are sure
her last 23 months were wonderful here, especially compared to the years
before that with ignorant and uncaring owners.  Cocoa Puff definitely KNEW
she was loved, she had lots of toys, lots of playtime, lots of treats, lots
of love, and lots of playmates while she was with us.  That little one did
not lack for anything while she was here.  I am holding onto that thought to
get me through the day.
 
After we finished with that vet and Cocoa was at rest, we took off for the
other vet one hour and 45 minutes the other direction to take Duchess in for
adrenal surgery (on the right side) and Ally for an emergency visit
regarding an absess under her left eye.
 
Duchess has had some hairloss on her tail for sometime, checked by vet,
decided to wait until other signs showed as there was no swollen vulva.  She
started losing hair on her lower back and
 
THANKS TO DICK BOSSART,
 
we decided it still *could* be an adrenal tumor.  An ultrasound showed a
tumor on the right gland (not the "better" side).  (Sorry Dick, couldn't
find your e-mail address to send this note personally.)
 
Duchess's surgery is over, she came through great!  The vet feels confident
that 99 percent of the tumor was removed (sending it off now for biopsy) and
the tiny piece that was left, he "clipped" so hopefully blood supply to it
is cut off so it will just "die".  She may have to go on Lysodren after a
few weeks but vet says lets wait and see.  Everything else looked fine while
he was in there.  I can pick Duchess up in the morning.  She has her normal
food with her, and her water bottle, and favorite blanket, I know she will
be fine, that girl is full of spunk, believe me!  Will let you know more
after I bring her back home.  She had been with Emily, Rikki, and Sadie too,
so I don't think Cocoa not being here will affect Duchess terribly, she is
pretty "up" so it would take alot to keep Duchess down.
 
Ally had a very bad absess under her left eye, the swelling just started
this Tuesday, gosh it was so awful.  This morning Dr. Kendrick started
shaving the spot to look closer and the surface came off it and it got
pretty nasty, then bled alot.  She immediately felt better.  We cleaned the
wound and she then dove for the little baggie of food for tonight for
Duchess.  She has gotten thin over the last two weeks but there was NO
indication that she had an eye problem, except we thought she might not be
able to see out of her left one because she did not respond to gestures on
that side of her head.  She was eating some, and I really thought she was
not wanting to eat as much as I would like because she was having trouble
with the adjustment to leaving her old home and being in a new place, some
ferrets have more trouble with this than others.  Well, due to the immediate
change in her appetitie, I fully believe there was an infection of sorts
under the skin and causing no outward swelling that was making her feel
awful so she did not want to eat.  Once the problem and the pressure were
released, she was much, much better.  She will be on meds for 2 weeks, but I
think the worst is over.  She is sleeping comfortably in her fuzzy hammock
right now.  I think that, just for good measure, I will put her on some Duck
Soup too, with Deliver 2.0, as that stuff has worked miracles here.  In case
some are wondering, the upper molar on that side is gone, so it is not
infection from a tooth, but the lower molar may be irritating the upper gum,
we will be watching to try to find out.  Ally has only been here a little
over a month, she is supposed to be 4 years old and that seems right from
what I can see.
 
Sammy, a 3 year old girl showing a swollen vulva, but no hair loss, is now
on antibiotics for possible vaginal infection.  If we do not see a change,
we will take other steps.  Possibly a hormone injection, and/or ultrasound.
Ultrasound tests are VERY expensive.  The vet agrees that there is no danger
in trying the antibiotic therapy first and the ultrasound may not be
necessary.
 
Festus is eating me out of house and home, isn't that just grand!!!!  He is
now FAT, not a typo here...he is FAT!  I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Totally Ferret,
especially for shelters!!!  It is worth every penny.  I think the price has
become far too big an issue, isn't the health of our kids our primary
concern?  Don't tell me you can't get it either, it can be easily ordered
from the company.  There is NO local distributor in my state, so I order
from the company!!!
 
Beau, a member of my personal fuzzy-wrecking-crew, has a cold.  He is only
two, a beautiful silver mitt badger, and I am sure he will shake the cold in
a day or two.
 
Rikki is great!!!  I call her little miss 'fat cheeks' as her face has
filled out now, had been thin since her arrival here.  In some cases, the
Lysodren really makes a difference.
 
Everybody else here is healthy for the moment.  We have 4 boarders at
present for a grand total of 30 ferrets.  It is great, I am counting on
these 30 wonderful fuzzballs to get me through the next few days.
 
Once I get a reply from Bob, I should have an update on the White Fang
situation.  Will let you know as soon as I know something.
 
Kisses to the fuzzies..
 
Trish
Director, Ferrets First Rescue & Shelter
[Posted in FML issue 1615]