July 31, 1997:
I received a call that a local animal control office had taken in a ferret.
I was informed that he was in bad shape and they didn't know whether I
wanted to come get him or if they should just put him to sleep.
 
He had been brought in the night before by the police who had responded to a
call about a ferret that had shown up in an apartment kitchen.  He had
appaently escaped a neighboring apartment and had made his way through the
walls into the kitchen where he was discovered.  I told animal control I
would be there within the hour.  I got a jar of duck soup out of the
freezer, thawed it out, readied a pet carrier for transport and headed out
the door.
 
What I was presented with when I got to the office was heartbreaking.  He
was emaciated, severely dehydrated, had diarrhea and was so weak he could
barely hold his head up.
 
I force fed him some duck soup immediately then gave him a quick exam that
seemed to indicate his whole problem was lack of food and water for who
knows how long, loaded him into the carrier and brought him home.
 
After a few days of intensive care and frequent feedings he improved and
gained enough strength to be able to walk around the house for short periods
of time on very wobbly legs.
 
August 8, 1997:
Today I let Wally out of his cage for his exercise period and he war
danced!!!!!!
 
--
Bev Fox
North Coast Ferret Shelter
Serving Northeast Ohio
http://www.oberlin.edu/~liroff/ncfs.html
[Posted in FML issue 2028]