Booger came into the shelter Sunday.  Never fails, the one time I have
something to do there is an emergency.  (My daughter was modeling prom
gowns - she did great and looked fab!  Ok, so I am bragging)
 
My husband, lucky man, answered the phone, the Pet Supplies Plus in Parma
has a sick little ferret ( I'll say little, she is just beginning to get
her adult teeth) Do we know a vet that they can drive her to and get back
by 6:00?  (Yeah right, we all know how hard it is to find a good ferret vet
and on a Sunday?) He told her no, our vet wasn't on call this weekend, and
I wasn't home, but Laurie Long of the Raisin Retreat may know of one.
 
They got ahold of Laurie, and she was willing to take in the baby and bring
her to the vet in Oberlin, Patti, the woman from Pet Supplies Plus in
Middleburg was willing to drive Booger to her.  Laurie told her, no let
Jean's husband, he has to come out to Elyria anyway.
 
So he picks up this little thing, and since he passes home on the way to
the freeway, he stopped and I was home, I pulled Booger out of the carrier
and was horrified!  He asked the Parma store when she started to look bad,
they told him Saturday morning.  The one clerk wanted to know when we were
going to take the other nasty ferret that bites.  He told her when they
call.
 
Her little nose was covered in hard, nasty, crusty, green snots!  A LARGE
booger!  From the middle of her little snout, all over her nose,
effectively cutting off any use of the little nose under it.
 
I grabbed a paper towel and soaked it in warm water, so I could start
softening the booger.  I barked at my daughter, get the duck soup, warm it,
and a syringe so I can feed her when I am done.  Get Q-Tips, a snuggle bag,
the vicks, set the vaporizer up in the bathroom.  All of which my daughter
snapped to and did.
 
She fought eating.  It took a while to get 6 cc's into her.  One drop at a
time, so she could breath in between drops.  We made a run to Laurie's, she
had amoxi, I figured this little one had some type of sinus infection by
the color of the snot coming out of her nose.  She was so packed with the
snotty stuff it was literally coming out of her ears!  She was so bad with
her balance, she would walk in circles.
 
Got her going on the amoxi, and feed her every two hours.  I would set the
alarm clock to go off so I could get up to feed her.  I am still doing it,
and have the black circles under my eyes to prove it!
 
She made it through Sunday night, and to be honest, she was so bad when we
got her I was surprised.  So I packed up my kit for nursing her, and took
her to work.  By Monday night she was easier to feed but still having a
hard time breathing.  The more her ears go cleaned out, the more she would
hold her head up and walk in a straight line.
 
The vet checked her, and he was amazed that her ears were filling up.  He
suspects an ear infection to go along with the sinuses.
 
Any way that is Booger's story, but the thing that bites my butt is the Pet
Supplies Plus in Middleburg, Ohio handles their ferrets and other animals
wonderfully.  The woman in charge, Patti, is great, she makes sure they are
take care of, and tries to educate people who buy the animals about them
and gives them numbers of local shelters that will help and answer
questions.  This store cares about the animals, and I applaud them on how
well they do their job.  They even take a sick animal to the vet, and if it
is after hours, the emergency vet.  They just do it.
 
The one in Parma, however, is a hell hole.  The animals go without water,
food, the cages are dirty.  Not just the ferrets, ALL OF THEM.  And I try
to be nice and tell them.  It works for a while, but then it stops.  (Oh,
the Parma Pet Supplies Plus is where the ferret Sassy came from).
 
It is frustrating, and no matter how many people that have told them about
the conditions, they do not listen.
 
I called and told the Parma Manager that he should take the little one that
was with Booger to the vet, just in case what she has could have started
from a cold, and was just blown off.  Go figure.
 
Ok, so I am venting, it helps.  I am just so angry at that store for
putting this little one through such hell, but at least they turned her
over to the shelter.  They won't get her back.  I know a few people willing
to fight for her.
 
Ok, I am better now.  Thank you.  Off to liter boxes
 
Jean
Ferrets Unlimited Ferret Shelter
Founder S.W.I.
[Posted in FML issue 2603]