I'd like to put in my bid for Oldest Ferret to Have Surgery.  About five
years ago, Poppy the ferret, at age 11, had a heart rate of about 50 beats
per minute.  To make a long story short, we ran a bunch of tests and found
that she was pretty healthy otherwise; she'd just pass out when she tried
to do anything more than lounge around.
 
We put a pacemaker in Poppy and she lived another two years.  Not only was
she the oldest ferret I have done surgery on, she was the first (as far as
I know) to receive a pacemaker.  She had a happy, bouncy two years and died
suddenly one day with no previous symptoms.  I was not able to perform a
necropsy.
 
I have fond memories of Poppy, whose worst problem after surgery was
learning to do the Weasel War Dance carrying an unfamiliar four-ounce
weight (the pacemaker battery) on her left side.  It took her about a week
to be able to do it without losing her balance and tumbling sideways.
 
Debbie Kemmerer DVM
[Posted in FML issue 2872]