Hello all,
Tara pulled through surgery yesterday and made it through the night.  The
vet said "she had probably been used as a football" in order for her
intestines and liver to be up in her diaphram like that.  We talked at
length about her and he showed me the X-rays.  The liver was at least 3
inches up from its normal position.  No wonder she was so stressed and
eating fabric.  He said she must have been in a lot of pain.  She bit
harder than any ferret I've ever encountered in our experience in running
our shelter.  He said that these internal organs were ripped from their
normal locations, which made it hard to put them back in place as there
was not much tissue left to reattach them to.  She is still in serious
condition and may not make it over the next few days.  The vet was very
pleased that she was up and around today, but he said in all honesty she
still could die.  She has been up a few times today and has eliminated
several times.  She's been given a nice warm comfy bed, with hard food and
duck soup, a water bottle and a dish and papers so she doesn't have to
climb over the edges of a litter box.  She's also on amoxi in the event of
infection.  She's not eating on her own, so I give her a bit of soup in a
syringe and she takes it (not very much) willingly.  If she does make it,
she must live a protected life.  If she falls, or is accidentally jiggled
too hard, these organs may break loose again.  Please keep her in your
thoughts.  Oh how sometimes I wish these shelter ferrets could talk so we
would know what happened before they arrived here.  (And then again, it
would probably just break my heart to know......)
 
Finally, Alicia mentioned to me that there were people on the list who
might want to make donations towards her vet bill.  The vet's address is:
 
Fryeburg Veterinary Hospital
41 Bridgton Road
Fryeburg, ME  04037
 
Donations can be made in Tara's name--the account is in the name of Ferret
Services of Freedom.  Thanks for your kind thoughts.  She's a special
little girl and she deserves a chance.  Kelly, my half way house, wants to
adopt her, so she will have a good home if she can pull through!  I'll end
for now as it's time to check on her.  Best wishes for the new year to all
you fml readers and to your ferrets from us at the shelter.
 
Stephanie
Ferret Services of Freedom
[Posted in FML issue 2915]