These messages were written by a pair of women that I have immense
respect for, and would give anything to ease their pain. They have
been doing much of the day-to-day care of the healthy, the sick, and
the dying ferrets at the shelter, and at Vondelle's home. They express
better than I can the experience of living through this terrible
experience.
Please, PLEASE make sure that your ferrets are properly vaccinated.
We have vaccinated ferrets coming in to the shelter, but suspect that
either because they had weakened immune systems at the time, or had
never had their initial series of vaccines as kits, that it never was
as effective as it should have been. We're now giving ALL ferrets,
regardless of vaccination history, a series of two vaccinations, two
weeks apart.
If you're ever tempted to say, "Vaccinations are bad" or "Reactions are
dangerous, I don't want to risk it" or even "It costs too much, and
distemper isn't around here, is it?" please understand that there is
no worse situation that I've ever encountered. Do not miss this.
Kevin Farlee
Washington Ferret Rescue & Shelter
http://www.washingtonferret.org/
-------------------------------------------
From: Debbi Walcker
Sent: Sunday, May 01, 2011 12:25 PM
Subject: Re: lost & left behind
Most of u will read (have read) Vondelle's update below and just weep.
If u haven't read it yet scroll down first, then come back to this. You
may get angry at the cruelty of the disease and the entire situation.
Every one of u will say to yourself, "I want to help!" help her, help
me, help them... The trouble is that the only real help, to alleviate
the thing that we most need help with - this horrendous pain, is to
find/give us the tools to fight (& beat!) this evil disease so we don't
have to keep seeing our bouncy, happy, playful, beautiful fuzzies
change inexorably into the grizzled, swollen, red & scab covered babies
they each became. Or worse yet, see those changes occurring and have to
choose whether to let them go on for that extra day, two, three, in
hopes that the red chin will fade and the eyes won't become stickier -
because maybe this one? maybe he can fight it off? maybe she got her
vaccine booster just soon enough?
There have been a few... Signs show, behavior changes just that little
bit, but things improve, the shot was enough... we hope. We watch. We
keep you all up to date through our emails/texts/calls and try to stay
as upbeat/positive as we can without being Pollyanna at all. Thank God
for Dr. Kamaka, for letting us occasionally sit and debrief with her -
when she's tired and has a house of her own to take care of - she has
the ability to just sit and listen to our anger/grief/gallows humor
with her unique understanding and empathy. But sometimes we break -
just sit on the floor and cry for long periods of time. When it feels
like nothing is enough, we've done it all wrong, left someone alive too
long, allowed it to spread somehow where it may not have, we question
ourselves. Then we get up, shake it off and keep giving them what they
need for that day, that hour. That part isn't hard - time consuming,
yes, but not hard. It's something we can DO. And as much as we get
offers for help with it, that's not something anyone can do without
risk of spreading it further.
I have stayed away from home since the 16th. I won't risk spreading it
there. I miss my ferrets; I miss my son. But even that isn't so hard;
we see each other at school - I don't touch him - we have FaceTime
calls so I can check up on my babies, and Justin picks him up to get
groceries or comes to help take care of my lawn. He's a great kid and
is doing a good job taking care of our ferrets. He wishes he could come
here to help, but understands very well and doesn't suggest it beyond
expressing his frustration over it.
I guess in one sense I'm lucky. I'm here. I get to b the extra pair of
hands for daily chores. I take care of the majority of their medical
needs up to the turning point. I'm lucky in another sense even more -
I never have to make the final decision of who gets our limited
resources. We both recognize that any team works best with one leader.
And a good leader relies on good input but takes responsibility for the
final decision without looking for a scapegoat. Vondelle has always
been that way with me. She asks for my opinion, brainstorms solutions,
delegates and lets me be in my arena, but she never blames me or anyone
else for a decision she has had to make. And she never tries to foist
that off. As much as she hates, hates, hates! deciding between one
ferret and another, she never just walks away or throws in the towel.
She looks carefully at each one's situation, evaluates it based on
multiple aspects both practical and emotional, then walks up to the
little one(s) that are being passed over, cries a little, kisses and
snuggles them against her face as she's apologizing for skipping them
"this time" then sanitizes and keeps going. She's made good decisions
overall, though of course she kicks herself when certain ones die,
thinking she should have decided differently for them. It's all too
entirely heartbreaking.
But the hardest part, the part everyone truly wants to help with and
nobody has the resources to, except a very callous vet with a very
large bottle of euthasol, is finding a way to finally stop this
disgustingly horrific disease.
~Debbi Walcker~
-------------------------------------------
From: Vondelle McLaughlin
Sent: Sunday, May 01, 2011 2:57 AM
To: WFRS Board
Subject: lost & left behind
Resting in peace:
Sugar - @ my house leaving Espresso alone
Tinkerbell - @ my house leaving Miko & Lucy behind
Mocha - @ my house leaving Espresso alone
Bella - @ my house leaving Damien alone
Lucky - my foster leaving behind a huge hole in my heart
Yoshi - Dianne's foster leaving Baloo, Steiner, Ami & Yumi behind
Boomer - @ shelter leaving Bindi & Tank behind
Loki - @ shelter leaving Ella, Oz & Houdini behind
Rihanna - @ shelter leaving behind a huge hatred of other ferrets
Madusa - @ shelter leaving Barbosa behind
Mercedes - @ shelter leaving Nemo behind
Kendra - @ shelter leaving Nemo behind
Dirk - @ shelter leaving Baby & Osirus behind
Romeo - @ shelter leaving Juliet behind
Albie - @ shelter leaving RJ alone
Titus - @ shelter leaving Tucker alone
Madison - my foster joining her previously passed buddy Coto
Damien - @ my house joining Bella
Juliet - @ shelter joining her Romeo
Luna - @ shelter leaving behind Cola
Nismo @ my house joining his Spaz
Spaz @ my house joining her Nismo
Riku - my foster - @ my house...lymphoma won...
Dorian - my personal - leaving behind Sassafrass, Jordan & Durdan
Bandit - my foster leaving behind Slash, Pita, & Harold
Quadesh - @ shelter leaving behind Anubis
Jekyll - my baby, my first, my personal, leaving behind Buttercup,
Roscoe, & me
Conan - my foster leaving behind a huge hole in my heart...
Foxy - @ shelter leaving behind Oli & her adopted parents
Ella - @ shelter joining Loki and leaving behind Oz & Houdini
Barbosa - @ shelter joining his MadUSA
Sinister - @ shelter, only 10 months old, joining his playmate Chip
Chip - @ shelter, only 10 months old, joining his playmate Sinister
I really would love to say that this is the complete list, but I am
pretty sure that I will have to add more to it not only from my house
but from the shelter crew too...
More may pass just from just lonliness, and some are still fighting
the good fight, but CDV is very unforgiving & not bias @ all.
I have had to make some of the toughest choices of my life in the past
few weeks...& it is not just my life that is affected by my choices, it
is the little ones I love & vowed to protect & take care of... Who gets
the vaccines now, who gets the next batch when we have more is a choice
I am too sick & tired of making. Although, the when it is "time"
decision is equally heart wrenching. I have taken in almost every
single one of these ferrets from their previous owners, promising I
will take the best care of them & get them the medical attention they
need & find them the best possible new home I can... I know every
single one of these ferrets like they were my own, and love them as
they are my own. Hell, most of them have been @ my house @ one time or
another...so to watch them slip away to such a painful pitiful place,
breaks my heart. It is so hard for me to not be able to snuggle them if
I have to take care of others, for fear of cross contamination.
When I picked up Foxy today & she was unable to open her eyes she was
so frightened by it that I had dab water on her eyes so she could open
them... She was adopted the week this all started... Now what do we
tell those people...
I cannot let them suffer & I cannot let anyone else go thru this...I
don't want anything to happen that I may place blame... I have sooooo
much anger, but it won't bring any of them back...
Deb can't even go home to her ferrets for fear of taking it to her
babies...
I am sorry if I am too intense, or crass, or short, or snide, or just
generally a bitch, but this is harder than I can even explain...
V.
[Posted in FML 7050]
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