Gee, Vicky was embarrased because the growth on Spartan's head was really a
scab.... my story is even MORE embarrassing!
 
Years ago, with my first generation of ferrets, I was petting Critter, and
noticed a big bump.  I parted the fur, and to my horror, saw an ugly growth,
looking for all the world like a melanoma with a purplish brown cast -
clearly a blood-filled tumor.  YUK!  The growth was about the size of a
fingertip.  Horrified, I rushed to the vet.  The vet prodded the tumor, and
then whipped out a scalpel and cut it off right then and there!  I was in
shock!  Then he cut it in half as it lay on the table (no blood at all!) and
picked up one half and sniffed it!  EEeew!  Well, as it turns out, the
emergency tumor was a raisin that had gotten stuck in the fur.  How
embarrassing!  The vet said he almost ate it to prove the point, but that I
already looked too pale.
 
- Erika (now on generation 3 of ferrets)
[Posted in FML issue 1731]