Hello all,
 
I just wanted to say hello and to let you know we had our very first
"passing over the rainbow bridge" tonight.
 
Darby was a three year old sable male who was the very first ferret to enter
into our shelter.  He had been through TWO homes before coming to the
shelter.  (I have no idea why--he was irresistable, with no bad habits!) We
ended up adopting him ourselves as he quickly charmed his way into our
hearts.
 
He'd always been rather pear-pear shaped, but it never slowed him down.  He
was the fastest ferret when it came to going down cellar (where he was not
allowed)--he would beat me or my husband to the bottom of the stairs as we
were trying to stop him and then he would dance and laugh at us!  He was
good natured and was our first shelter publicity ferret.  He was on the
local radio advertising NH Ferret Owner's Coalition's first ferret awareness
day last September (he ate raisins and captivated the announcers and overall
behaved very well, except when he decided to steal my microphone).
 
After dancing he would stop in his tracks and flatten into a speed bump.
Over the last week, that position occured quite frequently (could this be a
symptom?).  Last night the shelter vet came to the house to give shots and I
asked him to look at Darby.  Darby had been rather lethargic and I was
concerned about his portly belly and rear end.  I felt there was a tumor of
some sort, but there were no symptoms.  The vet said he felt two masses in
his abdomen and we talked about scheduling exploratory surgery for the
beginning of next week.  Today, Darby couldn't walk and just flattened out
into the speed bump position.  Luckily, my husband was on vacation and home
today and he called to express his concerns to me.  I work full-time and was
unable to get home so I asked him to call the vet.  Well, to make a long
story short, we took Darby in for emergency exploratory surgery tonight.  We
kissed him goodbye and went home to await the results.  The vet called and
said there were (honestly!) around 2,000 tumors inside him.  He said they
were everywhere and there was nothing he could do.  He said things were
pretty messy and we agreed to put him down while he was still under
anesthesia.
 
So, our sweet little orphan boy has crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  He was
loved and we shall miss him so much.  We'll miss his devilish grin and laugh
as he's running full tilt down the cellar stairs or as he's dancing for joy
with his brothers and sisters.  He was a special little guy that started
this whole shelter thing going and he left us too soon.
 
So, to Darby, waiting on the other side....we love you buddy, we'll never
forget you, and we'll see you someday.  Rest in peace little guy.
 
And please folks, do support your local ferret shelters.  There are some
that I know of that are really, really hurting for funds.  (Both my husband
and I work, so we are able to support our shelter.)
 
Typing this has eased the hurt a little, but I feel guilty and numb.  Guilty
that I didn't see this coming sooner and numb that it happened so fast!
Thanks, Dr. Dutton, for being there and answering my questions!  Thanks too
to my shelter vet, Dr. Caffrey, for coming in on your vacation to do
emergency exploratory surgery and also to Dr. Guilliland for staying late
and assisting Dr. Caffrey in surgery.  And thanks to all you on the fml for
bearing with me during this time.  It's something we hope we never have to
go through, but when we do we have to be strong for all the other little
fuzzies that need our care.
 
Well, I had better let the next group out now, they're banging their food
dishes to get out and rattling the cage doors (it's time for them to come
out and play) so thanks for listening.
 
Stephanie
[Posted in FML issue 1636]