Greeting Folks,
 
Stitches is a little silver girl, about one year old.  She was found in a
field, in full blown heat.  Fifteen minutes after Stitches was found, they
mowed the field.
 
She was dehydrated, and hungry.  Otherwise ok.  She went in, was altered,
and we had one little feisty little girl.  She bit.  But she got better.
 
Then she developed a cyst, and it was supposed to be removed, the vet
opened her up and drained it.  I had posted to the FML asking for
suggestions on keeping an Elizabethan Collar on her so she would leave
the opening alone.  It had to be flushed out twice a day.
 
Well, she seemed to heal up, but then "grew a belly button".  Part of her
insides were coming out of the opening, and the puss was back in full
force.  She smelled so bad when you drained it, it made me gag.  (And
that isn't easy to do).
 
I was hoping to put off opening her up for another two weeks, no funds for
the operation, and that is the pay check that I could put other bills off
from.  The way the shelter is run, if there isn't funds available, we wait
until I can pay for it, that way the shelter goes so deep in debt that it
ends up bankrupt.  Well, we couldn't put it off.
 
Last night, I picked her up and nearly tossed my cookies.  Called the
Emergency Clinic to see if the vet that I used to go to was on duty.  (He
now works there and takes emergencies only, since he has done that, his
kids are very happy).
 
He was, I explained Stitches problem, and told him gut instinct says she
needs taken care of now.  Did he feel up to a surgical challenge?  He told
me to bring her down, and he would take care of her.
 
Well, she was in surgery for 2.5 hours, had the lining that developed
around the cyst removed, and the cause for the infections.  Her left kidney
was dead.  She has been living with only one functional kidney.  He told me
if I had opted to wait, she wouldn't have survived surgery if she had lived
another two weeks.
 
I picked her up this morning, and she seems ok, she is going to have to be
monitored closely, she runs a very high risk of reinfection.  Sigh.  She
doesn't have to live up to her name.
 
Now to the help part, and I hate doing this.  Her surgery was $358.00.  We
have $53.21 in the shelter account, and I wrote a check to pay for it.  If
the mortgage payment hadn't cleared, I would have part of that.  What could
I have done?  Have the surgery done, and know financially I couldn't pay
it, but know she would have a chance at living, or let her die?
 
I need a little help with covering the emergency surgery.  A loan would be
wonderful, I could pay it back in two weeks.  Anyone wanting to see copies
of the bill, is more than welcome to.  I can email, or fax copies.
 
I hate asking for help.  Normally I ask people to adopt, volunteer, hand
out information, be a ferret ambassador, not just for my shelter for all
shelters and there are so many others that need it.  But right now I am
over my head.  We have 52 ferrets in the shelter, and they are eating like
pigs again.  I bought $100 worth of food, it lasted 7 days.  Stitches has
had $633 in surgery done over the past 5 months.  I just bought distemper
meds, $100 and that isn't enough to do all the booster shots for the
shelter kids.  Not to mention our two cardiomyopathy old timers meds and
vet visits.  Or the three adrenal surgeries we had done since October.
 
All I am asking for is a loan.  I know most people do not know me from
Adam, and just on the FML.  I guess I am asking for a leap of faith.  I
can and will make it good.  But I couldn't just let Stitches die.
 
I am going to get some pics of Stitches taken and put her story on the web
site, along with a picture of the dead kidney.  (I am sending it in to a
lab for testing, along with a culture of the puss substance from her
abdomen)
 
As soon as Stitches gets the OK from the vet, she will be available for
adoption, along with copies of her medical history.  But it will have to
be to an experienced owner, willing to watch her medical condition very
closely.  And I will be asking for references for owning her.  She is one
that deserves a good loving exceptional home.  She has had too rough a
life, and she is only about 1 year old.
 
Thanks to everyone who has helped all the shelters in the past, and
volunteered to help, clean, cuddle, do laundry, or data entry.  Without
you shelter folks would be all pulling their hair out allot more.
 
Hug your fur angels,
Jean
Ferrets Unlimited Ferret Shelter
[Posted in FML issue 2939]