Tonight as i sit here typing this to all of you, i am crying.  Tonight, an
innocent died in my arms.  His name was Phoenix and he was about 6 years
old.  His owners dropped him off here because their kids no longer took
care of him.  He had originally come from a lady who worked at a pet shop
who TRADED him for an iguana with these people.  They only had him for
about 8 months.
 
When his family walked in the door with him tonight, I gasped.  His belly
was so swollen, I'd never seen anything like it.  He could barely walk, had
no energy, you could feel every bone in his head and he could barely hold
his head up, he was so weak.  I didn't think he would make it through the
night without help and he needed a vet.  Dr. Karen Regan to the rescue.
She waited for me to get to the clinic, well after it was closed.
 
Since Carla had my car running around to get things for the frolic this
weekend, I had no choice but to ask Phoenix's family to give me a ride to
the clinic.  All of my being wanted to scream "how could you not know this
animal was sick?!"
 
Dr. Karen looked at Phoenix and saw that his belly was full of fluid from
heart disease.  She listened to his heart and took a small amount of fluid
from his belly which confirmed it was heart disease.  You could tell the
poor little guy was suffering badly so together with my vet and Carla (who
had heard I was at the vets and came to pick me up) I held this little
innocent and helped him cross the bridge.
 
I am angry because his parents did not research anything on ferrets before
trading their iguana for Phoenix and I am sad that he suffered for as long
as he did before coming to me.  I wish I could have saved him and shown him
love and tenderness before letting him go.  Please hold your ferrets tight
tonight and tell them how lucky they are to have loving parents like you
who care enough to read e-lists like this and other publications to learn
to help and love them better.
 
Randy Melanie Belair
President
The Ferret Aid Society
"For The Love of Our Fuzzy Friends"
http://www.ferretaid.org
 
Work like you don't need the money... Love
like you've never been hurt...And dance like no one's watching!
[Posted in FML issue 3519]