Hi, all.  Working in the vet clinic, I see sick animals all the time.  We
do our best for all of them and hope they all get better, and sometimes
you have to help them to the Bridge.  It's never easy, and even my vets
still cry sometimes.  And every once in awhile one comes theough that
really gets to me.
 
Thor was a little teddy bear ferret, maybe four years old, whose owners
finally brought him in after a week or so of noticing that he seemed
skinnier, lethargic, etc.  (He'd only ever been to the vet before, twice,
when he was sick, too.) They didn't notice before b/c they admittedly
never spent time with him anymore beyond feeding him.  That made me sad
enough.  But we had to put this little boy to sleep b/c his prognosis
was very grave-he had pus oozing from his penis, only weighed about 300
grams, was as pale as any dying animal I've ever seen, among many other
problems that were unlikely to respond to the treatment these people
didn't want to deal with anyway.
 
What upset me the most was that his immediate medical problems may (and
may not have) stemmed from his unbelievable neglect.  He was more
flea-ridden than any animal I've seen, he had cedar shavings stuck to
his little poopy butt, his nails had clearly not been cut in months, and
he had terrible mites in his ears, among other things.  Thank God these
people have no more pets.  My vet discouraged them from getting more, and
we considered contacting the authorities regarding neglect, but it's a
tough time when you're putting the animal to sleep, and at least the girl
was pretty upset.  It's a tough thing to call sometimes.  But we still
may pursue it.
 
To make it worse, when we anesthetized him and gave him the horrible
fatal injection, his breathing got faster, and his heart continued to
beat after what should have been a more than adequate dose, and we had to
do it again.  It was awful.  At least he stayed sleeping b/c we still had
him under anesthesia.  I clipped this poor little man's nails and cleaned
him up-I didn't think he should have to die in that condition.  I held
him till he was finally resting.  We gave these people a huge educational
lesson and I hope to God they never get another pet.  My doctor warned
them about this, too.
 
Sandee, please watch out for little Thor-he deserved so much more.  He
was a beautiful little boy, and I wish his little body could have kept
up with his pretty, thick coat of fur.  Let him feel happy, and know the
freedom of playing.  Please introduce him to my Renate and Sparkle.
 
I would ask everyone else to just send a little thought or prayer out for
this little guy; I couldn't let him be unknown.
 
-April AC
[Posted in FML issue 3960]