Hi Everyone,

This is Susan Baker, Director of FriskyBiznus Ferret Sanctuary in
Houston...and Rabbit da Ferret's mom. I would like to take a moment
to update you all on how Rabbit is doing and then attempt to find
some words that will express how grateful we are for all of your
encouragement, support, donations and prayers.

Today (Tuesday) is Day 5 post-op for our boy. He is recovering very,
very well! His bruising is fading fast and his little tummy is filling
out. He is still sleeping a lot, but his eyes are bright and it looks
like he has a smile on his face. He has real normal ferret poops and a
good appetite. His hair is already growing back where he was shaved!

Oh, I wish you could have seen him the evening I brought him home from
the hospital. He was very groggy 'cause he had Good Stuff for pain. I
took him out of his carrier and we walked into the ferret room and he
suddenly shot his little head up and started to wiggle excitedly in my
arms, as if to say, "I'M HOME!! I'M REALLY HOME!! YOU BROUGHT ME BACK!"
I put him in his cage, which was freshly cleaned and all his toys lined
up, waiting for him. The absolute first thing he did was go to his bowl
and start crunching kibble!! Everybody cheered and clapped! It was a
beautiful thing, because, you see, Rabbit could not eat before. His
blockage was so bad, it would only allow a small trickle of liquid
through so all we could do was syringe feed him and subq him on a
regular basis. He'd lost a great deal of weight, even with those
feedings.

If you are on my Facebook page, you might have already seen "Earl".
Earl is the humongous hairball the vet extracted from Rabbit's upper
GI tract. If you have not seen Earl, then you are in for a treat.
Check out this link to the pic:
<http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=2685022199590&set=a.1130655581396.20468.1077446966&type=3&theater>
The vet also removed the spleen, which has two large growths (path
report pending) and some (probable) insulinomas from the pancreas.
[Link unavailable to me -- might need peremission to access. BIG]

So this little guy gets cast out on the streets of Dallas, loosing his
humans. He has a very large turmor growing on his tail, so he loses his
tail (I realized that losing a tail is very traumatic for a ferret,
seriously). He loses his ability to eat, he loses weight. He looses
his spleen. And Earl. But no one, especially Rabbit, is very sad about
loosing Earl.

BUT! Rabbit has gained so much more. He gained a new lease on life and
he gained a huge and wonderful family, all of you! So many people, all
across the nation have been praying and sending messages of healing.
Truly, Rabbit is Everybody's Ferret.

And if you haven't heard, we are holding a Benefit Raffle for Rabbit
to help raise funds to cover the vet bills we have incurred. We have
depleted much of our ferret funds and we need these funds to continue
to provide quality care to Rabbit and his friends here at the
sanctuary. There are some fantastic prizes such as beautiful bedding
sets, original artwork, beautiful craft items, food, treats, toys,
jewelry and more! One item that is noteworthy is a beautiful print by
Stephanie Jamison, called Ally's Prayer. Stef told us the lovely story
behind this print:

"A ferret lady in Maryland's niece was in the hospital battling cancer.
Her name was Ally. She was 12-13 years old. Her aunt asked me if I
could paint her a picture of all of her ferrets praying, because she
told Ally they pray for her every night. That painting stayed by her in
the hospital and she passed away :( Although I didn't actually know the
little girl, I think she would be thrilled that I used that painting
(print) to help bring a small relief to another."

Please check out our raffle page, buy some tickets and look for ways
to donate: http://www.creationsbyangie.com/3.html

Now. How do I thank everyone who has helped us? All the way from my
dear friend who jolted me out of my despondancy when one vet suggested
putting Rabbit to sleep and put her faith in me, texting me night and
day with guidance, advice, encouragement and adorable pictures that
made me smile... to the person who wanted to donate $ 5.00 and asked
if I could wait until she got paid first -- and then came through on
her committment? How do I thank those who stood up and put this raffle
together and every donor that gave items to the raffle, to those who
have bought tickets, made donations to our vet, sent prayers and
well-wishes? How do I thank the awesome vet and team that saved our
baby's life?

If I could fill the oceans with "Thank You's", it wouldn't be enough.
It just wouldn't. As soon as Rabbit is feeling up to it, he and I are
going to work on some very special "thank you's" ! In the meantime,
we will keep you updated on his progress!

Dooks ~n~ Dances,
Susan Baker, Owner/Director
Friskybiznus Ferret Sanctuary
www.friskybiznusferrets.com
www.cafepress.com/friskybiznusferrets

[Posted in FML 7301]