When to say When .....
Preparing for your ferret's final journey

While this is not new information, sometimes it helps to hear it from
someone else who isn't as emotional as the caregiver who loves them
so much & wrestling with such an important decision. This advice more
applies to caring for a hospice ferret and not an unexpected urgent
medical emergency.

For your beloved ferret as with any loved creature, your awareness of
the end drawing near has been heightened, there is no one more in tuned
with your ferret and their needs more than the one that loves them
the most. In your heart you know that no matter how much love and
supportive care you give him that someday soon it will be "the time".

Some people believe that you should go on and on until your ferret can
go on no more. I too used to be of that mind, not wanting to take a day
or an hour or a moment away from them. After running a shelter for many
years and having to make emotional decisions, dealing with crashes and
urgencies in the middle of the night, Sundays, holidays or other times
when my regular vet wasn't available. I was given these words of wisdom
which I share with you.

Don't look at this as taking time away from them, look at this as
making their time comfortable, non-stressful & honoring them by
releasing them before it gets to the point that they are in pain or in
crisis. When the end is drawing near and you know your ferret has one
or more medical issues of which there will be no miracle cure you have
the ability to bring them relief through release. Do not wait until
there is only a dim light in their eye nor maintain them making them
linger. There is a difference between living as a ferret and merely
being alive.

Pick a day when you can see your regular vet, the one your ferret is
used to seeing. Discuss how you want things to be handled and what type
of medication will be given and in what method. Let them know that you
want to be with your ferret (don't let them take him in another room
away from you, ask to be there with them.) Decide what arrangement you
want to make for them afterwards (are you taking them home to make a
special resting place, do you want to arrange cremation, what else is
your preference?) Decide if you want to have someone accompany you,
drive there & where you will go afterwards. Be sure to plan sometime to
grieve & reflect. (There's nothing worse than having to make handle an
urgent situation and have to go back to work).

Cry or do whatever you need to, anything you do is the right thing for
you.

In the day preceding & the day of, take all the extra time with them,
talk to them, cry to them, tell them all the things that they need to
hear, how wonderful your life has been with them and how much you are
the better for knowing them. Let them have special time with their
ferret buddies over a nice bowl of soup, a bit of ferretone or anything
else that they enjoy. At the appointed time, gather the special
blankies, toys or things that they enjoy, bring them outside to smell
the fresh air and look to the sky for the beginning of the journey. At
the vets most have a quiet room. Depending on how you prefer things or
how your vet does things you may have discussed a method that you
prefer (ask for options, perhaps a tiny abdominal injection, a bit of
gas with ferretone in the mask to relax them, certainly not a heart
stick).

Hug your ferret and whisper sweet things to them, tell them how you
will miss them, where they are going and who they will see there. The
last things that they experience should be comfort, warmth and your
whisper in their ears. Let them slowly drift away in your arms. Take a
few minutes after to stroke their fur, hug them and kiss them if you
wish. Afterwards wrap them gently in the special blankie and add their
toy or special snack. If you are bringing them home with you, some
believe it gives their buddies closure to sniff them and realize that
they are gone. Some prefer not to do this, whatever you do is the right
thing for you. If you have arranged for a cremation, either you may
call or have your vet call to arrange this.

Take time to grieve. You are honoring your ferret by doing this &
handling the emotions that come with heartache. Some people go home &
hug their other ferrets, some call a ferret friend to talk, reflect
and grieve, some go for a walk, some pray. Whatever you do or don't
do is the right thing for you.

After a time the sharpness of the pain will dull, it won't hurt every
single minute, then it won't hurt every single hour, then it won't hurt
every single day. Then something will remind you of them, maybe a flash
across the room and you swear you saw them, maybe something will remind
you of a cute thing they used to do, it's ok to smile and laugh with
tears in your eyes.

Remember this ferret came to you to teach you something, to love them
and to help another ferret. Some people prefer to just love their
remaining ferrets, some make a donation to a shelter in their ferret's
name, this is always appreciated, some like to adopt a ferret from a
shelter that deserves a wonderful mom or dad like you. These are my
favorite people!

Hope this information helps or just reinforces what we already know. I
don't have any or all of the answers, just a caring heart, broken and
mended over and over again.

If you would like some help with your decision, to talk to someone, or
to honor your ferret, contact us. We will be adding this to our website
in the weeks to come. Hugs to you all, it's always hard to lose a
ferret, and this time of year is even harder.

Sincerely,Diane Wall at South Shore Ferret Care
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www.southshoreferretcare.org

Diane Wall - South Shore Ferret Care

[Posted in FML 6528]