This is from Wes and Susie of the Ferret And Dove Sanctuary, Inc.  in
Pensacola, Fla.
 
Tonight old Harley Davidson Ferret has breathed his last breath after
a long, intense battle with stomach cancer and cirrhosis of the liver.
We knew he had stomach trouble and anemia but were treating him for
heliobacter and anemia with the other medical dx from his vet of having a
cancerous lower abdominal tumor.  Not until after his passing was his vet
able to put the rest of his medical puzzle together and find the rest of
the cancer-damages were what had been causing the other symptoms so much
like that of a severe bleeding ulcer and that his liver was unable to
handle the biaxin and clavamox and pepto for the suspected ulcer, nor the
b-vitamin shot to help with what we all thought was blood loss from the
suspected ulcer.  Coulda-woulda-shoulda.  However, all the while Harley
Davidson accepted everything, even the bitter biaxin, hapily along with
the showers of love and concern from all of us who knew him and cared
for him, including his vet.
 
Harley Davidson Ferret was famous in his very second year , with his
first owner, having won an honorable mention photo in one of the ferret
magazines posed in a little leather jacket holding the handlebars of part
of a real Harley Davidson motorbike.  Later, in his fifth through seventh
year with us, he was famous as one of our signature poster-ferrets for
his striking harlequin-faced yet noble pose in the first photo of him
that comes up on our multi-pictured web-page.  His death on June 11th,
2004, at the still young age of 8 and one-half (for us, a real blow.
Most of our resident ferrets have routinely been living pat their 11th
years of life) has us all shocked and saddened.  I'm not sure I even want
to change the info about Harley Davidson on our web page for a while yet.
Just to let you all know that his "then-and-now" photos are here....and
give us a day or so to compose ourselves to say goodbye.
 
http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/ferret_rescuer/index.html
[Posted in FML issue 4541]