Hullo all

First, I need to thank Zoos Ferret Sanctuary and one of the volunteers
there...Greg. He drove, once again, for hours for this rescue. I would
like to add that he is handsome, tall, single, cordial, articulate,
neat, a good cook, a ferret lover, is a good driver, and has a huge
heart. And he will be at Zoos Ferret Sanctuary gathering in Sept. .

I adopted 2 old ferrets at the Petco on Rand R. in Mt. Prospect,
Illinois on Wed. night. The ferrets had been checked out by the Petco
vet and given a clean bill of health, rabies and distemper shots. I
waited over one hour. They could not find ANY paper work to show this.
But the manager assured me this was true.

I had taken in their worst biter ever. They had named her Cugo. And
they said they would not lie to me after I had done such a wonderful
thing.

One was severely adrenal with soars on his body. The very old female
was docile but bright eyed. I thought with a Lupron depot for the boy
that we would be in good shape and that I could provide a home until
they passed.

The 14 ounce female began dry heaving and drooling and knashing her
teeth shortly after I got her home. Insulinoma.The male was chomping
down food and seemed fine for the time being. I took the female to my
vet. She is on pred and amoxy and something for her tummy. She was
severely dehydrated, so they did lactated ringers.

Of course, I called Zoo when the little old female started dry heaving.
We thought it best if I saw the vet immediately, and got the meds for
her from my vet.. Then she suggested that she monitor the two for a
week until the party. That meant hours of driving.

So we picked on our handsome friend Greg....once again. I cannot say
enough about him. You just have to meet him.

We met in a hotel parking lot...which seems to be becoming a habit.
He looked at the poor bald very bad smelling boy and said something
like..."Look at you. What a handsome boy." Who says that looking at
such a creature? Tears me up. But that is Greg.

The boy started barfing by the time Greg got to Zoos. (!!) She was
busy tryng to stabilize them both at our last phone call. The flue,
ECE, poison?

This morning, I cleaned up, gave meds to the guys here, and opened up
Zoos email The boy...we are thinking of calling him Mr. T., threw up
all over yet again in the middle of the night.

When you adopt ferrets from Petco...it might be best to prepare
yourself for an immediate huge expenditure. A promise from the manager
that the vet DID give the ferts a clean bill of health, careful exam
and shots might mean absolutely nothing. A paper that an exam was done
may be worthless. That actually did not dawn on me. I clearly saw the
adrenal issue and prepared mentally for the expense of Lupron. But a
simple blood glucose would have shown the female to be insulinomic.

Had I waited for a few days for the papers verifying a full physical
was done... .these ferrets would be dead.

I am thankful Petco folks took them in. Just plan financially and time
wise on problems from the get go if you adopt ferrets from them.

A huge thanks once again to the Sanctuary. I understand the healthy
looking poops are now slimy this morning. The oldsters were put in with
the babies for a few days at Petco, I was told. ECE, Giardia? These are
things that you can get from doing that. It is why you have to wash
your hands and change your clothes if you are playing with babies at
the pet store.

I do give Kathy money for the care of those she has monitored. I say
this because she is a shelter and cannot afford to pay for my kids. I
do not want to give anyone ideas. She is not a dumping ground. Meds
and foods are expensive. But the time...the around the clock care she
gives...is invaluable. I could not afford to give her the thousand a
day she should have.

Thank you Zoo. I realize these two might not make it. A part of me
wonders if I should have left them there. They would be dead by tonight
if I had. But I did not intend to burden someone who already cares for
so many old and ill ferrets. I am sorry that I was so naive.

I just thought that I could do a good deed and give these oldies a good
home for the months that they had left without bothering you. They were
going to sell them seperately. They were in separate cages the size of
a hampster cage. No one was going to take them. No one was going to see
them.
 
I did not know they existed until one of the guys said...if you think
that one is bad, you should see the two back here.

Hope some of you can make it to the gathering. If the two oldsters
live... they were left with no names, and no idea what food they
eat...they will be at the gathering with the handsome volunteer, Greg.

Lisette

[Posted in FML 6098]