Well, folks, we had to make the decision yesterday to put our first ferret
to sleep.  She was five, her name was Shakti, and she died three months after
her bone cancer was diagnosed.  It started as a lump on her spine about the
size of a grape and grew quickly.  Our vet referred us to a specialist, who
tried to act like there were options that made sense, but we weren't willing
to subject her to surgury that might result in paralysis.  She remained happy
and cheerful up until the end, when she had lost the use of her hind legs and
was dragging around a large tumor with only her front legs.  Our vet allowed me
to be with her when she was put to sleep, which I appreciated although at the
time it was more traumatic than I expected.  The vet has a cremation service,
which I also appreciated.  We are giving her nestmate a lot of cuddles and extr
a play time, and are planning to look up the local rescue league ASAP.
  To reflect back on a way earlier discussion--the funniest thing Shakti ever
stole was the golden retriever.  When we brought our shy boy home, he tried to
be a rug next to the sofa.  She thought she'd just stash him under the sofa wit
h her other good toys, and began tugging on his hind leg.  As I recall, poor
Buddy just looked pained until I rescued him.
   Shakti used to dig in the sofa and rip all the stuffing out.  We couldn't ge
t the legs off, so we got some hardware cloth and a staplegun and PAVED the
bottom of the sofa.  She watched the whole operation with dismay.
   It's been a hard time, but I think we made the best decisions we could.
I would want someone to help me move on if I couldn't play anymore.
  Does anyone have any thoughts on the relative merits of ferrets from differen
t breeding farms?  While we plan to go the rescue route, I wonder if there are
particular trends (no mask, tendency towards adrenal disease) in particular
strains.
 
[Posted in FML issue 0837]