I've got some sad news.  My little girl, Tequila, was put to sleep this
afternoon.  I checked on her last night before going to bed, like I do every
night, and her tummy had swelled up at least twice it's normal size.  I
wasn't too sure she would make it through the night, so we brought her into
bed with us and cuddled with her and let her know she was loved for awhile
before putting her in bed with her buddies.
 
I took her into the vet this morning and we opted for surgery to find out
what exactly was going on.  I figure she has been such a trooper throughout
her adrenal gland problems, that I had to at least give her every possible
chance.  It turned out to be a tumor, as we had suspected.  However, the
size of it was just astonishing and removal of the tumor would have been
next to impossible.  Apparently what had happened was that the tumor split
open yesterday and there was quite a bit of bleeding going on in her belly.
My vet called me and had me come down and have a look at the tumor.  And
then we put her to sleep.
 
Although I knew her days were limited, it doesn't seem to make this any
easier.  I am very saddened by her loss.  I guess a big part of it is that
she never appeared to be in any pain, so I can't believe that "she's no
longer in any pain" thing.  At least she died with lots of hair, thanks to
the help of the FML I was able to find a way to medicate her effectively
with the Lysodren, a big thank you to whomever gave me the idea of mixing
the powder with Ferretone!  What makes this hardest yet is that she was a
model ferret: used the litterbox, never dug up plants, never bit.  Too bad
her sibblings haven't caught on yet.  She was a sweet little girl and I will
miss her very much.  Thanks for letting me get this off my chest, somehow I
know this will help me feel better.
 
Holly
[Posted in FML issue 1783]