The Ferrets of Pet Pals
Rescue & Adoption Service
7402 Joseph Court     Annandale, Virginia     22003    703-354-5073
 
I had a special ferret.  His name is Blinky and he came to us March 19,
1990.  We estimated him to be two years old.  The person who found him was
mowing the lawn when he saw a brown lump in the grass.  The ferret had been
injured and the person called us to bring us the ferret.  My husband took the
ferret in and he was unaltered, smelly, a toenail had been ripped off, his
chin and legs were scraped clean of fur, he had a chipped tooth and he had
one eyeball popped out.  Dr. Hart (Kingsview animal Hospital, VA) thought he
had been thrown from a car.  The eye socket was sewn shut and he was neutered
and sent home to us.
 
 Years later, Blinky suffered impacted scent glands and then developed
insulinoma.  He was operated on in April, 1994 and had to have three
operations performed at once: removal of the pancreatic tumors (there were 11
of them), removal of his left adrenal gland, and removal of a fur ball in his
stomach (no wonder he would not eat - I thought it was because he was so
ill!).
 
 I had to leave Blinky at Dr. Kawasaki's for two days (Old Bridge Vet, VA).
I called the next morning and he was up and looking around.  That is good,
because usually if there are any problems, a ferret has them within the first
24 hours.  I hoped for the best, even if he only lived another 6 months (he
is years old in our estimate at this time).  Usually a ferret lives
comfortably for another year after pancreatic surgery.  I had one pass away
after 6 months, but I also know of two who have lived for two years after the
operation.
 
 May, 1995:  Blinky had a hematoma on his penal cord develop, almost as if
overnight.  Since he was going to have to be operated on for that, I decided
to have his pancreas looked at as well.  Good thing too.  Blinky had been
showing signs of insulinoma just recently.  As it turned out, Dr. Weiss
(Potomac Animal Hospital, MD) found six more tumors to remove, plus the cyst
was attached to his euretha (which would have made urinating very difficult
in the future).  Blinky was home the first night, got up to go potty, and
zonked out again.  He had to be "replumbed" a little, and this was making him
uncomfortable.
 
 Last night (May 9th-10th) at midnight, Blinky went into a grand maw seizure.
 Nothing would bring him out.  We called Dr. Weiss in the morning and asked
him to meet at his clinic to put Blinky to rest.  The Blinkster, as some
friends called him, is not resting in my garden with a bleeding heart plant
over his grave.
 
BLINKY: 1988? - 5/10/95
 
Pam Grant
[Posted in FML issue 1191]