Cully left this morning, after a long battle with any type of cancer you'd
care to name.  He had lymphoma, insulinoma, adrenal, and a couple of mast
cell tumors thrown in for good measure.  Yesterday he became listless and
pale; he ate Hill's A/D from a spoon when I offered it to him, so I thought
we would wait a day to see if the food perked him up.  It didn't, and this
morning when he couldn't stand on his own and turned down nutrical, we went
to the vet.  His body temp was too low to register on the thermometer, and
he had become very anemic.  The vet's best estimate was that the lymphoma
had moved into his bone marrow, and so he was no longer producing the blood
cells he needed.  The possible procedures to keep him alive sounded like
they would be torturous to Cully, and with dubious benefit.  He went
quietly and with dignity, and I can't help but think that he was holding
on long enough to give me and my fiance a chance to say goodbye.
 
Cully was the inspiration for the Problem Ferret FAQ that many of you have
contributed to and been helped by
(http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/1083/prob.intro).
 
He was an utter monster when I brought him home over five years ago, and in
time he became a downright affectionate fellow, crawling onto the bed in
the mornings for an ear-scritching and tolerating the occasional cuddle.
He always a big tough ferret, and was approximately 8 or 9 years old.  He
jealously bit the hell out of my fiance when he moved in with me, but Cully
slowly learned to trust him (and I counted my blessings for having found a
life partner who could deal with this ferret, and learn to love him as much
as I did).
 
Somewhat ironically, the Boston Globe Magazine ran an article on Angell
Memorial's ER today.  Cully is the ferret in the photo being given an exam
by Dr. Ritzman, back in February when he had his annual shots.  it was a
shock to me to come home from Angell and see this, to say the least.
it's a good article though, and I'm proud that Cully contributed to it.
 
Neither me (an atheist) nor Cully (who has always feared/hated other
ferrets) are rainbow bridge types, but if you are so inclined, raise a
glass of irish whiskey to him and participate in our wake.  The recommended
soundtrack would be the Pogues; The Sickbed of ChuChullain was Mr. Cully's
song.
 
Regina
 
Regina Harrison  [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/1083
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Labyrinth/8096
 
               ...melancholia, mon cher...
[Posted in FML issue 3150]