Hi all,
This is the post that I hoped I'd never have to write, but knew I
eventually would.
 
Monday afternoon I took Betty to the vet where she went to the Rainbow
Bridge.  It was the hardest decision I had ever made in my life, and I
never want to do that again.  She had been suffering from insulinoma and
some sort of liver anomaly which eventually got the best of her.  Saturday
night she had another seizure, but this time was totally unresponsive to
any meds I gave her--she ended up at the emergency clinic that afternoon
and spent the night there.  While performing blood work, the vet said that
the stuff that's supposed to be clear when the blood is spun, was yellow!
I now understand people who operate shelters and feel for them when they
bitch and moan about vet bills--there was nothing I could do to save her.
I don't have the means or ways of coming up with $1500 for a surgery that
she most likely wouldn't survive.
 
Betty was 6 1/2 years old, lived a wonderfully fun life in a loving home
and had the best dirty sock collection of any ferret!  I spent about 3
hours with her before taking her to the vet--holding her, scratching her,
giving her lots of ferretone, and basically saying good bye, all the while
sobbing at the fact that for her, there would be no tomorrow.  Her
cagemate, Chopper, has been taking it pretty well so far.  I took him
with us to the vet, let him walk around on the table during the procedure
as well as let him sniff and paw at her on my bed when I got home.  He's
been walking around my room looking for her and waiting patiently in his
cage for her to come home, however, he still plays with me and today was
the first time since Monday I heard him dook.  Her body is now resting
comfortably in a nice spot right below my bedroom window adjacent to
Chopper's cage.  Her spirit is now waiting for Chopper and me at the
Bridge, as well as in our hearts, happy and content and pain free with all
the ferretone, raisins, and dirty socks she could ever want.  No other
animal has ever made such a profound impact on my life as a ferret, and I
will remember Betty always.
 
-Chris
[Posted in FML issue 3702]