[2-part post combined.  BIG]
 
This has been quite a year for my hubby and I... we lost our first foster,
Squeegie, to multiple internal problems; we lost Taero to a mysterious and
sudden illness; we lost Bear to complications during her chemo therapy for
lymphosarcoma; we lost Mandy, my sweet red and white kitty of 16 1/2 years
to bone cancer of the jaw; we lost Ripley, my 22 year old tarantula, to my
own stupidity... this has to be the worst year we've ever had.
 
We had yet another loss... another foster.  This one not only hurts us
deeply but also makes us so angry inside...
 
Some of you may remember a little 7 year old girl named Jingles that was
surrendered back in September.  She underwent surgery to remove plastic
from her stomach, her left adrenal and a large adrenal mass off her kidney.
Jingles made slow progress in her recovery but eventually after 2 months,
she seemed a little stronger.  During her recovery, it was noted that she
did not eat on her own, and she was found to be insulinomic.  She was put
on prednisone, and we all hoped for the best.  We even gave her Timmy's
Tonic.  All was looking up even though her shaved little body never really
regrew any of her missing hair.
 
Within one week, she went down hill, losing weight, having to be force fed
aggressively, and she was getting more and more unsteady.  She could no
longer stand for any length of time, falling over with each step.  Her
poop literally shot out of her weakening body.  By the time she was seen in
the vet's office, her prognosis was not good.  She was not responding to
therapy and was obviously losing quality of life fast.  I made the painful
decision, based on my vet's recommendation, to release her from this
earthly plane...
 
I am angry at Jingles former owners, and as someone stated to me recently,
there is a reason for there to be a three day waiting period before getting
a gun.
 
I am angry that her owner's love meant refusing medical attention when she
was pooping blood.  It took them two months to surrender her so that she
would get proper care!  Our shelter found some places that would take
payment plans, yet no follow through was completed.  It was a sheer miracle
that Jingles survived so long with that plastic in her gut.  The owners
refused treatment due to lack of funds.  Let me say that there is no such
thing as lack of funds when a refrigerator can be stocked with booze and
a table full of cartons of cigarettes.  There is no excuse for not giving
an animal in obvious need the medical attention it deserves.  This is
selfishness of the highest order, especially when you put your own rights,
and life style choices over that of an ailing animal.
 
I am angry that the former owners tried to feign their love by harassing
the volunteers in our organization by calling at all hours of the night to
find out her condition.  Don't expect me to believe for one moment their
sincerity and that their newly found desire to worry about her came on the
heels of a "successful" surgery.  Jingles was alive and all they wanted was
to get her back without one single dime paid back to the shelter.  The
problem with some people is that they think that having an animal around is
great fun until they get sick.  Then it's all about money and the animal
gets dumped, one way or another.  Then it's about sob stories and why their
own lives are always so much more important than the lives of the one they
took in.
 
I am angry that when told that ferrets need to have their toys checked on
a regular basis to prevent the likelihood of future blockages, that the
former owners got angry because it implied limiting Jingles fun time.
 
I am angry because they fed her Happy Cat because they could not afford
anything better to feed her.  Again, they chose to eat what they wanted to,
but she had to eat crap.  If they didn't want to deal with the expense of
medical care for their ferret, they should have gotten a goldfish.
 
I am angry that they threaten to "take her out of her misery" on their own.
 
I am angry that when they finally hear that Jingles sad little life has
been ended, they will look for someone to blame, and they will want
revenge.  They will think that the decision was done on purpose, just to
"teach them a lesson".
 
What a sad life some people have.
 
And how shameful it is for them not to admit that they were responsible
for her problems.
 
I am angry because in all of this, this little girl got lost in their
hearts.  If they truly loved her, they would have done the right thing
right at the beginning.  They would have made necessary sacrifices to
ensure her safety.  They simply chose not to.
 
They will never know the nights we sat up with her, because she went into
an insulinomic shock, or the number of times I had to pick up a limp body
only to revive her back time and time again.  They will never know how many
days we worried over her, and how we did our best to keep her alive.  They
will never know how painful it was to watch her when she was crashing, and
how much of a down turn she took last week.  They will never know the
amount of tears shed over making the final decision to end her life.
 
We knew Jingles only for a short period of time, but her life with us was
just a meaningful as any of our long timers.  Her death is as painful as
any that we've had this year.  Her death is poignant as it illustrates
the need for any and all involved in the sale of ferrets, whether through
shelter, pet store or breeder, to emphasize the need for future ferret
owners to save money and to set up a fund for their ferret's future well
being.  It is the duty and responsibility of all involved to provide a
foundation of security, and to pass this on to all who are interested in
having ferrets in their lives.
 
And for those of you that have ferrets right now, and feel that if one of
your ferrets got sick today, that you would be in the same boat as this
couple that surrendered Jingles... hear me, and hear me well.  You made the
decision to take in these animals and have them in your life.  Therefore,
it is your responsibility and duty to provide for them fully and
unconditionally.  There are no excuses acceptable to refuse medical care,
or even basic care.  If you would not refuse care to your human child, why
refuse care to a furry one?  When you take on that responsibility, you take
it on fully or not at all.  Learn from this... it's not too late to make
your sacrifices now, while you have the chance to.
 
My anger will pass, but my love for these special creatures will not.  As
for Jingles... I truly hope she knows that we tried our best for her and
that she was dearly loved by our family... unconditionally.
 
My heart goes out to all of you who have sick ferrets, as well as those
that have crossed over the Rainbow Bridge...
 
Betty and Her Blur O'Fur... Missing Jingles, Ripley, Mandy, Bear, Taero,
Squeegie and all those who have left this earthly plane.  For the love of
ferrets...
[Posted in FML issue 3240]