I reported yesterday that my sweet little Jet was critically ill.  Jet
fought hard for the last two days, struggling for breath, refusing to go
silently into the night.  This morning, she had to leave and I was forced
to let her go.  She slipped away peacefully, in slumber.
 
She taught me many things.  She taught me that my shoulder was where she
belonged.  She taught me that play was more important than writing papers.
She taught me that potted plants were horrible monsters to thrash and the
responsibility to thrash them was ours.  She taught me that I was important
enough to sprint towards and jump upon.
 
Jet died from complications resulting from what we think was
estrogen-induced anemia.  She gave not a single sign she was in heat, nor
even that she was becoming anemic until just a few days ago.  She survived
anemergency spaying, but went into respiratory distress two nights ago.
She pulled through, but could not make through another night.
 
I spent almost 6 hours yesterday looking through every reference I could
find regarding silent heats in ferrets and could find not a single
reference.  I called and talked to Vet PhDs, and some said they had
suspected it once or twice, but it was never confirmed.  Essentially, this
is an unpublished ailment in ferrets.
 
If this has happened to you and you still have your vet records, please let
me know.  I would like to forward them to one of our FML vets to include in
a publication being written (I don't feel right about giving the vet's name
without permission, but we all know who it is).  I have this tremendous
knowledge about ferrets, yet this caught me by surprise.  It bloodied me,
and I don't want even the tiniest chance of it happening to someone else, so
it needs to get into print so others may be saved.
 
This afternoon, a necropsy will be performed to confirm the diagnosis.
 
Thanks for all the support.
 
Bob C and 19 MO Sad Sofa Sharks (Missing Jet.)
[Posted in FML issue 2239]