Hi to All
Sadly our Oscar was helped make the last leap to the Rainbow Bridge on
Tuesday.
 
He was doing so well since he first became sick in March, after x-rays
and blood glucose levels all we could find was a very enlarged spleen.
He had lost weight rapidly, but after hand feeding the duck soup he
had rallied around up until last Thursday.  All of sudden, his weight
dropped, he didn't want to eat and he was dragging his little self
around only to collapse and be put back to bed to sleep.
 
It was now Saturday of Easter weekend, and our nearest ferret vet was
closed till Tuesday a.m.  so after many phone calls I finally found a vet
in Toronto that dealt with exotics and would wait for me to make the two
hour plus drive.
 
We arrived with March's x-rays in hand, only to be told that the x-ray
technician was not in on weekends.  So all we got was a very good but
long and slow physical.  Spleen still enlarged, nodules could be felt,
some diarrhea and one very tired little ferret.  Blood glucose was good
though, strong heart sounds, unfortunately the only things that were
good.
 
After five tries to get enough blood (and not succeeding) for a complete
blood workup, we gave up, and Oscar was sooooo glad, he just cuddled up
in my arms and looked up at me.  I am sure he was saying "lets just go
home".  The vet said his veins were so tiny and didn't want the risk of
his blood pressure dropping by putting him out to get enough blood.  So
they gave him some sublingual ???  (not sure if that's the right word at
the moment) fluids and some meds for his diarrhea and we headed home,
hoping to keep him going till Tuesday when we could try again for some
blood work.
 
This vet who had never met us before was really very good and she was
very honest in her suggestions, she said that yes they could try to do
blood again (another day) and take more x-rays, but that in her opinion
he probably had some form of cancer and was in pain and that he probably
would not last long.
 
Oscar managed quite nicely to ptooey at least fifty per cent of his
medicine on me and anything else in close proximity, he hated it, and he
was getting the same with his duck soup, and his weight was just dropping
off him.  I spend all the time I could just holding and cuddling him and
telling him what a beautiful boy he was.  He had the biggest eyes I have
ever seen on a ferret and they could see right into your soul.
 
Tuesday came and I knew that we were going to have to help Oscar the only
way we could, by providing a gentle journey to the other side.  I wrapped
him up in his baby blanket and cradled him in one arm all the way to the
vets, driving with my other hand.  He just lay there looking up at me as
if he knew and was saying its okay.  I kept kissing the top of his little
head, its a wonder I didn't kill us both in a car accident.
 
So, together, with Oscar curled up in my arm, Dawn our vet administered
that one last needle, Oscar turned his head to me and laid it across my
hand, looked up and gently stopped breathing.  But his valiant little
heart would not stop beating and kept going for over a minute even after
he stopped breathing.  He had the strong little heart but it was mine
that was feeling like it was being torn in two.
 
I left him with Dawn to have an autopsy done, she found lots of calcified
nodules in his pancreas, which was enlarged as well.  His spleen was very
enlarged, very seedy and grossly misshapen, all in all it most seemed to
fit cancer of the pancreas, possibly in other parts as well.
 
I picked Oscar up yesterday, brought him home and showed him to the five
other kids.  They all sniffed and pushed at him as if to say, come play.
Then it was as if each one realized what had happened and they all just
sat around him until I picked him up from the floor.  It was a very
haunting thing to observe and very memorable.
 
We buried Oscar out in the lily garden, next to our first ferret Lilly.
Soon I will plant some new lilies over Oscar and all summer long they
will remind us........ of playing hide and seek, of digging holes in dads
grass, of making tunnels in the snow on the back deck, of silly war
dances while chasing the cats, of Oscar with his red teddy bear, of his
favourite hidey hole and how he loved to steal the dog's bickies whenever
he could and of a love given with no reservation.
 
Oscar was just a year old, but he had had a rough start in life, I
fostered him and his brother from our pet store.  They were both Marshall
ferrets and I truly believe they were shipped to young.  Even with love
and hand feedings his brother did not make it, so perhaps Oscar's
problems were with him from the day he first came into my life.  We'll
never know for sure, but it doesn't really matter now, he gave us all so
much love and joy from the day I first held him in one hand, (he was so
tiny) till the last day when he rested in my arms in final sleep.
 
Take care my little man, my golden boy, see you on the other side one
day......Love the Mudder
 
Mudder & the Orillia Dooks.....Sam, Molly, George, Tigger & Thomas
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[Posted in FML issue 5219]