Yesterday, at 3:51 pm, Rascal the amazing technicolor ferret, went to
Rainbow Bridge.
 
Rascal changed colors on a whim -- some days she was cinnamon, others
chocolate, still others silver.  Some days she was a blaze, others a reverse
mitt or panda.  She loved her daddy, and followed him all over the house.
She was one of his original ferrets -- he was dragged into ferretdom by my
two, Wolf and Sasha, and his first impression after meeting them was that he
had to have one!  This was back in 1991, and he embraced ferrets with a
passion and love that is seldom seen.
 
They chose each other, and developed a unique method of play -- when she
wanted to play with him (and only did this with him) she would grab the top
of his wrist and bite & shake ---then away they would go!  The little
jill-ferret and the big grown-up man, playing happily together.  She was his
special little girl -- and what a spunky little girl she was!  She was tough
but sweet, rough but gentle, aloof and loving.
 
Rascal had adrenal surgery as a very young girl -- but went through the
surgery very easily.  She never had a recurrance of adrenal problems.  She
even toyed with blockages (we used to joke after the fact that when the vet
shaved her leg to insert the catheter for surgery, it scared her so much
she pooped out the blockage!) and came thru with flying colors.  Rascal was
indestructible and full of energy - nothing kept her down for long.  ECE
wasn't even a bother to her, she was a Timex and kept on ticking.
 
She lost her cagemates (Nicodemus, Shadow, Jezebel) over time, but always
seem to approach life with a zest and uniqueness that was Rascal.
 
She stopped eating suddenly on saturday -- I saw that she seemed to be
having some stomach upset, and started her on pepto, carafate, metro,
pedialyte, and duck soup that afternoon and continued on through sunday.
She was no better Sunday am and I took her to the emergency vet.  Prelims
showed dehydration and some stomach tenderness.  Her BG was 89, so
insulinoma was ruled out.  The vet called me with some disturbing news -
she had done an x-ray and had seen "something" on the film that suggested
an abcess on the liver -- fluids were draining into the stomach cavity, for
some reason.  I gave the go-ahead for surgery.  What they found was
devastating.  Her pyloric region was perforated, and stomach acids and
contents were draining directly into the stomach cavity.  There was a
mass(cancerous) on the stomach/pyloric that caused the perforation.
Peritonitis had already set in.  The vet gave us little possibility of
recovery, and we knew she would be in pain.  Ernie, as her owner, made the
only possible choice for her: He had her put to sleep.
 
Ernie loved this little girl to bits, and is terribly shaken up by this --
she was fine and playing on Friday, and on Sunday she was dead.  She was one
special little minx, and one that will be badly missed.  She was certainly
one of a kind.  If any of you wish to express their sympathy, don't forget
Ernie -- he is the one that is hurting the most over this.
 
Rats, little girl -- he loves you and did what he thought was best for you.
He made you a promise a long time ago that he would love you and care for
you your whole life.  He promised you would never have to worry about being
discarded by another again -- you were here to stay.  All he asked from you
is love, and you gave that back with every fibre of your being -- and he
kept his promise.  We love ya, Rascal, and we miss you.
 
                           RASCAL
                     2/09/89 - 4/12/98
 
Lisa, Head Ferret
The Ferret Haven "By-the-Sea"
[Posted in FML issue 2276]