Hello all.
 
Some of you may remember that I have been asking for help for my Snoopy.
Last summer you all helped to show me that she had Helicobacter.  My vet
couldn't tell me what she had (and she opted to do nothing because she was
too far gone) but when you told me what she had and what to do I went
equiped with all of your posts and then she agreed to put her on Amoxy and
Chlor Palm (I already had her on duck soup - at least my version).  She
improved and gained a wee bit of weight.  The time for medicine was over and
I kept her on duck soup to hopefully fatten her up a little.  Suddenly she
got worse again but this time is wasn't Helicobacter and again no-one knew
what to do.  I had asked the vet to give me more Amoxy in case I needed it
again and she willingly gave it to me.  Snoopy continued to deteriorate and
I started her on Amoxy again and Chlor Palm and Pepto-Bismol (later
kaopectate because I felt that Pepto wasn't working).
 
I had been talking to Diane Bodofsky from Last Chance Ferret Rescue in PA
off and on and I altered the duck soup a few times to see if it would help
and I tried some other things to try and determine what was up with Snoopy.
I don't know what kept her going for all of these months because she was
like a person in a concentration camp she was so skinny.  Her muscle tone
had completely gone and she wasn't able to walk very well, although she
tried as much as she could up until a week before she died.  For the last
couple of weeks we did a load of wash per day for her because we had sheets
spread out on the floor to help save the carpet from her messes because she
was having trouble controling herself.  Even then I had to scrub carpet 2-3
times per day.  My husband and I were feeding her duck soup around 5 times a
day in the last week and she stopped eating her own food during the last few
days and gorged herself on duck soup.  Even with that, no matter how I
adjusted her formula, she could only take small amounts of a/d and ensure
because that made her diahrea worse.  It was like she was starving to death.
The one thing that made me sad is that she has been such an aloof ferret in
the 3 years that we had her.  She was almost autistic.  She pretty much
stayed clear of the other ferrets and us humans and was in a world all her
own.  Last summer when she got sick, she became my love bug and even though
that tapered off in the last few months, she seemed more alert then ever
before and wanted to be with us and her two other buddies.  What a shame.
She came alive so to speak and then her life is snubbed out.
 
We have struggled with the idea of giving her a mercy shot and finally we
decided to go ahead with it.  On Valentine's Day I called the vet and made
the appointment for Sat.  Saturday morning I went to feed her and I found
her dead in her favorite position, looking so peaceful.  What a relief.  I
felt very sad and very happy at the same time.  She wasn't suffering any
more and I didn't have to go ahead with the decision to end her life.  She
will be missed and as I have said to many people who have said "you have had
a lot of ferrets it should get easier everytime when one dies," it does not
get easier.  Each one is loved just the same and missed just as much.
 
Sorry for rambling but you folks are the only ones that understand where I
am at.  I want to thank you all for being there and I want you to know that
I grieve with you everytime I hear that a loved one has crossed the Rainbow
Bridge.  This list better not ever cease.  It is amazing.
[Posted in FML issue 1848]