It is with a heavy heart that I report that Sammy, our shelter mascot, died
yesterday (11/30). He was a lovable guy, full of life and just as cute as
could be. It was estimated that he was 6+ years old. Every time I see that
picture of him with his tongue sticking out, I can't help by get a big smile
on my face. If you haven't seen it, you can by going to our shelter's web
site and then go to the "Ferret Sponsorship" page. As soon as I get the
chance, I'll put up a memorial page for him.
He came to our shelter shortly after Hurricane Andrew, having been attacked
by a pack of dogs, suffering many wounds, broken bones and a collapsed lung.
Sometime after recovering from those injuries, he began to gain weight at a
rapid pace and was eventually diagnosed as having hypothryroidism. Sammy
was on medication for that condition for the rest of his life.
In the last few weeks, Sammy started getting enormous once again and he was
filling up with fluids. I saw him shuffling around the shelter's kitchen
about two weeks ago and he was HUGE! I have never seen a ferret anywhere
near as big as he was in the hindquarters. So big that his feet barely
touched the kitchen floor enough to be able to get around. He could only
walk if he was on carpeting.
Surgery was performed and a huge spleen was taken out, but it was not the
cause of his ills. An EKG showed that his heart appeared to be normal, but
he was put on lasix in an attempt to reduce the fluid build up. Sadly, it
didn't help and he was on a downhill slide over the last few days. Angela,
our shelter operator, loved that little guy no end and he was her favorite
of all time, but she knew it wasn't fair to him to let him continue in his
condition with no hope of recovery in sight. So, with the help of our vet,
Sammy went to sleep for the last time on Sunday.
We'll miss you big guy.
In sadness,
Mike
* Michael F. Janke - [log in to unmask]
* Secretary, South Florida Ferret Club & Rescue
*
* Shelter Home Page - http://www.gate.net/~mjanke
[Posted in FML issue 2142]
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