A very sad dooks to all ferrets and their humans.  The Bridge has another
Angel.
 
I posted about my beloved Ozzie a few months ago, looking for information
on Lupron and for duck soup recipes.  Little did I know at that time how
little time I had left with my baby.
 
Oz was diagnosed with Insulinoma, Adrenal Disease, and Adrenal Cancer in
November at the age of 5 1/2.  After surgery things looked pretty good we
just wanted to start him on Lupron, but we ran into some roadblocks with
pricing and information.  (thanks to all of you who responded to my post in
January).  We did give him his first Lupron shot in early January and it
made a world of difference in his life (at least for a couple weeks).  He
was climbing and playing like he did when he was three.  After a few weeks
he started to slow down a little bit but we had adjusted his dosage of Pred
and after a couple blood glucose tests decided that it needed to be raised
again.  About three weeks ago he had a hypoglycemic episode and spent
several hours at the emergency vet getting "leveled out".  I took him home
that night and spent the next four days hand feeding him every 2-4 hours as
needed.  He finally started eating on his own again, but I still fed him
every 4-5 hours even throughout the night because he wasn't eating as much
and as regularly as I thought he should.
 
Early last week we put him on Dioxide (?) along with the Pred because he
was starting to get weak in the hind quarters.  It helped a little but on
Saturday he was very quiet and didn't come out of his blanket in the corner
of the livingroom unless it was time to eat and even when he did it was a
struggle.  Sunday I knew that I needed to make the hardest decision of my
life.  I spent as much time with him as I could.  He came out of his
blanket about 4:00 in the afternoon as I was laying on the floor watching
tv.  He crawled over to me and put his head on my shoulder and just curled
up next to me to sleep.  He stayed that way for a little over an hour.  He
lifted his head to give me some kisses and then started to crawl over to
his cage.  I helped him up to his hammock so he could spend a little time
sleeping with his "brother" Casper and he stayed there even after Casper
got up.  He hadn't slept in his hammock in a couple weeks (did he know that
this would be his last chance?)  I woke him up about midnight to feed him a
mixture of banana baby food and crushed kibble - the only thing he would
eat beside Ferretvite.  I cuddled him into a blanket and slept on the floor
next to him all night hoping that it would provide him with warmth, love
and a sense of comfort that he was not alone.  The only time I got up was
to bring him a little water and food about 4:00 this morning.  Then I
curled around him again and held him until he fell asleep about 5:30.  At
7:30 I woke up and he could barely lift his head without help.  When I
tried to feed him the took a couple licks of Ferretvite and water and
then let out a little whimper.  I called the vet and asked if I could bring
him in.
 
I held him all the way to the vets office.  The entire time I talked to
him about the Bridge and all of the things that he could do there and all
of the other animals that he would have to play with, including my dog,
Peanut, who went to the Bridge in October, and my ferret, Ally, who left
for the Bridge in 1989.  I told him to also look for Sandee, figuring he
would need a good guide.  Once we got to the vets I held him and talked to
him for about 1/2 hour, he lifted his head and gave me two very soft kisses
and then looked into my eyes, sighed and lay his head against my chest.  At
that time the vet came in and administered the shot, allowing me to hold
Ozzie against my chest the entire time.  I stroked and kissed his head
until I felt his tiny little body finally let go.  I don't think that I
have ever cried so hard in my life, but at least I know that he was safe
in my arms until the very last moment.
 
My heart is breaking.  I can't believe my angel is gone, but I know he is
in a better place, away from the medications and the pain.
 
Oz - I will never forget you, you will always be my angel.
 
Sandee -
Please show Ozzie the ropes and a couple of requests on his behalf -
make sure we get him some Ferretvite up there, show him the all you can
eat Raisin Bar, and the place where he can dig holes - Ozzie's Excavating
Service will be missed here, finally, see if you can arrange for some
McDonald's fries, orange juice and possibly some ice cream in the summer -
they were his favorite junk foods.
 
Big - Sorry this is so long.  [NO problem.  And condolences,  BIG]
 
With all of our love and thanks and lots of tears!
Lisa (mom), Chris (dad), and Casper (Mommy, where's my brother?  I've
looked everywhere and I can't find him!)
[Posted in FML issue 2967]