Hello everyone.  I just wanted to give the update on my little girl Merry.
Her Daddy took her to the vet on 6/6/02 at 11:15 AM.  A needle aspirate
was done on the irregular soft tissue mass found by her abdomen.  The vet
told him that she was concerned about how large the tissue mass was and
suggested that we make an appt.  to have surgery to get it removed and
then send it off to the lab to see what it is.  I have an appt.  for
6/17/02 to have it surgically removed.  I have confidence in this vet as
she has taken the time to explain all of our options and is very kind and
considerate.  I hope that this is the best course of action.  I had hoped
that the x-rays or this needle aspirate would tell us what the mass was,
but it hasn t.  If anyone has any advice please let me know.  Feel free
to email me directly.
 
Regarding bad biters We adopted Pippin MF sable, neutered male from a
local Animal Protective League 1 = years ago and received no information
about his previous life or owners - they told us that "she" was about 3
(boy were they wrong, he's a big boy).  My brother convinced my mom to
bring him home and he promptly bit my Dad and several others.  Three days
later they gave him to us.  Pippin was a sneak attack kind of biter.
Sneaking up your pant leg ninja style, or biting the top of your foot
while you weren t paying attention, and of course the famous LICK, LICK
CHOMP!  He drew blood several times and the bite marks were very painful
and would always swell up.  Each time he bit we would scruff him and say
NO, NO BITE in a firm but calm voice.  After 6 months we were asking
ourselves if he was ever going to stop biting!!  Slowly but surely he
began to trust us, and the familiar yells of OUCH, YOU LITTLE BRAT!  have
become far and few between.  I think that once we brought home Merry he
was much happier and spent more time playing with her instead of biting
us!  He will still nip sometimes - mostly when he wants attention, and
beware of his ninja style!  But he really is the sweetest boy, I call him
my gentle giant.  He is always so good around other animals (the kitty is
his buddy) and is very polite when it comes to the food dish or water
bottle.  He was just a misunderstood boy that needed some extra love and
attention to make him understand that no one would ever hurt him again.
 
I also wanted to say thanks to all FML ers for sharing all the great
stories, laughs, and the tears.  When I received that Mother s Day card
last month it touched my heart, so few people I know understand that my
pets are my babies!  We love making new ferret friends and are looking
forward to the Ferrets Unlimited Ferret Shelter Open House in Cleveland,
OH this month!
 
Dooks!!!!
Trish ~ Merry, Pippin & Zira
[Posted in FML issue 3807]