My big gentle giant, Uno, a former DMKid was helped to Rainbow Bridge
this afternoon. To let him go, broke my heart but I did not have much
of a choice as Uno had Mitral Valvular deficiency. I have been managing
his heart disease since February with Pimobendon, Enapril and Lasix. He
did very well with the exception of still having a faster heart rate
than the other ferrets. He was such a sweet handsome champagne boy, not
one mean bone in his body. Last night I noticed he was making little
noises while eating or doing most of anything and sure enough, called
my vet and she was not available July 1st. I called this morning only
to find out that she was gone for the weekend, along with other phone
calls to other ferret vets, who were also off for the big weekend. I
called Diane of South Shore Ferret Care and asked about her vet. She
said yes call her. I did and I was fortunate to find she was on today.
I brought Uno to her and she x-rayed his chest and he was loaded with
fluid in his lungs. I left Uno at the hospital so she could try to
remove the fluid by injectible lasix and she also put him on a drip for
dextrose as his bg was only 40 and he had just had his pred, meds and
soup, about an hour earlier. I waited for her phone call and hours
later she called and after taking another x-ray of his chest hours
after having lasix treatment as well as oxygen, his heart rate, I am
sure a lot was stress too, was very high. She suggested euthanasia. My
sister Rose came with me as I was in tears and needed the support. I
gave Uno some ferretone which he loves and readily accepted. It was
now time to say my goodbye's and let him go. This is the worst part of
ferret ownership. I hate losing them, their lives are so short as it is
and is many times complicated with insolinoma, adrenal or cancers which
is so unfair for such wonderful little animals. Just not fair. I am
grateful for having Uno for the couple/few years I had him. He and
many, many others (DMK) came from horrific conditions before being
rescued and I know ,so, so many are already gone. The bunch that came
here to MA had a lot of dental issues and that had a lot to do with
their poor health. Uno was always at the vets for dentals, extractions,
gum disease the whole bit. It is believed that dental issues caused his
heart condition. Donald came home from work tonight and buried him in
our back yard with the rest of our furkids. Rest in peace my sweet boy,
I love you and miss you so much.

Our hearts go out to each and every one of you who have lost a furbaby.
Our sincerest condolences.

Eleanor, Donald and the 11 weasels

[Posted in FML 6747]