By the time you read this, Sprouts will be making his way across the
Rainbow Bridge, free from his suffering here on earth.  The last year
has been a tough one for him.  It started with a right adrenal tumor,
for which I chose Lupron over surgery because of his advanced age and
the fact that it was on the right side.  That helped him grow back his
fur, but he still needed PU surgery because his prostate was causing a
blockage.  And he came down with serious digestive problems last fall
too.  Antibiotics helped him get over the initial problem, but he has
needed carafate two to three times a day ever since, and has been on
mostly a liquid diet.  The past couple weeks his appetite has been
waning, and he has been increasingly restless.  He wanders around the
house like he's been looking for something he just can't find (relief
maybe?).  The past few days he has gone downhill really fast.  He is very
weak, he has lost interest in food, and he has been going to the bathroom
on himself.  I've been giving him subQ fluids to keep him hydrated, and
force feeding a little bit, but he doesn't want much.  It's time, I can
see it in his eyes.  So today is the day. :(
 
So, my adventurous little man with the soulful eyes begins his new
adventure across the Bridge.  He was the most adventurous ferret I've
ever had.  I would find him in places I could never figure out how he got
to, like the kitchen sink, on top of the TV, or swinging from a hanging
planter, happily flinging dirt through the air.  And he had the most
adventurous appetite too; he'd try pretty much anything once.  He'd climb
on the table and steal food off your plate, just for fun, and go hide it
if he didn't really want to eat it.  Sandee, please help Sprouts find his
buddies who have gone before him: Buckwheat (Bucky Boy), his "partner in
crime" who arrived this past June.  I called Bucky and Sprouts my Hardy
Boys, since they always seemed to be on the case, looking for mysteries
to solve (and mischief to make along the way!).  Bucky was my flying
ferret, he loved to scale the outside of his cage and "fly" over to the
bed.  In the cage he leaped from level to level more often than he used
the ramps.  I'm sure he's been enjoying his wings!  And Clover, the
matriarch of the clan, Alfalfa (Big Al), Clover's soul mate.  Then there
were Java Joe, Buehler, and Daisy.  And their good buddies who visited
every now and then when their parents went on vacation, the albino pair
Tucker and Chickie.
 
And poor little Farina, Sprouts' inseparable buddy, will be left all
alone.  My sweet little Sprout man, Farina and I will miss you more than
you know.  We love you, and will never forget you, or any of the others.
 
Nancy
[Posted in FML issue 4667]