Nearly an hour ago Hayley lost her fight with lymphoma.  She was a
fighter.  Even this morning she ate a little bit for me.  And an hour
before she crossed the bridge, she lapped a few sips of water.  This
little girl was so very, very brave.
 
I know that she's in good hands with Harvey Clark, who passed away in
March.  He was a lover of these little critters.
 
Hayley came to us from FURRY, our local ferret shelter.  She came with 2
sisters, Abbey and Scout.  We always called her our little "diamond head"
as she had a diamond shaped pattern on the top of her head.  When she
played with people, she always thought she was the toughest ferret in the
world.  She would lunge at you in play and loved to play.  We always were
fearful of "the diamond head"!  The fiercest of all ferrets!!  She was so
much fun!
 
Last fall her stomach started getting big and she had a lump on her tail.
In November we took her in and she had her spleen, left & right adrenals,
nodules off her pancreas, and the lump off her tail removed.  It seemed
to take a long time for her to recover...but she did and came out healthy
and strong.  This past spring I noticed nodules in her groin, under her
arms, and around her neck.  It was lymphoma.  She did fine for a while,
but slowly she was slipping.  It's amazing how far she could make it
around the house, a few steps at a time.  ..and we're talking just
yesterday!!!  She would go down the ramp of her cage and want out to
explore...and go to the BIG water bowl.  This morning she seemed weaker
and didn't want to eat as much.  I didn't force her, but thought maybe
she would eat more later.  She did eat a bit more.
 
This afternoon I went into the ferret room and saw that she was pretty
restless.  Took her out and she didn't move much.  She didn't really want
to be held, as think she was in pain.  I spoke to her gently and told her
it was okay to let go.  Within the hour she raised her head, took a deep
breath, and didn't breath again.  She did let go.  I wasn't ready for
her, to leave but sure didn't want her in pain any longer!!
 
You would think it would get easier losing ferrets.  Hayley was our 6th
in a year's time.  We just took 3 in to be cremated last month (one from
December and two in March).
 
Thank God I have Harvey to take care of my little ones for me for a while.
 
God bless you, Hayley, you were my favorite little "diamond head" in the
whole world.  I knew this day was coming, but you really did steal my
soul!  At least your pain is gone now.  I know that you knew I loved you!
 
Connie
[Posted in FML issue 4201]