Last night I wrote about paying almost $500 for yearly exams on my 4
ferrets yesterday.  Today I spent even more than that at the vet's office,
only now I have merely 3 ferrets.  My big, strong, cantankerous Dole did
not survive his exploratory surgery today.  The vet said that the cancerous
tumor had destroyed Dole's pancreas and that even if we had caught it very
early, the outcome would likely have been the same.  He said that it didn't
look like insulinoma to him, but a much faster growing and more virulent
cancer.  He took a biopsy and is sending it out for analysis.
 
Dole is now slumbering sweetly in the red Georgia clay where lightning bugs
are illuminating his night and squirrels and chipmunks are playing above
him.  He took with him a loaf of bread, a box of raisins, and a very large
chunk of my broken heart.  He would have been 3 years old in September.
 
Thank you for the very kind e-mails I received in response to yesterday's
post.
 
Diane Vitro
[Posted in FML issue 2703]