OK.  this past year has just been way too stressful and my Schnapps finally
proved that!
 
Got back Sunday and noticed that Schnapps was putting out normal but really
tiny poops so I suspected a partial blockage.  I gave him petromalt, by
Wednesday his poops had now turned to mush and he stoped eating.  Well I
quickly called Dr. Purcell and he was brought to the the vets the next
day and after a some test it was decided that it was more than likely a
hairball and surgery was to be done.  Who would have guessed that it was
Gastro-Intestinal Ulcers?!  Well Dr. Purcell of course!  After seeing Dr.
Williams slides I now know what the inside of his poor little tummy and
intestine looked like-my poor baby:(  (I actually kind of find it
fascinating - is that sick?)
 
Well anyways he is on the way to recovery and eating chicken baby food.  I
had to go to the supermarket and by 25 cans of baby food and prayed that
nobody I knew would see me buying baby food (the rumors would fly).  Gosh
that stuff is expensive-but he is worth every cent!
 
As I was saying in the beginning it has been quite a stressful year and I
guess Schnapps has really felt it too.
 
Last October we lost Kahlua.  Dr. Purcell sucessfully removed his left
adrenal however later that night he ripped out his stitches, took him to a
vet that was open at midnight and they said they could save him but they
did not have the staff to do it and to take him to Tufts Animal Hospital
(a very well respect animal hospital in New England, just not for ferrets).
Got to Tufts which was 5 minutes away and without a full examine they told
me that he would have to be put down.  I was hysterical I wanted to know
what had changed in 5 minutes.  They could not give me an explanation just
that he would not make it.  I told them I would call my regular vet and
in the mean time they are to treat him as though he is going to have the
surgery.  Unfortunately I was unable to get a hold of my regular vet.  So
when they brought him back out to us they had done nothing, no fluid, no
heating pad, nothing for pain, no saline solution- they had condemed him-
we had no choice but to cross him over.  It was horrific.  To make matters
worse I called the vet at the first hospital that we went to to tell him
what happened and he went to Tufts after he got off to see how Kahlua was
doing he expected a full recovery.  I filed a formal complaint with the
hospital and 6 months later the head of the hospital call and said
apoligized and said your right we screwed up!  A lot of good that does me.
So that was October.
 
February we let our babies, by the way we have four at that time, out of
the cage just like we normally do.  We keep the cage in the bedroom and
they meander there way out to the living room.  We sat on the bed for a
couple of minutes and went out to play with them to find our Guinnes
hanging from the ring of the chair- he had snapped his neck.  It was a
freak accident, he had been up on those chairs a 100 times before, it
just happened.  I tried CPR, it was too late he was gone.
 
Well my husband and I were completely devestated we couldn't believe all
this was happening.  April was my birthday and my husband finally agreed
that we could consider getting another ferret.  Well my friend Jo at Luv
of Ferrets Shelter called me about these two adorable boys and they just
melted our hearts.  So the Wagners now had two more fuzzbuts to love.  I
am thinking what else could go wrong?  Don't every thing that!  Two weeks
after we get Ben & Jerry, Jerry has to go in for emergency surgery for a
blockage.  What is he eating?  The treat of choice for ferrets - carpet
fiber!?  Well it was actually a blessing in disguise because his left
adreanal had to come out.  So now I'm a nervous wreck while he is
recovering that he is going to rip out his stiches so I stay up until 4 am
every night literally watching him.  So that happened on a Monday and we
already had scheduled Miss Whiskey to have adrenal surgery the following
Monday, the same day that my husband was going in for a biopsy for throat
cancer.  They all made it through it just fine.  I got few more greys, but
everyone is fine.  However just to keep me on my toes Jerry decided 3 weeks
later he would stop urinating.  O.K. make Mommy panic again.  Off to the
vets again.  Mind you none of this has happened between the hours of 9-5,
Mon - Fri. that would be way to simple.  The poor boy has a urinary tract
infection.  The Maxi Cat food that he was raised on has to much corn in it.
Another kudos for Totally Ferret!  Think that is enough OH no.  The Jerry
Wagner Suite at Dr Dan's Animal Hospital (as I like to call it) needed
another visit from the celebrity.  What this time you ask?  Botchalism
(sp) Not exactly sure how he got it.  Dr. Purcell used a more fancy term
but said that the last time she saw a case like that the ferret ate a
candy cane, it was sugar induced.
 
So that's the story of why Schnapps could be stressed.  The introduction of
Ben & Jerry, Jerry being in and out of the hospital so much, the crossing
of Kahlua & Guiness.  Mommy pulling her hair out?  So now I know why God
has given my a sense of humor.
 
Dooks everyone
Lisa
[Posted in FML issue 3186]