Well, I finally had to face losing a ferret.  I had a total of 3, 2 that
I had since they were babies and 1 rescue ferret.  It was my rescue
ferret, a tiny little cinnamon colored girl named Sprite.  She was very
old and in very bad health.  She had an adrenal tumor and also
insulinoma.  I would give her "duck soup" every day to help keep her
blood sugar up.  She absolutely loved the stuff, and never lost her
appetite for it, even up to the end.  She also loved her cagemates,
Tigger and Pooh and the feeling was mutual!
 
I knew she wouldn't be around a lot longer, but on New Year's Day she
ripped a toenail pretty badly.  We got the bleeding stopped, but I was
still concerned.  The next morning, she seemed okay, and I came home
during my lunch break to check on her, and she was still fine then.
However, when I got home at the end of the day, she was very
unresponsive.
 
I rushed her to our vet and he discovered that she had internal bleeding
and also had fluid in her lungs.  The toenail was the least of her
problems.  She was really struggling to breathe and grunting softly as if
it hurt.  The vet told me he didn't think she would make it another 24
hours.  So we both decided that euthanasia was probably the most humane
way to go.  I held her the whole time, crying all the while.  It's always
a hard thing to do.  Tigger & Pooh still look for her every evening when
I get them out of the cage.  She was a very sweet little girl, and she
will be missed.
 
On a more positive note, I had asked a friend who knew her original owner
to try to find out her exact age for me.  Turns out she had barely made
it to age 10, which I understand is ancient for a ferret.  I feel proud
that I was able to nurse her along well enough for her to reach such a
ripe old age, especially considering the condition she was in when I
first got her.  I had her for 2 years.  I guess I just needed to "chat"
with people who would understand.
 
Holly,
Tigger & Poor
[Posted in FML issue 4387]