Earlier I wrote a cheery post about how the computers were all backand
running at the shelter.  I didn't really want to bring anyone down at
that point.  This posting will probably make some people angry...not at
me I hope, and some sad.  But the main point of the article is to let
some all you wonderful fuzzy lovers out there know that shelter work is not
for every one.  We can tell you about the evryday life in a shelter and
sometimes skip the sleepless nioghts we spend when our little guys need us.
Most of you have been there, crying, praying, begging for an answer to your
prayers for relief or a cure.  Sometimes the end is swift and silent,while
other times it is long and drawn out, heartbreaking to witness and bear.
these last two weeks have shown us at Especially Ferrets alot of good and
some really bad.
 
Ya'll probably read the posting about Micro centers donation to our
shelter.  Computers, three of them are absolutely a must here at
Especially Ferrets with the number of ferrets who come to us every year.
We recently recieved our 501(c)3 status and are having to maintain very
good bookkeeping records..  more so than ever if we want to grow and
continue our mission.  Then all of our wonderful technology went to heck.
 
On top of that, I got a call to come see two little girls whose vulvas were
enlarged and the lady thought they might have adrenal disease.  Well, it
turns out that they were both very young and were in estrous.  Both were
scraggly and malnourished and I was also informed by the lady, who imports
animals for pet stores all over the Denver metro area, that they were mean
biters.  She also proceeded to tell me that they won't bite hard anymore
as she had clipped their fangs with a pair of fingernail clippers.  I was
shocked!!  I asked her if she knew of the damage she was causing the poor
little ferrets.  she acknowledged my statement with a so what, screw them,
that what they get for biting me!  Now, anyone who has handled a young
intact ferret and some breeders know they can be a bit nippy, but never,
in all the bites I have recieved working in the shelter did I ever even
consider clipping the teeth of a fuzzhead.  I convinced her the ferrets
were better off in mycare and took them that day out of her possesion.  Two
hours later, I had them at Dr Feldmans office to confirm that yes....she
had cut the teeth short enough to expose their roots.  Ya'll raise your
hands if you have ever had an exposed root and needed a root canal!!
Painful??  Confirmation with a board certified animal dentist that indeed
the roots were exposed on both ferrets(they are so cute too!) and that
normally it would cost $2500 each to correct.  But because we are a
shelter, and this deal would be a onetime thing, he will do them both for
$1250.  I am still thanking the good lord for the gift of generousity he
blessed the folks at Microcenter with and now this.  We are a NO KILL
shelter and will not consider euthanasia to end their suffering but will
continue with the soft food, warm water and occasional treatments with
anbesol for the pain until we can raise the money for their surgery.  I am
also preparing, with the assistance of both Vets a case for animal cruelty
that I hope will bring her much grief and put her out of business.  In my
oipinion, she doesn't have the right to stand next to an animal.  Her lack
of remorse for the damage she has caused those two little girls and the
financial strain she has put on the shelter is unexcusable.  The good side
to this story is, both girls have been brought out of their cycle with a
hobbs who shoots blanks, and they are both looking wonderful and happy
togetther.  They play so nice!
 
Last week, we also got in a white onyx male, small, about 4-5 yrs, with
two dots in right ear and a sore the size of a siver dollar.on his right
hindquarter.  We did a consultation over the phone with the vet and he had
me clean the wound real good and had me start the little guy on amoxicillin
to fight the infection.  After a few days, the size of the sore had
decreased to about the size of a dime.  It was clean looking, not all
swollen and angry looking.  He was starting to eat real good too.
Everything about him was starting to look real good until Friday
night.about 8pm.  We both ran into the sick room and he was seizing,real
bad!  I had seen ferrets seizing and the screaming that comes with seizures
is unbearable.  The kind that pierces your heart with each scream.  We
brought his blood sugar up and that helped for awhile, but eventually he
slipped back into the siezures.  We couldn't reach any of our vets on
Friday nite and the feeling of hopelessness was overwhelming..  My wife is
a very strong person when it comes to these situations, yet I caught her
pacing the floor in the sick room with him bundled up just screaming.
Their were tears streaming down her face as she looked at me.  Their was
nothing more we could do except be there with him until we could get him to
the vet the next morning.  The vet xrayed him and ran some tests and found
large masses in his chest cavity, and told us that he crashed so hard from
a hypoglycemic episode that he was delusional.  and the screaming wasn't
real ly from pain but fear.  The vet spent the weekend before making the
decision that he could never live a quality of life the was reasonable.
The masses in his chest would soon take him anyway, so we let him go to
the Bridge...See ya again someday little buddy.
 
I gotta go, it's 4 am and it's been a long two weeks.
 
To all the fuzzies out there..I love you and hugs from the ferretguy!
[Posted in FML issue 3016]