Our first sight of Patrick O'Ferret was, Himself asleep in a litter box the date 09/Jun/2000. He has a choclate pattern and he weighed 1 pound 7 ounces at 14 - 15 weeks. His brother and sister were curled up asleep in the hammock. They were being kept in a small rabbit cage and IMHO mistreated and underfed (pet store of course) because when we got them home on free feed he gained about 4 ounces a week untill he weighs more than his brother. Patrick quickly weaseled (pun intended) his way into my wifes affections by being the only ferret I've ever seen or heard about that after having been picked up even in the middle of a wardance will, when she rubs his chest, fall asleep on her chest or in her arms and be smugly content to be there. You can tell by the smirk on his face. Life was good for him until the middle of August when we noticed him limping. Between our vet and a friend, vets from Fla. to Ill. and Cal. to Vir. were called and opionions solicitated. The diagnosis is a luxated elbow (left)because all ligaments were non-existant. My apologies, I mixed up which leg was which in previous messages. On 31/Aug/00 he endured a 4 1/2 hour surgery that attempted to attach an external fixator device, it failed because the pins were not strong enough for their size. Instead the joint was pinned and a soft cast was placed on that leg. Prescriptions given are Cephalexin 125 ml 3x daily and Torbagesic as needed for pain. On 13/Sep/00 follow up exam, after the cast was removed, the vet found that circulation was nearly cut off due to the pin and cast and that below the knee was swollen nearly 3x normal size. The leg was then cleaned and rewrapped. On the 28 - 29/Sep/00 he will go back to see if circulation has improved and swelling gone down drastically if not, and the vet seems to think this most likely, amputation will follow that day. During follow up the right leg was observed to be sub-luxated as well and that was when the vet suggested euthanasia if both legs needed to be amputated. (I was not present as I work 2nd shift however my wife and mother-in-law were. As I understand it there was a resounding NO! expressed, with strong overtones of do not suggest it again.) Which I endorsed for I believe when the time comes Patrick has more trouble enjoying living he will let us know that it is his time. In the meantime ,however, we will help him to do the ferrety things he can. Plus I have already designed him a "wheelchair" I just need to build it. I hope he never needs it though. Any one with comments please feel free to e-mail me direct A brief introduction to the Wrecking Crew Cyrano f 4.5yr Roxanne f 3.5 Ziggy m 2 Tsunami m 2 Calvin m 2 Avalanche m 2 Ian m 1.5 Misha f 1.5 Elizabeth f 1.5 Scarlett f 1.5 Duncan m .6 Natacha f .6 Patrick m .6 And us David Me Melissa Wife Sarah Mother-in-Law -- What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly... it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. -Thomas Paine [Posted in FML issue 3178]