[2-part post combined. BIG] This has been quite a year for my hubby and I... we lost our first foster, Squeegie, to multiple internal problems; we lost Taero to a mysterious and sudden illness; we lost Bear to complications during her chemo therapy for lymphosarcoma; we lost Mandy, my sweet red and white kitty of 16 1/2 years to bone cancer of the jaw; we lost Ripley, my 22 year old tarantula, to my own stupidity... this has to be the worst year we've ever had. We had yet another loss... another foster. This one not only hurts us deeply but also makes us so angry inside... Some of you may remember a little 7 year old girl named Jingles that was surrendered back in September. She underwent surgery to remove plastic from her stomach, her left adrenal and a large adrenal mass off her kidney. Jingles made slow progress in her recovery but eventually after 2 months, she seemed a little stronger. During her recovery, it was noted that she did not eat on her own, and she was found to be insulinomic. She was put on prednisone, and we all hoped for the best. We even gave her Timmy's Tonic. All was looking up even though her shaved little body never really regrew any of her missing hair. Within one week, she went down hill, losing weight, having to be force fed aggressively, and she was getting more and more unsteady. She could no longer stand for any length of time, falling over with each step. Her poop literally shot out of her weakening body. By the time she was seen in the vet's office, her prognosis was not good. She was not responding to therapy and was obviously losing quality of life fast. I made the painful decision, based on my vet's recommendation, to release her from this earthly plane... I am angry at Jingles former owners, and as someone stated to me recently, there is a reason for there to be a three day waiting period before getting a gun. I am angry that her owner's love meant refusing medical attention when she was pooping blood. It took them two months to surrender her so that she would get proper care! Our shelter found some places that would take payment plans, yet no follow through was completed. It was a sheer miracle that Jingles survived so long with that plastic in her gut. The owners refused treatment due to lack of funds. Let me say that there is no such thing as lack of funds when a refrigerator can be stocked with booze and a table full of cartons of cigarettes. There is no excuse for not giving an animal in obvious need the medical attention it deserves. This is selfishness of the highest order, especially when you put your own rights, and life style choices over that of an ailing animal. I am angry that the former owners tried to feign their love by harassing the volunteers in our organization by calling at all hours of the night to find out her condition. Don't expect me to believe for one moment their sincerity and that their newly found desire to worry about her came on the heels of a "successful" surgery. Jingles was alive and all they wanted was to get her back without one single dime paid back to the shelter. The problem with some people is that they think that having an animal around is great fun until they get sick. Then it's all about money and the animal gets dumped, one way or another. Then it's about sob stories and why their own lives are always so much more important than the lives of the one they took in. I am angry that when told that ferrets need to have their toys checked on a regular basis to prevent the likelihood of future blockages, that the former owners got angry because it implied limiting Jingles fun time. I am angry because they fed her Happy Cat because they could not afford anything better to feed her. Again, they chose to eat what they wanted to, but she had to eat crap. If they didn't want to deal with the expense of medical care for their ferret, they should have gotten a goldfish. I am angry that they threaten to "take her out of her misery" on their own. I am angry that when they finally hear that Jingles sad little life has been ended, they will look for someone to blame, and they will want revenge. They will think that the decision was done on purpose, just to "teach them a lesson". What a sad life some people have. And how shameful it is for them not to admit that they were responsible for her problems. I am angry because in all of this, this little girl got lost in their hearts. If they truly loved her, they would have done the right thing right at the beginning. They would have made necessary sacrifices to ensure her safety. They simply chose not to. They will never know the nights we sat up with her, because she went into an insulinomic shock, or the number of times I had to pick up a limp body only to revive her back time and time again. They will never know how many days we worried over her, and how we did our best to keep her alive. They will never know how painful it was to watch her when she was crashing, and how much of a down turn she took last week. They will never know the amount of tears shed over making the final decision to end her life. We knew Jingles only for a short period of time, but her life with us was just a meaningful as any of our long timers. Her death is as painful as any that we've had this year. Her death is poignant as it illustrates the need for any and all involved in the sale of ferrets, whether through shelter, pet store or breeder, to emphasize the need for future ferret owners to save money and to set up a fund for their ferret's future well being. It is the duty and responsibility of all involved to provide a foundation of security, and to pass this on to all who are interested in having ferrets in their lives. And for those of you that have ferrets right now, and feel that if one of your ferrets got sick today, that you would be in the same boat as this couple that surrendered Jingles... hear me, and hear me well. You made the decision to take in these animals and have them in your life. Therefore, it is your responsibility and duty to provide for them fully and unconditionally. There are no excuses acceptable to refuse medical care, or even basic care. If you would not refuse care to your human child, why refuse care to a furry one? When you take on that responsibility, you take it on fully or not at all. Learn from this... it's not too late to make your sacrifices now, while you have the chance to. My anger will pass, but my love for these special creatures will not. As for Jingles... I truly hope she knows that we tried our best for her and that she was dearly loved by our family... unconditionally. My heart goes out to all of you who have sick ferrets, as well as those that have crossed over the Rainbow Bridge... Betty and Her Blur O'Fur... Missing Jingles, Ripley, Mandy, Bear, Taero, Squeegie and all those who have left this earthly plane. For the love of ferrets... [Posted in FML issue 3240]