Chiclet had very bad breathing problems last night which 6 mg of Lasix reduced but did not stop. Then soon after her breathing got bad again and then worse and when I was calling to see about a mercy shot she lost consciousness and then had seizures so we decided to let her pass at home, but she regained consciousness for a while, then again lost it and had more seizures. When she next regained consciousness see could not see, had no mobility or sensory from the chest down, was unable to urinate, had no muscle tone below her chest, and then she got worse from there. Joe came here and gave her her final shots -- one lose consciousness yet one more time and then a heart stick. Early yesterday she had improved some and even played a little -- with a light weight ping pong ball that rattles (Yvonne and Anne will remember it as the ball Sherman had at the shelter after his rescue.), with a fleece bell ball sewn to a string and hung so that it was easy to move, and with a little bit of crinkly plastic. In the evening and afterward, though, she began refusing food from us for the first time in this 6 and 1/2 week battle she put up against this disease. She also was making a point of doing extra lovey things to us. I must have had 6 ear snuffles and one ear grooming between the evening and about 2, and she insisted on seeing Steve sleeping. She became upset if I'd let go of her so I held her till her breathing was bit easier and she didn't need to be so vertical, I guess around 4:30 to 5 a.m., then Steve got up and we set her up next to me in bed and she and I rested and dozed on and off with Steve watching over us. By 7:30 we knew that she had no chance and called Joe who came over to our house and confirmed that. Oh, something I forgot to tell Joe so I just called him. Starting yesterday she began bleeding most every time she had a sub-cu; that had never happened before. I know that she began showing some blood in her urine just -- gosh, I guess on Friday, and the aspirate from the site where this had first started was bloody just as seen with others. As much of her body as is needed, even all of her, is going to the testing to try to find the answer for this. There are some kits in PA who have died of this (None who survived.) and Chiclet is the only one we know of in NJ. Because the ferrets showed different nodes up as the first signs, and because I have not heard of any households where anyone else of any species has come down ill my suspicions are that it might be something carried by an insect or by an arachnid relative, but that is just a suspicion, of course. Hopefully, and answer will be found to prevent more deaths, but pathology from multiple pathologists who know ferrets so far has not found the answer, just the ravages the disease has wrought. We're shaken. We always knew this could happen. After all, she has been touch and go so many times during this, and she is the only one to survive for so long with these symptoms. Still, she was maybe the best fighter for survival we've ever had. Joe did such an incredible job giving her a chance; he timing everything right for her to go this long when no other ferrets with the symptoms did. This little girl wanted so much to live. I'm writing one note with variations according to rules for places with special rules. Just not up to writing more than one. [Posted in FML issue 4208]