Cooper J went to Rainbow Bridge today, he was in heart failure and renal failure. He was very weak. He was just playing and running around a few days ago and went down so quickly. He was 8-9 years old and was on Enapril for over a year for heart problems. He had insolinoma and had a double adrenalectomy almost 2 years ago. I accidently stepped on him and sheared his spleen this past February and he had emergency surgery from which he recovered unbelievably well. He was back to normal in no time and remained that way up until about a month or so ago when he started drinking more water. He always drank a lot of water and loved water. My sister came over Labor day and checked his bg and listened to his heart, it sounded really slow. I called the vet first thing Tuesday morning and got an appointment within a couple hours and sure enough his heart had slowed down. His blood panel showed he had very bad kidney values. He was scheduled for an ultrasound on his heart with a cardiologist this coming Wednesday but we did not know whether he would make it or not. We tried supportive care by sub q fluids, etc. and nothing helped. I had to make the decision this morning after looking at him and taking a step back and thinking how I felt. I did not want to let him go but I knew it was time. His body was worn out. He had no quality of life and he was now feeling uncomfortable and in some pain. I made the phone call to my vet and brought him in at noon today. His passing was very peaceful. I held and kissed him as he passed. I will miss my Cooper J as will his cagemate Nickel. He had a wonderful life with me and was very spoiled with chicken gravy, good care and lots of love. There is just something wonderful about Albino ferrets. Next week Wolf is having insolinoma surgery. PLEASE say a prayer and keep him in your thoughts. We are hoping he does NOT have lymphoma. An ultrasound did show the insolinoma nodule and showed a tiny cyst in his kidney. All else appeared normal, including his adrenal size. An aspirate was done on his lymph nodes in neck because they are up a bit and sent out but came back with not enough cells to determine whether or not he has lymphocites. He is scheduled for surgery Wednesday. He will be 5 in December. Sarah, the little panda girl who had diabetes, that just passed a couple weeks ago, was one of his cagemates. I cannot bear to lose another. The decision to do surgery was hard for me and I realize this is not a cure and the nodules will return or new ones show up but it will give him some time to enjoy life normally hopefully for awhile. My sincere condolences to those who have lost fuzzies recently or in the past. We all know too well the heartbreak it brings. Eleanor, Donald and the 9 fuzzies, missing Sarah and Cooper J [Posted in FML issue 4632]