Today, I had a decision to make, a decision we all dread. I just lost my oldest boy Snuffy. He had heart disease, lung disease, adrenal disease, insolinoma, ibd and a huge mass in his gut by his heart that was pushing on his heart and lungs, causing him to be very uncomfortable and he was getting worse even with Lasix. He got to the point where he was still eating but grinding before, during and after eating as well as grinding almost all the time now, his cough had gotten worse and he seemed to never be comfortable anymore. I could have tried a triple dose of IM lasix and then try Enacard but my vet felt it was useless. I have watched him over the weekend since his lasix was doubled and there has not been any improvement, if anything he got worse. We made the decision to let him go and she brought him out back to put the catheter in his front leg. She brought him back into the room and my heart was aching with indecision. His eyes were still alert but you could see he was happy and has not had a quality of life for some time. I wanted to say lets not do it but we talked some more and she said there was a chance he could drown in his own fluids also. She showed me his gums and eyelids which were on the purple side as he was not getting enough oxygen. I did not want to let him go but I did and now I cannot turn back. He is gone and my heart aches for him. He was a little over 7 years old and I had him as a baby, bought him from a want ad about 7 years ago for $50 when he was a few months old. He was so healthy, never sick, looked so young, acted young until he reached the age of 6 and everything went wrong! He started losing hair and was scheduled for surgery. The day of his surgery, my vet did a chest xray and she found that he had heart as well as lung issues and did not want to chance losing him under anestesia. We ended up doing a melatonin implant and monthly lupron shots. He ended up on pred for insolinoma. He had IBD and was on a special mix of K/D and A/D for his kidneys as they were starting to age too. He ended up with a mass that just kept growing and growing and was now interfereing with his breathing. It was pushing on his heart and lungs. He was on lasix to remove fluid. Snuffy was such a good natured ferret and got along with everyone. My heart goes out to everyone in that horrible situation to make that final decision between life and death. It has to be one of the hardest things in life. My sincerest condolences to all who have lost a ferret, my heart is with you and yours. Eleanor, Donald and the 12 ferrets missing Snuffy [Posted in FML 5873]