The day we met, she explained to me quite firmly that she was the guardian over her helpless companion of many years. Her friend could not walk, so she would push him to food and water, even if that meant sliding him up ramps. She stood between him and the edges of cage shelves, so he would not fall. She heaved him into hammocks to rest. She gave him her treats. His paralysis lessened , but she remains vigilant on his behalf, even if she has learned that her new humans are not like the previous ones who caused such terrible harm to her friend. Her name was Ayla, and she was filled with compassion; it wasn't her choice to leave Codo alone. On Tuesday, July 5, 2011, Ayla was assisted to the Rainbow Bridge by Ferrets at Heart's closest veterinarian. For two weeks, her health had been gradually declining. Weight loss was the main symptom, though listlessness dehydration, and no appetite followed. Ayla lost 0.4 lbs. of her 1.8 lbs. in those two weeks. Unbeknownst to me, Ayla was adrenal and one of the few that did not experience fur loss as a sign of the condition. She had not been unusually assertive. Without the common symptoms to make a correct diagnosis in time, Ayla experienced adrenal failure without any previous treatment for her gland tumor. The only way we knew for sure what was wrong was the onset of the new symptoms in addition to some knowledgeable friends spotting her extended vulvae. Intravenous fluids and electrolytes would have brought her back for a time, but only to crash again and again. She would have slowly starved to death. Her spleen had grown larger since her last visit; it was a risky size to begin with, but Ayla's age made her an unlikely candidate for surgery. I spent Ayla's last night trying to get her to eat soup, but she would only take a sip once-in-awhile. Ayla was a pig about soup, and would eat until she could barely waddle away from the bowl. She didn't much care about Furo-Tone or Nutri-Cal that night either, though I tried to interest her. I thought we'd lose her before morning, but she was still with us, when some out-of-town ferret friends arrived for a long-anticipated visit. Laurie and Jane Schubert have had ferrets for two decades. I petitioned for their guidance and leaned upon their experience, and they were there for me as Ayla breathed her last. So our "Grumpy Old Lady" that was aged somewhere around seven-years-old is gone. There will no longer be the crunch of plastic drinking bottles being used as chew toys or the need to watch for a certain ferret, who thought tearing the bottom out of bags of dirtied litter was fun. No longer will we have to warn visitors about her "lick, Lick, CHOMP!" No longer will we hear her snort into her bowl of soup and laugh at the ferret that looks like she swallowed a tennis ball after such a meal. Such a one that seldom gave her trust to a human, and then, it must have been earned with days of toil and patience, has her wings. And then, there is Codo to think of. He has lived in his own cage for a few months now, because it has become more and more difficult for him to control his toilet in time to get in "position" and not "deposit" in a hammock or on a shelf. Ayla spent most nights with him, at her own request, but fewer and fewer recently. Ayla was generally a loner, but not to her Codo. How Codo, and her other playmates - Rhys, Mandie, and Winter - will handle her passing remains to be seen. Frost, you and Ayla didn't see eye-to-eye in life, but you are the only one of our angels across the Rainbow Bridge that Ayla would know. If you wouldn't mind, please tame down your exuberant nature long enough to greet our plodding old lady. I'm sure you've found our others up there - Arthur, Lance, Merlin, Nikita, Pirate, Sandy, Smokey, and Loki - and perhaps she'll find a friend in them. Tell Ayla that Winter and Rhys will get melatonin implants next week, thanks to Support Our Shelters, which donated them, since Ferrets at Heart is having such a difficult time raising funds for Winter's surgery and more deslorelin implants. Codo will have a melatonin implant waiting for when his deslorelin fails. Her friends that are still here will be okay. Sincerely, Lori of Ferrets at Heart Huron, Ohio (419)433-6016 [log in to unmask] http://ferretsatheart.com/ .and Rhys, Codo, Mandie, Winter, Holly, Charlie, & Templeton [Posted in FML 7116]