Hello everyone!!! This is our first posting to the FML, although we have been reading it for about 2 weeks now and we've really been enjoying it very much!! We recently lost our dear little Toby ( sable hob) to lymphosarcoma on Feb. 19. He was 18 months old. It came as quite a shock to us. It started out with some coughing, kind of sounded like he was trying to cough out a furball. We figured that it was just a cold so after about 2 or 3 days we took him to the vet for an exam. She originally diagnosed it as a respitory infection, but told us after finding a swollen lymph node under his arm that it was a possibility that it could be lympho. Well this was news to us considering that we had never heard of this before! For that matter there were a lot of diseases we were unaware of, other than distemper or rabies. Anyway she gave us an antibiotic to try to fight the infection and after 7 days she wanted us to bring him back in. In the meantime his cough wasn't getting much better, his breathing was worse and he tired easily. His lymph node was swelling more and the one under his other arm had started also. We were fearing the worse but kept praying that some kind of miracle would happen. We took him back to the vet and as soon as she started to examine him I could tell the look on her face wasn't good. Apparently it had advanced very rapidly. She told us that the prognosis was poor and even with treatment there was no gaurantee that he would survive. So now we were faced with the decision to prolong his suffering or to end it peacefully. We decided to let him go in peace although it was the most difficult and traumatic choice we ever had to make. I don't remember ever going through a more traumatic experience in my life. First it was disbelief, then sadness and despair, anger and finally numbness and emptiness. Well you all know what I mean. We know that Toby can never be replaced but the joy and happiness he brought into our lives is the most difficult to overcome in his absence. We decided shortly after that we try to contact local breeders in our area. Fortunately with the help of the internet we found out about the AFA Expo 97 just 90 minutes away from home. We met some wonderful people and have decided to buy a pair of kits from Marty and Perry Gosnell of Teacher's Pet Ferretry. We are hoping to pick them up in about 2 weeks. We are so anxious we can't stand it!!!!!!! I apologize for the length of this posting but it was very theraputic for me!! Before I go I would first like to thank Marty and Perry for your help and kindness(see you soon!!!!) and to Steve, Cindy, and Jimmy of Dream Catcher Ferrets for intoducing us to the FML. Thanks for listening everyone!!!! Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers go out to all of you who have recently gone through this same experience. We'll keep you updated on our new fuzzbutts when they arrive!!!! Sincerely, Tracy " Maybe we can get three!! " Tom " Let's not get crazy " Nikita (spoiled cat) " OH NO!!!! NOT AGAIN!!" [Posted in FML issue 1873]