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Our Ferrets - page 2
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I was in a chat room one evening and someone mentioned that her ferret and her husband did not get along. The girl was always biting the husband, but got along fine with all the other members of the family. There's a story behind this not to be gone into here. Anyway, another person in chat convinced the woman to find that ferret a new home. My sucker light started flashing – MI is not that far away. LOL Not long after, we met the woman and her daughter half-way between us and them and brought Gracie home. I believe the woman and her daughter loved this girl, but she just wasn't a good fit for their home. She hasn't bitten either of us except in play and finally realizes she's in her forever home. I can tell because she gives me kisses on my mouth and finally comes out and plays with the rest the busyness and comes to the door to greet whomever is standing there.
Remember that ferret that belonged to the guy Gregg works with? Not long after Gracie came to make her home with us, Gregg finally brought Zoe home. I put her in a cage because we had to go to the oral surgeon. While Gregg was getting his teeth worked on, I sat in the waiting room and pondered the size of Zoe. I'd never seen a female ferret as big as she. After arriving home and getting Gregg settled, I went to the ferret room and took a closer look at Zoe. Zoe wasn’t a girl after all, "she" was a boy. Awhile later I opened the ferret room door and looked at our new arrival, laying in a hammock in the cage. I asked him, "Do you want your name to be Clark?" No response. I then asked, "Do you want your name to be Rusty?" He lifted his head. I repeated these 2 questions 3 times. Each time there was no response to "Clark" and each time, he lifted his head to "Rusty." Rusty chose his own name. He was our jumper. If the door was left open to the ferret room, he could scale the plexiglass and pull himself up and over. I found him in the garage one day. He'd gotten out while I had 5 of his siblings at the vet for vaccinations.
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One of my brothers called and said he worked with a woman who was going through a tough time and a divorce and needed to find a home for her 2 ferrets. After much phone tag, I took pictures of our ferrets and their room to her home to show her that her boys would have a great new home. She was very particular where her boys ended up.
I had to laugh out loud when the boys came bounding into the room from their cage. They were huge! Eddie's lost a little bit of weight being free roam in their room, but Clark is just as big as he ever was. I brought Eddie and Clark home the weekend before Christmas 2001.
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Darwin
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Sadly, Rusty was called to the Meadow at Rainbow Bridge the fall of 2002. His body had suddenly stopped producing red blood cells or was destroying them as fast as they were being made. After a surgery and 8 blood transfusions, I brought him home. His blood count was so low that there really wasn't anything we could do for him. He wouldn't eat at the vet's, but he chowed down on duck soup when I got him home. A short while later he developed trouble breathing and that was his sign to me that he was ready to go. I took him to the vet and had him assisted on his journey. I love each of my ferrets, past and present, but none has grabbed hold of my heart like Rusty.
We lost Elizabeth October 2003. I don't know the cause. Elizabeth had classic symptoms of insulinoma, but a fasting glucose the day before she passed showed she was not insulinomic. Late the night of her passing, she had a very dark stool. I asked her to hold on and I would get her to the vet on Monday. She passed during that Saturday night. Sunday morning I found her in her hammock, hind end covered in blood. I cleaned her up, wrapped her in a blanket and buried her near Rusty and Sonny in our flower garden that we dedicated to our pets who have passed. I felt I failed this sweet older gal. I still have doubts about the way I handle her situation, but she did give me some solace a few days later.
I was feeling horrible about Elizabeth's passing, feeling, as I stated, that I'd failed her. I was worried she would be angry with me and might not forgive me. She let me know differently several days after her passing.
I was in the ferret room on my hands and knees cleaning the floor. Madelyn, who NEVER bit, came up to me and lick, lick, chomped on my arm. I moved my arm and told her to stop it, that it hurt. She bit me again, only harder! She would not quit biting me. I finally realized what was happening and said, "Okay Elizabeth, I know you're here." Madelyn quit biting me and scurried to the Mustelid Motel and went to bed. I knew Elizabeth was coming through Madelyn because Elizabeth always did the lick, lick, chomp, crocodile roll on my arm. She didn't do it to anyone else, just me. And Madelyn didn’t bite, even when she was playing, The incident gave me peace of heart. I feel it was Elizabeth's way of telling me that she harbors no ill feelings toward me, is healthy again and will wait for me the Bridge.
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Helga had had a rough 12 months from December 2002 to December 2003. She had 3 surgeries: a mast cell tumor removed from her neck and adrenal surgery, surgery for an infection in her neck at the same place as the mct, and surgery to remove a boat load of tumors in her neck, again from that same area. She was diagnosed with insulinoma between the 2nd and 3rd surgery and immediately went on a prednisone and Duck Soup/Chicken Gravy regime.
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Audrey and Freddie
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During her last surgery, it was determined that her neck was full of tumors and our vet was sure she had even more tumors throughout her little body. Nothing in her bloodwork was within the normal ranges, some counts too high, some too low. Dr L said Helga had much more going on with her besides the tumors and insulinoma. We didn't do anything more for Helga, except continue her prednisone/gravy regimen. I brought her home and kept her as comfortable as possible until it was time for her to make her journey to join her siblings at the Meadow at Rainbow. She, again, developed a large tumor in the same area as all her other problems in her neck before her incision was even healed from the last surgery. About a month or so later, she developed a large tumor on the opposite side of her neck and her eye had become affected. I made the decision to have her assisted to the Meadow before her cancer progressed futher and caused problems with her eating/drinking and/or breathing. She came from an unloving home and spent 6-7 wonderful, love filled years with us, and for that we will be forever grateful.
June 2004, we lost Madelyn. I came home from work to find her in a seizure from which she never recovered. I took her to the vet and she was treated for the seizure, but she just never came out of it. I did everything I could for her, but nothing worked. I took her back to the vet after an awful night for her (and me) and asked that she be assisted to the Meadow at the Bridge. She passed as soon as they took her into a room. I have a feeling that she was hanging on so she would not pass at home. I'll remember her most for following any ferret around that was doing something s/he shouldn't and watching her/him with great interest. Proof is on the Great Escapes page. I love those stories.
July 2004, I was at my desk at work when a young lady came to me asking if i needed another ferret. LOL Who NEEDS another ferret??? I said I didn't need one, but tell me about the ferret anyway. She did, and her Aunt and I made contact a short while later. From the time the young lady and I first discussed the ferret needing a home to the time I had Jessie in my arms, less than 3 hours had passed. Jessie is such a cutie.She bounces everywhere she wants to go and bounces so high, I've threatened to send her to try out for the Indiana Pacers basketball team. :-D It's been a long time since we had a young one so active in our home.
Then I felt a bit of a dilemma. At this writing, Jessie is less than a year old. The rest of our busyness ranges in ages 4 to 8. I wanted another ferret closer to Jessie's age. When I took Jessie to the vet for her vaccinations, I mentioned to Kellie - the vet tech- that I was thinking of finding another ferret close to Jessie's age. She said she had one. Apparently, one of the local locations of a national pet store had brought in a sick ferret. The boy had a really bad bout e-coli. He was treated by my vet and was sent back to the store. He was sent back to the vet because he still had chronic diarrhea and the store stated if they could find a home for him, fine. Well, they found a home for him with us!
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