Post by keawearascal on May 1, 2010 4:53:08 GMT -5
My baby Oreo wasn't a ferret, she was a self-appointed ferret mama. We got her a year before the ferrets and she took over the role of mothering instantly. It's pretty amusing when 55 lbs of border collie wrestles with two pounds of ferret-and the ferret wins. She was so convinced they were her flesh and blood she made milk for them and tried to nurse them. When Rascal had his adrenal surgery she slept in front of his cage for a good half month right along with me. Rascal was her special baby, although she loved Keawea too, but more on that later. I noticed she had developed a red eye and called one of the afterhours vets since it was night time, who told me not to worry, just allergies. I called her regular vet the next day and he confirmed it. A couple weeks later she started limping. I of course freaked out completely and insisted she go to the vet right than. My mom wasn't convinced and said we'd take her in tomorrow (it was late) I stayed up with her that night and she got increasingly more uncomfortable and unwilling to lie down or get up. By morning I was hysterical and when I FINALLY got my mom up (d**n sleeping pills) we rushed her in. They did X-rays and bloodwork and diagnosed a sprain and sent her home with a shot to keep her quiet. 24 hours later, after spending that entire time spooning her water and peanut butter since she was near-comatose and could only move her tongue, (it was snowing and no vets were open) an emergency vet opened and we rushed her back were they re-diagnosed her with a slipped disc and set us an appointment with a surgeon. They said she must have just been sensitive to the medication, no worries. She came home acting near normal after a shot of prednisone for what they thought was disc swelling. Before her appointment she showed a few signs that gave me a suspicion of how serious it was. She attacked, twice. First time I yelled across the yard to my mom to grab her harness when she hit pavement so she wouldn't slip. She didn't recognize my voice and charged, but stopped when she saw me. Second time my friend whom she loves, reached down to pet her, and she went totally Cujo, jaws snapping everywhere. The surgeon took one look at her and scheduled her an appointment at the nearest animal MRI unit several hours away. She was diagnosed with a massive aggressive tumor in the middle of her brain. We were advised to euthanize her on the spot. We ah...rather unkindly explained that we would not be doing that and took our baby home. She was on prednisone and not in pain. We went for many, many walks at first, as she also had diabetes insipidis as a complication. Her last walk, she hadn't been up all day and jumped up when the UPS truck came. I got her leash on her in record time, and we must have been quite a sight tearing after the truck together, her in a flourescent pink support harness, and me in nothing but a bathrobe in the pouring rain. She had to be carried back, but she had fun one more time anyways. I snapped a picture of her wrapped in a towel trying reach her lunch afterwards and it's still the background to my phone, and always will be. She was never able to get up again, even with support. We cared for her for about a week and a half feeding her and seting up a system of comforters, towels, and plastic to keep her dry and comfy. The last few days she was unable to even pee on her own and we had to very quickly learn how to express her. I just couldn't quit holding out hope of the holistic treatments kicking in. She was on an alkaline zero-carb zero-sugar, organic/free range anti cancer diet, the Budwig protocall, oral hydrogen peroxide treatments, a range of herbs, and was due to start a cesium chloride/DMSO protocall the day she died. I still wish I had done it while I had the chance, but I was too afraid of killing her with it (stupid, I know) She finally died at home and we called a pet cremation service to pick her up. We were able to pick her up about a week later, along with a paw print they made us. I miss her so much I can't stand it and I'm even more neurotic about the cats and ferrets, if that's possible. Speaking of the ferrets, theres a very interesting story I'll have to post concerning an animal commnicator we contacted shortly after Oreo's death out of sheer desperation. To say the least, she blew us away and made firm believers out of us, and I'm about the most scientifically minded person you'll ever meet
