Saturday, 26th January 2008

I have just been looking back at some of the postings on the blog and realize that I may have to be more circumspect in what I say and what I describe. So here goes with today’s report without any racy comments.

 

When we arrived at the shelter at 12:05pm, I  wandered in to see how many groups we still have as I had expected that perhaps Sophie and Hercules may have abandoned us without saying goodbye. They were still in their cage. But I hear they may not be for long, a done deal is what they call it. They have a home!!  Anyway I was leading up to my surprise, which was to see a new white body in the cage that Gloria and Laura just vacated.  And what do I see, a tag with a date and D.E.W.  I called Bonnie over and asked her if she had snuck our Dew back to the shelter.  If you remember from a couple of years ago we got in a young DEW, a real cutie, and Deb fell in love with him.  Someone, I am not sure who saw his tag and thought his name was Dew. Anyway for lack of more imagination, he stayed Dew and is, to this day one of our brood.

 

I have corrected the tag, by looking back over the last few day’s reports and found he is called Jeffie.  Well, I was told Jeffie had been found in a dumpster, no comments, it could get dirty!.  Jeffie is a wonderful affectionate big boy (1750 grs.), no longer young but with oodles of love for anyone picking him up and giving him the least amount of attention.  He can be playful too, especially if you scritch him on the shoulders or the base of the tail.  He may be as old as 5. But he is cute;

Couldn’t you just hug this one???    He is so solid, Bonnie said fat, unkind,  that he couldn’t fit in the tubes so that was out for him.  He tried but after wearing a tube a couple of times he gave up.

Bonnie had him for the first half of his time out. I, on the other side, had the two boys, Tommy and Bailey. A word her about Bailey. He has lost about 100 grs. In the past 4-5 weeks.  Keep and eye out for him. He is very active and playful but we must watch him.  Tommy needed his hugs and squeezes before he could wander about by himself.  Have you ever noticed the look on either one’s face when you pick up and cuddle the other. Can ferrets be jealous?.  Bailey had some time in the leaf box and had a ball.  I dropped Tommy in and you would have thought he had been dropped in a puddle of dirty dish water, he moved pretty quick to get out. He obviously is not interested.  Both, in their own ways were active and playful, each got their soft moist Ultimate treats. The boys both tend to settle down somewhere and snooze if left alone too long, they just need the stimulus and company.

 

Next I had Gizmo out and this attractive young man just wanted 100% of my time, he played well and loves playing with one’s hand.  Please everyone pay attention to Gizmo and watch out for his breathing, we were hearing some rattling as he breathed. Bonnie even heard it while he was asleep before his run time.  Gizmo has gained 40 grams since last week.

 

At the same time Bonnie took out Hercules and Sophie, we weren’t sure if they were going today  or tomorrow. It will be a bit strange not to see them next time we do a shift. BUT it will be good to know they will happily be at home at last with their new little friend Dakota.  Sophie must have had some inkling of this, because Bonnie said she seemed so happy today and more active. She is still very kissable. In Bonnie’s words Sophie “had a ball” today.  She even let Bonnie know the old Sophie lurks just under the veneer of the civilized Sophie. She snuck her head up Bonnie’s pant leg and licked her leg with her teeth. NOT a nip but a tease. Hercules same old self, wanders around satisfying his curiosity, greeting the humans, checking out his next nap spot and finally settling down after an hour in same spot. Then we switched and out he came again, long enough to say his hellos, another wander around, a bit of play then crawled into a carrier to groom himself.

Sophie has put on 30 grams, and Hercules has lost 30 grams.  Together they are stable, same weight together. Looks like Hercules gave up some grams to Sophie so she would look good for her new human. Generous chap.

 

Then we went home, and on the way had breakfast. Now you are probably wondering what the hell is he talking about, what is the relevance, etc. etc.

You figure

 

Nigel (&Bonnie)

Hardy

On December 11, 2004, we were called out to pick up many ferrets from a back yard breeder in Paris, ON. When we arrived, we all thought we had arrived in hell. 29 ferrets were taken alive, some near death and 12 were dead, half eaten by their cage mates or simply skulls. Of those 29, we lost Leezle first. She was just too weak for her spay surgery. We were left with 28. Hardy was one of those 28. A big boy who defiantly fought to survive. We knew it from the minute we laid eyes on him, Hardy would have done anything to live. He was the healthiest ferret we removed that day and also the most aggressive. I think he fought so hard to live because he knew there was something better out there for him. I think he was holding onto life so hard hoping to find happiness.

Shortly after coming to the shelter, many of the volunteers feared him. I remember hearing a scream coming from the ferret room one day and rushing to see what was going on. I giggled as I saw Olympia half jogging with Hardy attached to the back of her leg. He was a handful. Off to a foster home he went in hopes he would learn to behave.

Within a few weeks, Hardy was as gentle and loving as the other Paris kids. I fell in love with him and paired him with Elvis, my true favorite of the bunch. All the other Paris kids got homes except Hardy and Elvis. Truth be told, I was holding out to find what had to be the perfect home for them. They were my boys and no one but the best was going to be allowed to take them from me.

Along came Tanya and her family. I never hesitated once. I knew they would be the perfect family for my boys and they were. I have never seen more spoiled ferrets in my life (though Britt and Stephen come VERY close!!).

Fast forward a year. Hardy gets sick. Has insulinoma. Tanya struggles with the idea of surgery for him. After a lot of thought and much encouragement from all of us, she decides to go forth with the surgery, knowing it will help him and doing what we all thought was the right thing to do. We all thought it was right.

Hardy went through the surgery and a large tumor was removed from his pancreas. The surgeon had a hard time stabilizing his heart rate and his right adrenal was too close to the vena cava that the surgeon decided to leave it. Hardy's heart just wasn't stabilizing and they didn't want to have him under anesthetic for longer than needed.

At about 9 o'clock last night, the vet rang Tanya. Hardy was still unstable hand had to be transferred to the emergency clinic over night. They had the equipment to monitor him and stabilize him.

Hardy died at about 2 o'clock this morning. This is my ode to the Hard One. The one that put the volunteers through so much, the one we all fell in love with the one we must now say good bye to. Hardy doesn't have to fight anymore, he learned what love was and I believe his fight to survive so early in life paid off well in the end. He had a forever home, one that loved him and is now desperately missing him.

Good bye little Hardy. I love you and please watch over your mom, grandparents and kitties. Run to my mom Hardy. She'll goo you for us all.


Miss Randy Melanie Belair
President
The Ferret Aid Society
www.ferretaid.org

Ferret Run Report - January 7, 2008

Tommy and Bailey – Tommy required extensive fussing before he got to business with Bailey. The two them played in the overturned toy bin. Tommy managed to get his fat body airborne in an impressive war dance after freeing himself from the bin. After that he and Bailey got into the empty litter bin just before I refilled it. Tommy made it out before I started to refill the bin. Bailey didn’t. I buried him. He exploded out of the litter and war danced around the inside of the bin until finally jumping out and onto Tommy. The carried on for a while longer before tone and bed.

 

Gloria and Lauria – I’m never sure what I’m going to get out of these two. Both of them have a habit of cautiously approaching me, sniffing, licking, then chomping down before finally taking off. Gloria wanted to play so I played with her. Unlike previous evenings I really had to rile her up before she gave me a decent bite. Laura also allowed me to play with her. She also didn’t bite me too hard but did, I think, hiss at me so let her be for a while. I gave her some tone and we were cool. Laura had her ears cleaned as she was scratching at them.

 

Herc and Sofie - Sofie was in fine form. She managed to climb every cage and annoy every other ferret in the room. When I reached to get her off Gloria and Laura’s cage she really latched onto to my arm. I had to scruff her to get her off. I’m beginning to wonder if Sofie is acting out due to boredom or frustration or both. Herc was his pleasant and playful self. I really enjoy it when he hassles Sofie. He gooses her from behind and dooks while he’s doing it. They played well together in and around the toy bin and tunnel.

 

Juniper – This ferret has a seriously soft coat. She’s also the only female ferret that doesn’t attempt to shred my arms when I play with her. I played with her for a good 10 minutes in the cloth bin. She never bit hard and really seemed to enjoy being tickled.  She also enjoys it when you run your finger across the tube – she’ll chase it to the end of the tunnel and back. I let Juniper on the counter while I washed her water bottle and bowl. She literally sniffed every centimeter of counter top she could reach.

 

Gizmo – the greatest ferret at the shelter. Gizmo was out last so got the benefit of playing in both rooms. We played with the rugs. And by play I mean I would cover him with rugs while he tunneled through all the folds.  Amanda had cleaned up the other room so I took the opportunity to chase Gizmo around the room for a while. Gizmo got his meds.  Mama Randy says his chest sounds much better.

 

That’s all for the (every other) Monday Crew.

 

R&A.