Post by lisha on Jan 5, 2012 21:25:06 GMT -5
Hey everyone. Sherry recommended this forum to me from another site after I was seeking help with my current situation. But I'll introduce us first and then get to what brings me here.
I'm a 27 year old Aussie, grew up in Melbourne but moved with my boys to NSW last year after we adopted a sexy, shining example of a man that took us all in. Currently work part time selling people loosing lottery tickets, but working on getting back to school to become a Vet Nurse.
Now my boys.
Dookie, my beautiful little polar bear. I got him while I was unemployed and we bonded hard and fast. Unfortunately, he was a complete turd to everyone else. He's a bit jerkyll and hyde - one minute he's a badass little hurricane of teeth and attitude, the next I'm spending $500 at the Vets for all these tests to tell me that he's a mamma's boy and depressed because I've gone back to work. While he can be a bit bossy and moody, he's incredibly protective and sensitive to things around him. Nothing much gets past him, but I'm glad that in his older years, he's using his genius for good and not evil.
Then Chino happend. When I first got Chino, he was dumb, clumsy and the perfect little partner in crime for Dookie. He was all too happy to let Dookie be the alpha and after a quick scruff and drag, Dookie gave him the grand tour from the water bottle to the different levels of the cage, before they were both sound asleep in Dookie's hammock. They've been joined at the hip for the past 8 years. He, too, was a hurricane of destruction and it took me a while and many different tactics for him to bond with me. But now, while still not the sharpest knife in the drawer, he's an incredibly sweet and gentle old man who loves to be picked up and carried about and the first to jump into bed with us and warm my feet.
I never planned on getting a third. I was always going to stop at two. But sometimes I noticed that during Dookie's mood swings, he would become depressed with Chino's constant need to play and chew on him. Chino didn't understand that when Dookie was tired, everything stopped. That's when I started taking notice of a lone little boy in the local pet stop. He was stuck in a small rats cage with an old tissue box to sleep in and barely enough room for his litter corner and food and water. He was very skittish and had poop stuck to his fur. He was incredibly cute but I was worried if 3 was more than I could handle.
A few days later, I went back to the petstore and he was still there. The girl working there told me that they had sold him over the weekend, but that the mother had returned him after he apparently went completely psycho and drew blood on whoever went near him.
I took him home. 8 years later, I'm still waiting for him to bite. I've never once seen a hint of aggression from him towards humans or other ferrets - unless you call gently pressing down his teeth for a second a sign of aggression. I laugh about it now. Jaxi is such a sweet, sweet boy. He's always been a bit of a loner, happy to scout the perimeters and sniff everything five times over while the other two were off with their games and heavy wrestling. But he's a complete mother - giving the other two space but there once Dookie had gone to sleep and Chino still had some energy to burn. He's the ear cleaner, the fur groomer, the fat boy who sleeps on top in the winter to keep the other two warm, happy to sleep on his own when summer hits. He's the most generous and understanding little soul that I've ever known - content to accomodate whatever's happening around him.
He's also adopted my boyfriend and Jaxi is known as "Daddy's boy". He'll lick and groom my boyfriends goatee for ages to the point where my boyfriend has to stop whatever he was doing until Jax is satisfied. I'm lucky to get a few kisses - but I don't mind, I like that he gets to be shared around and he's touched another's heart as much as my own.
Now to my reason for joining. Over the past year, we've noticed that all 3 boys have started to slow down a lot. There's less play and more sleeping. We noticed it with Jax the most. He was constantly taking breaks while moving about and we'd often find him curled up to sleep in the middle of the floor. My boyfriend made a comment to me that we'd be lucky to see much of 2012 with him, but his vet check turned up all clear and it was put down to old age.
After Christmas, we noticed that he was getting bigger around the belly and starting to get that bowling pin appearance. He's always been a big, chubby boy but worried about Cardiomyopathy, I booked him in to the vets. At the same time, Dookie took a turn for the worst. He became very lethargic and wobbly on his hind legs and I noticed he'd lost a bit of weight around his belly. Jax's appointment was for the next morning, so I rang them to let them know we were bringing in Dookie as well and they gave us an earlier appointment.
Jax was kept for x-rays and to drain some of the fluid that had built up in his abdomen. We were worried about Insulinoma with Dookie but the Vet felt a mass on his spleen and both were kept for blood panels, ultrasounds and x-rays.
The whole time, I was more worried about Dookie, due to the mass on his spleen. I got my hopes up about Jax, convincing myself that they would be able to control his heart with medication.
Turns out Jax was the worst out of the two. He has cancer everywhere. In his lungs, his spine, his liver, all giving his heart less room to function properly. They continued to drain fluid - but we were told that he had a matter of weeks.
Dookie isn't much better. He has insulinoma and we've started him on Pred, but the mass on his spleen is too far gone and he's just too old to be able to operate.
Both are on pain medication plus whatever else we can give them to help slow the progress - but we've brought them home to make them comfortable and give them as much supportive care as we can.
Both are still eating and drinking fine and they get soup twice a day with their meds. It hasn't come to force feeding yet. They did perk up after returning home, but mostly they go from one sleepy spot to the next.
I've come to terms with the fact that we don't have much longer with Dookie and Jax - but now Chino is showing early signs of Adrenal and given he's the same age as Jax, we're opting not to operate.
I'm just at a loss. Everyone keeps telling me that I'm so lucky to have gotten so long with them - but it still makes me angry. It's not enough and I want more.
I've never lost a Ferret before - now I face the prospect of loosing two at the same time and then caring for Chino. I'm terrified of how he will react and whether trying to control the Adrenal will be the least of our worries once Dookie leaves him.
I feel extremely helpess - I don't know if there's more I could be doing - other then the medication and lots of hugs and kisses and letting them stay where they are comfortable. I stare at them and tears well up, knowing their little bodies are riddled with cancer and it's quickly taking whatever is left of them.
I hate the fact that all I can hope for is that I find them gone while asleep in one of their favorite spots. That I don't have to look at them and tell myself that I'll be stroking and kissing them while they lay on a cold table with a stranger and a needle.
Sorry for the extremely long post - I just wanted to get some positive stuff out there before explaining the bad. Wish I knew about this forum under better circumstances, but glad that Sherry recommended a safe and understanding community.
Thanks all.
I'm a 27 year old Aussie, grew up in Melbourne but moved with my boys to NSW last year after we adopted a sexy, shining example of a man that took us all in. Currently work part time selling people loosing lottery tickets, but working on getting back to school to become a Vet Nurse.
Now my boys.
Dookie, my beautiful little polar bear. I got him while I was unemployed and we bonded hard and fast. Unfortunately, he was a complete turd to everyone else. He's a bit jerkyll and hyde - one minute he's a badass little hurricane of teeth and attitude, the next I'm spending $500 at the Vets for all these tests to tell me that he's a mamma's boy and depressed because I've gone back to work. While he can be a bit bossy and moody, he's incredibly protective and sensitive to things around him. Nothing much gets past him, but I'm glad that in his older years, he's using his genius for good and not evil.
Then Chino happend. When I first got Chino, he was dumb, clumsy and the perfect little partner in crime for Dookie. He was all too happy to let Dookie be the alpha and after a quick scruff and drag, Dookie gave him the grand tour from the water bottle to the different levels of the cage, before they were both sound asleep in Dookie's hammock. They've been joined at the hip for the past 8 years. He, too, was a hurricane of destruction and it took me a while and many different tactics for him to bond with me. But now, while still not the sharpest knife in the drawer, he's an incredibly sweet and gentle old man who loves to be picked up and carried about and the first to jump into bed with us and warm my feet.
I never planned on getting a third. I was always going to stop at two. But sometimes I noticed that during Dookie's mood swings, he would become depressed with Chino's constant need to play and chew on him. Chino didn't understand that when Dookie was tired, everything stopped. That's when I started taking notice of a lone little boy in the local pet stop. He was stuck in a small rats cage with an old tissue box to sleep in and barely enough room for his litter corner and food and water. He was very skittish and had poop stuck to his fur. He was incredibly cute but I was worried if 3 was more than I could handle.
A few days later, I went back to the petstore and he was still there. The girl working there told me that they had sold him over the weekend, but that the mother had returned him after he apparently went completely psycho and drew blood on whoever went near him.
I took him home. 8 years later, I'm still waiting for him to bite. I've never once seen a hint of aggression from him towards humans or other ferrets - unless you call gently pressing down his teeth for a second a sign of aggression. I laugh about it now. Jaxi is such a sweet, sweet boy. He's always been a bit of a loner, happy to scout the perimeters and sniff everything five times over while the other two were off with their games and heavy wrestling. But he's a complete mother - giving the other two space but there once Dookie had gone to sleep and Chino still had some energy to burn. He's the ear cleaner, the fur groomer, the fat boy who sleeps on top in the winter to keep the other two warm, happy to sleep on his own when summer hits. He's the most generous and understanding little soul that I've ever known - content to accomodate whatever's happening around him.
He's also adopted my boyfriend and Jaxi is known as "Daddy's boy". He'll lick and groom my boyfriends goatee for ages to the point where my boyfriend has to stop whatever he was doing until Jax is satisfied. I'm lucky to get a few kisses - but I don't mind, I like that he gets to be shared around and he's touched another's heart as much as my own.
Now to my reason for joining. Over the past year, we've noticed that all 3 boys have started to slow down a lot. There's less play and more sleeping. We noticed it with Jax the most. He was constantly taking breaks while moving about and we'd often find him curled up to sleep in the middle of the floor. My boyfriend made a comment to me that we'd be lucky to see much of 2012 with him, but his vet check turned up all clear and it was put down to old age.
After Christmas, we noticed that he was getting bigger around the belly and starting to get that bowling pin appearance. He's always been a big, chubby boy but worried about Cardiomyopathy, I booked him in to the vets. At the same time, Dookie took a turn for the worst. He became very lethargic and wobbly on his hind legs and I noticed he'd lost a bit of weight around his belly. Jax's appointment was for the next morning, so I rang them to let them know we were bringing in Dookie as well and they gave us an earlier appointment.
Jax was kept for x-rays and to drain some of the fluid that had built up in his abdomen. We were worried about Insulinoma with Dookie but the Vet felt a mass on his spleen and both were kept for blood panels, ultrasounds and x-rays.
The whole time, I was more worried about Dookie, due to the mass on his spleen. I got my hopes up about Jax, convincing myself that they would be able to control his heart with medication.
Turns out Jax was the worst out of the two. He has cancer everywhere. In his lungs, his spine, his liver, all giving his heart less room to function properly. They continued to drain fluid - but we were told that he had a matter of weeks.
Dookie isn't much better. He has insulinoma and we've started him on Pred, but the mass on his spleen is too far gone and he's just too old to be able to operate.
Both are on pain medication plus whatever else we can give them to help slow the progress - but we've brought them home to make them comfortable and give them as much supportive care as we can.
Both are still eating and drinking fine and they get soup twice a day with their meds. It hasn't come to force feeding yet. They did perk up after returning home, but mostly they go from one sleepy spot to the next.
I've come to terms with the fact that we don't have much longer with Dookie and Jax - but now Chino is showing early signs of Adrenal and given he's the same age as Jax, we're opting not to operate.
I'm just at a loss. Everyone keeps telling me that I'm so lucky to have gotten so long with them - but it still makes me angry. It's not enough and I want more.
I've never lost a Ferret before - now I face the prospect of loosing two at the same time and then caring for Chino. I'm terrified of how he will react and whether trying to control the Adrenal will be the least of our worries once Dookie leaves him.
I feel extremely helpess - I don't know if there's more I could be doing - other then the medication and lots of hugs and kisses and letting them stay where they are comfortable. I stare at them and tears well up, knowing their little bodies are riddled with cancer and it's quickly taking whatever is left of them.
I hate the fact that all I can hope for is that I find them gone while asleep in one of their favorite spots. That I don't have to look at them and tell myself that I'll be stroking and kissing them while they lay on a cold table with a stranger and a needle.
Sorry for the extremely long post - I just wanted to get some positive stuff out there before explaining the bad. Wish I knew about this forum under better circumstances, but glad that Sherry recommended a safe and understanding community.
Thanks all.
You have 3 adorable boys! 