From:
R Downs
Date: 2001-04-27 01:52:00 UTC
Subject: Teenager needs answers
I received this email from a friend's daughter, who is
about 14. Last year I recommended she be seen by a
ferret vet, but they were unwilling/unable to make the
trip and financial commitment. I hope someone here can
suggest something more than I know. I know the vet she
saw previously and this vet admits her knowledge of
ferrets is very limited. I have omitted names, so
please respond to me if you have any input. Also, if
there are any teenage ferret owners out there who can
address the issue of how you raise money for your
pets' needs, I will forward the information to this
owner. Thank you.
Renee :)
Hey Renee. This is xxx, xxx's daughter. I was sorry to
hear about your ferret. Noel, my ferret (She has a
problem w/ her adrenal gland) is getting really bad.
She doesn't play anymore. She's gotten to where she
sometimes bites me or my other ferret, Nikki. She has
trouble walking around. Over the last couple of weeks,
its like she's gotten 10 times worse. She's gotten
heavier, more tired, more aggressive; she's just not
being herself. She's lost a lot of fur over the last
couple of weeks. I took her to the vet last fall (I
think) and they didn't tell me anything that I didn't
already know. She had started losing some muscle,
gaining weight and losing her fur at that point. That
was a while ago. Her stomach's started to get harder,
which I was told is a bad sign. It drags the ground
when she walks now. She's gotten to the point where
it's hard for her to even clean herself. Now, my
question is do you think that it's too late for
surgery? Should I even bother trying to come up with
$300 to get her the surgery? Even if it was her left
adrenal gland, which I think is the easiest to remove,
would it be too large by this point to remove? You
told me that the vet in Cary would most likely be
willing to set up a payment plan with me. Would the
payments be small enough that that I (I don't have a
job-I make money by babysitting and bathing and
watching after my neighbor's dogs when he's out of
town) would be able to pay them ($15-25)? Noel's just
got me so worried. She seems to have gotten so much
worse over the last couple of weeks. I'll let her and
Nikki out to play and where she used to jump all
around and make funny little sounds, she just walks
around slowly. She doesn't pay Nikki-or me-any
attention anymore. She just sleeps. I can barely look
at her anymore without getting upset because I know
that can't help her right now. Please give me a call
or e-mail me back. And please remember to keep Noel
in your thoughts and prayers. You've been such a great
help to me with my ferret problems.
KB
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices
http://auctions.yahoo.com/