From:
bama1803@yahoo.com
Date: 2001-02-28 21:23:00 UTC
Subject: Dr. Bruce Williams........
Dr. Williams,
I posted earlier this week with a question addressed to you regarding
the death of my ferret, Cocoa. I never saw a response from you,
although it is quite possible that I missed it if you did respond. I
apologize for re-posting, but I really would like to hear what you
think may have been responsible for Cocoa's death. As I said in my
other post, I have spoken with you by phone and email about 1 1/2
years ago regarding Squirt, my ferret that had adrenal disease. But,
back to Cocoa......Due to an unsupervised child leaving my downstairs
door open without my knowledge, Cocoa escaped. She apparently tried
to get back in via the clothes dryer vent from the outside. Once she
was in, she was trapped in the hose in a virtual wind tunnel while a
single load of clothes was dried. Once we found her, she began
vomiting and had diarrhea, both of which were pinkish. (I'm assuming
blood?) She was alert, but obviously sick, and we headed to the
emergency animal clinic after speaking with a vet by phone who
recommended that we do so. Upon arrival, her rectal temp was 101,
which we were told was normal for a ferret, and she had no obviously
burn injuries that could be seen such as singed whiskers or fur. The
vet said her lungs sounded clear but that she could develop pneumonia
from having inhaled lint. He also said she seemed a little
dehydrated, and he recommended keeping her, starting an IV for
fluids, dexamethasone and a broad-spectrum antibiotic. We said we
wanted to stay until after she had her IV started, but were called
back shortly and told that she had arrested and was unable to be
resuscitated. The vet said that he did not use a mask to settle her
down due to the fact that she didn't try to fight him. He had to
stick her twice to get a vein, and she arrested after he got it
started. What happened? Did the stress of it all hit her then, or
was she worse than she appeared? She was alert when he took her back
to the treatment room. I know ferrets are very fragile, but this
seemed so sudden. Can you shed any light on the situation? Again,
sorry for the second post, but I really want a better explanation
that what we were given, which was simply "stress". Thanks in
advance.
Rhea Fulmer