From:
edfoss941@comcast.net
Date: 2005-05-23 23:10:35 UTC
Subject: Oscar update : Goodbye sweet Oscie
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <3022623.1116891379110.JavaMail.nobody@strontium.smartgroups.com>
This is very hard for me, but everyone here has been so wonderful that I f=
eel I should post one last time for Oscar.I am sorry to say that Oscar pass=
ed away last night. It has been a rough week on all of us, including some n=
ew friends that I met through the Ferret Health List who have been wonderfu=
l, but it was hardest on Oscar. He fought so hard. Yesterday I took him to=
the vet to have fluids injected under his skin because he was dehydrated. =
Then I took him to my friend Tiffany=92s house. I met her through FHL. She =
was going to watch him so that I could get some rest and go to work. We gav=
e him his carafate, which he kept down, and we gave him some turkey baby fo=
od, which he kept down as well. This was the first time that he had kept an=
y food at all down in a week or more. I was so hopeful, but his breathing j=
ust didn't look right. We left him with Tiffany and came home. Later on Tif=
f called to say that she wanted to take him to the emergency vet because hi=
s breathing was incredibly fast and he was struggling. I told her to go ahe=
ad and she said that she would call me when they had done the x-rays. The x=
-rays showed fluid filling his lungs and even some in his chest cavity. Mom=
and I drove up to the vet. I walked in and saw Oscar in a little oxygen bo=
oth. I Opened the door and when he realized I was there he perked up and tr=
ied to come to me. They said that it was the first time that he had perked =
up since his breathing started. When I looked at him I saw, for the fist ti=
me, that he was really suffering. His breathing was so rapid and shallow an=
d he was struggling, but he still wanted to come to me. He just had so many=
problems at the same time that they all overwhelmed him. We were all ver=
y upset. Tiffany and Larry have been through many illnesses with their fer=
rets as well, and they were right there with us. I held Oscars head in my =
hands and kissed him goodbye. I told him I loved him over and over. They ga=
ve him the shot and then he was gone. He fought to the last breath. He real=
ly had a strong will to live.. so much so that in the end I had to make the=
call. I really believe he would have struggled on like that forever just t=
o live. I couldn't let him suffer. I love him so much. The Emergency vet ma=
de a plaster cast print of his front right and left paws with his name in i=
t. Right now it hurts to look at it, but I know that one day I will be glad=
I have it. Some people might say that it was just a ferret, and some peopl=
e might say that they don't think that it was worth it, spending all that m=
oney and time on such a small little animal.. after all it's just an animal=
.. right? I say that I know that I did everything that I could for him. He =
was not just some toy that could be discarded at the first sign of inconven=
ience. He had a name, a personality, and love in his heart for his mommie, =
the only one he ever knew anyway, and he was worth fighting for. I will nev=
er forget what he has meant to me, and I feel privileged to have known him.=
Its funny how such a little thing can make your heart hurt so much when it=
is gone. Thankyou to every one at the FHL for your help and support. Mandi=
(and Oscar too) =