KokosDaddy
11-04-2007, 04:00 PM
Minky Minks - How it All Began:
A few years ago, we’d had ferrets - but they were all store-bought. We fussed over them every day for hours on end. We had no contact with other ferret organizations or any legalization groups, and just happily cared for our fuzzy kids without a care in the world. I had recently left a job that I had been at for 10 years and was starting a new job in a totally different field. My wife and I had only just recently reconciled and I was a relatively new ferret owner and learning as much as I could, as fast as I could. It was a few months after I had started at this new job that a co-worker said something about his room mate’s girlfriend having a ferret that she could no longer care for. Nothing more was said for about a month, and then I asked him if she wanted to find her ferret a new home. A meeting was set and my wife and I drove to an apartment in Los Angeles.
When we got to the apartment, we found an old cage with rusty bars that had once been white. Hanging in the cage was a tattered and very dirty hammock with broken plastic clips. In the bottom of the cage, was clay cat litter – but it had since turned to a hard moldy pliable mess that had about ½-inch of standing liquid – urine. The food bowl was full, but dirty and the water looked like it had been sitting for a few days at least. Standing at one corner of the cage was a ferret named Minky. The ferret had a pot belly and no hair on him except for the hair on his head. He had so little hair in fact, that we could not tell what color he would be if he was fully furred. After swallowing hard several times, and letting the ferret’s owner say good bye, we loaded up everything into our vehicle – stench and all, and drove back home with the bald, stinky ferret with feces crusted onto his feet, tail and belly.
On the drive home, I had never smelled such a stinky animal before. We stopped at a trash dumpster to get rid of the cage and all of the nastiness inside of it. There wasn’t any use in keeping it, since the rust had destroyed any hope of ever getting the cage clean again. When I got back into the truck, the smell was still there. We got home, and immediately cleaned Minky up. The smell he had been living in was so bad, it took a few gentle baths to make his skin pink and clean again, and to get the crusted feces off of him. Due to the studying I had done, I knew exactly why Minky was bald all over and what it would take to make him look and act like a normal ferret again. You see, adrenal disease presents itself as tumors on the adrenal glands which are located in front of the kidneys and usually affect ferrets over the age of two years of age.
After a call to our wonderful vet – we set up an appointment for him to go in for an adrenalectomy. An adrenalectomy is a surgery where they remove one or both of a ferret’s adrenal glands that have become infected or cancerous. If you can catch it early enough and the tumor can be removed without complications – a ferret can lead a normal healthy lift again. –This is what we had planned for Minky. – So off to the vet we went, with a cleaned up bald Minky in a carrier full of soft blankets to keep him warm and comfortable. Dr. Greek took Minky in and he went right into surgery, while we went back home to play with the other furkids and to await news of the outcome of Minky’s surgery. Ferrets have two adrenal glands and as any ferret owner who’s been through surgery with their ferret will tell you – you hope and pray that the adrenal gland that needs to be removed will be the ferrets left gland. This one is easier to remove, and has fewer complications than the right side gland since the right side gland is in very close proximity to the vena cava. One tiny nick during surgery and the ferret will almost always bleed out on the surgeon’s operating table. Luckily, Minky’s problem was with his left gland so it was removed without complications. The next day, we were told to come and get Minky who was recovering from the surgery. No other masses or problems were found while the surgical procedure was being performed.
Over the course of the next few days, Minky started to go downhill. He didn’t want to drink, and he didn’t want to eat. The surgery was taking its toll on our new little bald guy. Since we’d never dealt with a ferret that wasn’t eating or drinking before, and didn’t know how to force feed or administer subcutaneous fluids (fluids administered via hypodermic needle under the skin) – we rushed back to our vet who took Minky in and gave him ‘round the clock care until he was strong enough, and had the will again to survive. More than a week passed, and Minky still wasn’t well enough to come home. My wife and I visited Minky whenever we could – to let him know that he wasn’t alone. The vet’s staff lavished affection on Minky too, and slowly – he began to improve. Eventually, we brought Minky home and got to know him.
Three months later, my wife and I decided to take a short vacation to New York and since Minky was doing better and had perked up a lot from what he had been like when we first laid eyes on him, we left our daughter to care for him. . After our much-needed vacation, we came home to a surprise! –Minky had a very fine growth of very dark hair all over his body! –Minky was going to be a furkid again! Over the course of the next two months, Minky grew in all of his fur again – and his happy disposition shined through where once had been a shadow of tired acceptance of his fate. Minky became the sweetest ferret we had ever been around and we learned that rescuing ferrets can be the most rewarding and nerve-racking experience ever.
Over the two years that Minky has been with us, there have been many ferrets that we have come into contact with, who needed emergency care, and a loving, forever home. Many have had situations that were drastically worse than Minky’s original condition. Because of this, my wife and I have never stopped trying to learn all that we can to help ferrets in distress. We are active in legalization activities, and work with several organizations to help furkids whenever possible. Why? –It all started with Minky.
Yesterday morning, Minky left us to go to a place where he will always have fur and will have the energy to play all day and sleep where it’s warm and comfortable at the rainbow bridge. His old body will be young again and he’ll never know what it means to be old again. He’s given us more than we could have ever asked for in a pet – even though we didn’t know him his whole life. –We were taught to trust in animals and never give up on them, even when they’ve given up on themselves. I wish that he could live forever with us, but with a heavy heart, we know that it was his time to go. After Dr. Tom gave Minks the shot that would peacefully end his life, Dr. Tom placed Minky into my arms which had a soft flannel blankie draped over them. I sat down and through the tears, told Minky that it was okay to go to the bridge. He looked up at me and lifted his head and licked at the lower part of my eyelid that was stained with tears as if to say thank you. He then laid his head back into my arm, and his breathing slowed until he was gone.
Today, we rescued two more that needed a loving forever home and in your name buddy - they were already homed where they will always receive the attention and love and care that they need.
Minks - you were the first of many. You were always our special baby boy no matter how old you really were. To the best of our knowledge, you were a little more than 8-1/2 years old. You have outlived the time we had hoped to provide a happy life for you, and now you can rest in peace little man.
Mommy & Daddy will always love you Minks - and we’ll see you again one day.
Minky Minks
Born in 1998
Loved by Us since August, 2005
Waiting at Rainbow Bridge since November, 2007
YpS2vouyJuM
To learn more about Ferret Adrenal Disease – please visit Ferret Universe’s page at: http://www.ferret-universe.com/health/adrenal.asp
A few years ago, we’d had ferrets - but they were all store-bought. We fussed over them every day for hours on end. We had no contact with other ferret organizations or any legalization groups, and just happily cared for our fuzzy kids without a care in the world. I had recently left a job that I had been at for 10 years and was starting a new job in a totally different field. My wife and I had only just recently reconciled and I was a relatively new ferret owner and learning as much as I could, as fast as I could. It was a few months after I had started at this new job that a co-worker said something about his room mate’s girlfriend having a ferret that she could no longer care for. Nothing more was said for about a month, and then I asked him if she wanted to find her ferret a new home. A meeting was set and my wife and I drove to an apartment in Los Angeles.
When we got to the apartment, we found an old cage with rusty bars that had once been white. Hanging in the cage was a tattered and very dirty hammock with broken plastic clips. In the bottom of the cage, was clay cat litter – but it had since turned to a hard moldy pliable mess that had about ½-inch of standing liquid – urine. The food bowl was full, but dirty and the water looked like it had been sitting for a few days at least. Standing at one corner of the cage was a ferret named Minky. The ferret had a pot belly and no hair on him except for the hair on his head. He had so little hair in fact, that we could not tell what color he would be if he was fully furred. After swallowing hard several times, and letting the ferret’s owner say good bye, we loaded up everything into our vehicle – stench and all, and drove back home with the bald, stinky ferret with feces crusted onto his feet, tail and belly.
On the drive home, I had never smelled such a stinky animal before. We stopped at a trash dumpster to get rid of the cage and all of the nastiness inside of it. There wasn’t any use in keeping it, since the rust had destroyed any hope of ever getting the cage clean again. When I got back into the truck, the smell was still there. We got home, and immediately cleaned Minky up. The smell he had been living in was so bad, it took a few gentle baths to make his skin pink and clean again, and to get the crusted feces off of him. Due to the studying I had done, I knew exactly why Minky was bald all over and what it would take to make him look and act like a normal ferret again. You see, adrenal disease presents itself as tumors on the adrenal glands which are located in front of the kidneys and usually affect ferrets over the age of two years of age.
After a call to our wonderful vet – we set up an appointment for him to go in for an adrenalectomy. An adrenalectomy is a surgery where they remove one or both of a ferret’s adrenal glands that have become infected or cancerous. If you can catch it early enough and the tumor can be removed without complications – a ferret can lead a normal healthy lift again. –This is what we had planned for Minky. – So off to the vet we went, with a cleaned up bald Minky in a carrier full of soft blankets to keep him warm and comfortable. Dr. Greek took Minky in and he went right into surgery, while we went back home to play with the other furkids and to await news of the outcome of Minky’s surgery. Ferrets have two adrenal glands and as any ferret owner who’s been through surgery with their ferret will tell you – you hope and pray that the adrenal gland that needs to be removed will be the ferrets left gland. This one is easier to remove, and has fewer complications than the right side gland since the right side gland is in very close proximity to the vena cava. One tiny nick during surgery and the ferret will almost always bleed out on the surgeon’s operating table. Luckily, Minky’s problem was with his left gland so it was removed without complications. The next day, we were told to come and get Minky who was recovering from the surgery. No other masses or problems were found while the surgical procedure was being performed.
Over the course of the next few days, Minky started to go downhill. He didn’t want to drink, and he didn’t want to eat. The surgery was taking its toll on our new little bald guy. Since we’d never dealt with a ferret that wasn’t eating or drinking before, and didn’t know how to force feed or administer subcutaneous fluids (fluids administered via hypodermic needle under the skin) – we rushed back to our vet who took Minky in and gave him ‘round the clock care until he was strong enough, and had the will again to survive. More than a week passed, and Minky still wasn’t well enough to come home. My wife and I visited Minky whenever we could – to let him know that he wasn’t alone. The vet’s staff lavished affection on Minky too, and slowly – he began to improve. Eventually, we brought Minky home and got to know him.
Three months later, my wife and I decided to take a short vacation to New York and since Minky was doing better and had perked up a lot from what he had been like when we first laid eyes on him, we left our daughter to care for him. . After our much-needed vacation, we came home to a surprise! –Minky had a very fine growth of very dark hair all over his body! –Minky was going to be a furkid again! Over the course of the next two months, Minky grew in all of his fur again – and his happy disposition shined through where once had been a shadow of tired acceptance of his fate. Minky became the sweetest ferret we had ever been around and we learned that rescuing ferrets can be the most rewarding and nerve-racking experience ever.
Over the two years that Minky has been with us, there have been many ferrets that we have come into contact with, who needed emergency care, and a loving, forever home. Many have had situations that were drastically worse than Minky’s original condition. Because of this, my wife and I have never stopped trying to learn all that we can to help ferrets in distress. We are active in legalization activities, and work with several organizations to help furkids whenever possible. Why? –It all started with Minky.
Yesterday morning, Minky left us to go to a place where he will always have fur and will have the energy to play all day and sleep where it’s warm and comfortable at the rainbow bridge. His old body will be young again and he’ll never know what it means to be old again. He’s given us more than we could have ever asked for in a pet – even though we didn’t know him his whole life. –We were taught to trust in animals and never give up on them, even when they’ve given up on themselves. I wish that he could live forever with us, but with a heavy heart, we know that it was his time to go. After Dr. Tom gave Minks the shot that would peacefully end his life, Dr. Tom placed Minky into my arms which had a soft flannel blankie draped over them. I sat down and through the tears, told Minky that it was okay to go to the bridge. He looked up at me and lifted his head and licked at the lower part of my eyelid that was stained with tears as if to say thank you. He then laid his head back into my arm, and his breathing slowed until he was gone.
Today, we rescued two more that needed a loving forever home and in your name buddy - they were already homed where they will always receive the attention and love and care that they need.
Minks - you were the first of many. You were always our special baby boy no matter how old you really were. To the best of our knowledge, you were a little more than 8-1/2 years old. You have outlived the time we had hoped to provide a happy life for you, and now you can rest in peace little man.
Mommy & Daddy will always love you Minks - and we’ll see you again one day.
Minky Minks
Born in 1998
Loved by Us since August, 2005
Waiting at Rainbow Bridge since November, 2007
YpS2vouyJuM
To learn more about Ferret Adrenal Disease – please visit Ferret Universe’s page at: http://www.ferret-universe.com/health/adrenal.asp