The hand of death vistied our home last night and we are now without our beloved Zack. I returned home from work to find Zack motionless on the bottom of the cage. It appears that he has been bleeding as their was blood in the litter box. Even I, with my limited knowledge can assume that this cannot be a good sign. He appeared dehydrated so I attempted to give him fluids, without much success.
Our regualr vet was closed so we rushed him to the VCA Veterinary Specialist Center in Lynnwood. This is a fantastic facility that is open 24 hours and they have the expertise to deal with every kind of animal, including ferrets, and every kind of illness from basic needs to long term critical care.
I just knew by the look of Zack that the news would not be good. Firstly, he was dehydrated, which was the obvious, so they put him on fluids. Easily fixed. He was also having problems breathing. Youko Ando was the physician who treated Zack and her diagnosis was not good. I really admired her bedside manner, her first concern was for Zack and she was direct in her assessment of his condition. The tests performed appeared to point towards one of three different cancers that are common to ferrets. We basically had 2 options; we could leave him at the clinic for 1-3 days (dependent on the results) for more tests, or we could euthanise him. After losing our ferret Zonk to cancer in December, I knew that I couldn't watch Zack go the same way. It was horrific, every day wondering was this the last one, constantly watching for any signs of suffering so we could rush him to the vet to be euthanized. When they returned Zack to the room we just knew what to do. His time had come, and as much as we did not want to believe it, we had to accept it.
I know that even with a more detailed prognosis there are treatments, one being chemotherapy. But I always vowed I would not put my pets through chemo if it ever came to that. I have seen what people go through and it is horrible. Zack was 7.5 years old and has lived a wonderful life, I didn't want to try to prolong his life, or his suffering for our sake.
Rest in Peace Zackariah!
I'm so sorry for your loss. That is a lovely picture of Zach.
Posted by: katieb | September 19, 2005 at 10:52 AM