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Arnold & Baby Ferris
• Surrendered to the Shelter on June 30, 2007. |
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These 2 fur kids came from New Jersey. Owners place of residents was sold out from under him he could not find a place to live that allowed ferrets in the time he needed to find a place to live. Arnold is approximately 4 years old. Ferris was born November 6, 2005.
November 1, 2012:
Brenda- I'm sad to report that this afternoon we helped Baby Ferris to cross the bridge. She was an old gal and had been in failing health for some time. In the end her weak heart could not keep her from retaining abdominal fluid that diuretics could not overcome. Dr. Chris, Lisa and me felt that it was unfair to make her suffer by continuing to poke her every couple of weeks so we were there when she needed us to let her go. She was a trooper to the end, and it was only this morning that she really started to shut down. She was the sweetest little girl and will be greatly missed. She now gets to be with Arnold. Thank you for letting them be a part of our lives.
Pete
January 19, 2012:
Dear Possum, Sarah, and Gang: Tell your mum that we got the box yesterday. What great Christmas gifts! We were all so excited by the treats, toys, blanket, hammock, and bed. Baby Ferris was sound asleep later on under the blanket and in the bed. Our cousins Bootsie and Cinders came to stay with us two weeks ago for about a week.
They are both doing very well. Sophie got a tooth pulled by Dr. Chris on Tuesday. She had an infection that would not go away with amox so she went in and Dr. Chris pulled it out and cleaned the rest of them up. Stinky (Hudson Valley kid) had a Des implant put in a few months back, all his fur has finally grown back and he is now a 3 lbs. up from 2' 2". mom and dad call him the "Waddle Monster" because of the way he moves his bulk around. Zoey is now being treated for lymphoma is still very active and has a very good appetite. Mom and dad discovered a 1 cm lump under the tissue down a little above her hip and Dr. Chris found two more smaller ones up close to her shoulder area on her underside. She is now on prednisone and will get lots of extra TLC. Baby Ferris is still gimpy and
blind as a bat, but she gets around eats well and is still the sweetest little thing. Brian, Stew, Buddy, and Ziggy are all doing good. Thanks again for everything.
luv,
The Gang
p
December 2, 2011:
Hi Guys: We've been thinking of all of you a lot hoping that all is going well over 'yonder". All of the kids are doing for the most part well though we have had a few visits to Dr. Chris over the last couple of months.
Baby Ferris is now 100% blind due to cataracts, and has a bum knee that causes a pronounced limp. Dr. Chris is convinced that she is much older than the 6 years that we originally thought she was. Even so, she has a great appetite, does not seem to be in any discomfort and enjoys snuggling with the others, especially Stinky (one of the Hudson Valley kids).
Brain, Stewart, and Sophie are all doing well, though Sophie was in to see Dr. Chris for treatment of a gum infection back in October. Once again with the three (especially Sophie) Dr. thinks they may be a little older than the 4 to 5 years old that we think they are. (of course age does not matter to us, they are our kids and we are happy they are part of our lives).
August 23, 2011:
Hi Brenda: Everything is going very well with all the kids.
Baby Ferris is still the sweetest little girl. She has bonded very well with her new brothers Stinky and Ziggy, who came from the Hudson Valley Ferret Rescue, and still gets along with her other two cage mates, Zoey and Buddy.
Brian, Stewart, and Sophie (formerly Princess) are all doing fantastic spending their days sleeping, and getting ready for the weather to cool down so they can go outside and do a little exploring.
Take care,
Pete
April 12, 2010:
Hi Brenda: Baby Ferris is doing fine and is (as always) the sweetest little girl. She is still a little portly from her winter weight gain and has a great winter coat. She has bonded well with Zoey and Buddy, and it looks as though her tail is finally filling in. Lisa and I both very much miss Arnold and Rascal. It is hard to believe that it has almost been a year.
Pete
January 18, 2010:
Hi guys: mom and dad are doing well. Dad spent the day today cleaning all the hard to get to ferret spots. Sorry that dad has not got a note off to you sooner. We are all doing well. Sophie has turned into a regular dook monster bouncing around and harassing Brian and Stew. She is still a bit of a skinny mini, but she seems to be doing well. Say hi to all our cousins and tell your mom to stop worrying.
Baby Ferris
October 13, 2009:
Baby Ferris who turned 4 years old last Friday, has turned into quite the little porker. She now weighs 2 1/4 pounds and is quite the cutie (except for her tail still being a little sparse in places. Zoey and Buddy are as good as ever. We are still running two groups, and probably will be for a while. I hope all is well with you and the kids. We have a lot of Lisa's mending to get back to you and I am hoping that things settle down enough soon for both of us, or at least me, to come over soon. Please let us know what your thoughts on Sophie are. We want to do all we can to keep her healthy and happy.
October 8, 2009:
The kids are all doing well. Baby Ferris is doing very well. She has gained back a lot of weight and except for some sparse patches on her tail she has regrown all her hair. Hopefully the tail will fill out as she gets more of her winter coat.
We are still running two groups and probably will be for some time to come. We let them interact for short periods of time, but I worry about them getting too stressed. The only two that are great friends are Stewart and Baby Ferris (our Universal Ferrets). Princess still cuddles with both Lisa and me, and Brian just loves his humans.
Take care,
Pete
July 23, 2009:
Hi Brenda: I just thought I should let you know that our sweet little girl is growing back a glorious coat of fur. It is coming in really nicely on her shoulders and trunk, and though her tail and butt are still a little sparse it is starting to come in there too. He are very happy parents.
Pete and Lisa
July 15, 2009:
I would say that she is very close to back to her old self. The only thing that I notice that is any different is that she does not seem to want to be held for as long as she used to. This is hardly noticeable because she was never that big on hanging out in my, or Lisa's arms anyways. She also does not seem to have the amount of energy she had prior to the operation, but who would? I just chalk it up to her being put through pretty significant trauma. Other than that she is back playing with her brother and sister, and has as good an appetite as ever.
Pete
July 4, 2009:
Hi Brenda: I just wanted to get a quick note off to you to let you know that Baby Ferris is recovering quite well. Over the last few days she seems to have become much more active and alert. She is now eating kibble and seems to be drinking plenty of water. We are now only giving her soup in the evenings and she consumes close to her normal portion. The other kids are also doing well. Buddy and Zoey have formed a very close bond and generally can be found curled up and sleeping together. I think that they both really miss Rascal, especially Zoey.
June 28, 2009:
Brenda: The little girl is still doing good. She is alert and still loving her soup. I have not seen her eat any kibble yet (though that doesn't mean she hasn't) but I am encouraged by the amount of soup she will slurp down.
Pete
June 27, 2009:
Baby Ferris seems to be doing okay. I just got your yesterday email so I will I will be seeing if Zoey wants to hang out with her. We have been feeding her soup, soup, soup. I have been giving it to her a little thinner (to keep her hydrated) than usual and offering it every four hours or so. Her appetite seems pretty good I think she is taking in between 15 and 20 ml a serving (she is also peeing and pooping pretty good). Other than that she is doing a lot of sleeping. We have the playpen set up in the living room for her.
Pete
June 26, 2009:
Hi Brenda: Just a quick note to let you know that Baby Ferris doing fine and resting at home now.
Pete
June 25, 2009:
Hi Brenda: I just wanted to drop you a note to say that she had her surgery this afternoon and Dr. Edwards's office said that she is doing well. It was her right gland. I will let you know the details tomorrow after I go to pick her up.
Pete
May 26, 2009:
Brenda: We got Arnold in to see Dr. Chris at 8:00 this morning. She was very concerned and has admitted him in to the hospital and I will be checking back on him at 1:00 PM. She said that the infection in his mouth is not dental but are ulcers and was not sure what might be causing them. She said that he definitely has an enlarged spleen, most probably due to fighting the infection. She also thought that his lymph nodes may be enlarged. She said that she would call if anything came up, but said that no news was good news if we did not hear from her before 1:00. She was uncertain what might be the problem but that she would be doing blood-work getting him started with oral antibiotic gel on the sores, and getting fluids in him. She said that she would also consult with Dr. Edwards
if needed. I will let you know what she says when I talk to her this afternoon.
Pete
Brenda: I heard back from Dr. Chris a short time ago. Arnold's kidneys have failed (there were no sign of stones on the film). He also has a mass in his chest and/or/is an enlarged heart. She said he is resting and is not in any distress, but there is nothing that can be done. Lisa and I will be going to say goodbye to him in a little while. We do not want to see him needlessly suffer.
Pete
Brenda: We got home a little while ago after saying our goodbyes. Both Lisa and my hearts are breaking, and I have cried more tears this afternoon than I have since I don't remember when. We spent about a half hour with him telling him we loved him and that he brought much happiness to us. He went very peacefully. We have decided to let Chris take a look at him in the hopes that it will help her become a better vet and possibly answer what may have caused his illness. She is then going to have him cremated for us. We would like to be able to spread his ashes outside at the shelter, perhaps when we come over for Clinic Day.
Pete and Lisa
May 25, 2009:
Brenda: The boy is still not doing to hot. I have been able to get some soup, water, and diluted Pedialite in him. Since getting him home I have been attempting to feed him soup about every 90 minutes or so. He seems more willing to take water and not so much with the soup. All totaled he has had maybe 15 ml of soup, maybe the same of water and a short time ago we gave him about 15 ml of 50/50 Pedialite water solution. He seemed to very much take to the 50/50 mix and did not show the reluctance he was showing earlier with the soup and the water. Dr. Chris's office opens at 8:00 tomorrow so we will be waiting at the door. Thanks for being there for us today.
Pete, Lisa, Arnold and the rest of the gang.
Brenda: Further examination of Arnold's mouth shows that the sores seem to be more on the inside of his cheek, especially where the cheek and the gums come together and not where the teeth meet the gums. I am thinking that with the weakness in his hind legs and lethargy Arnold probably has insulinoma. Please let us know what your thoughts are.
Pete and Lisa
May 24, 2009:
Hi Brenda: I'm pretty worried about Arnold. He does not seem to be doing too well. Last Wednesday I noticed that he seemed to be a little lame in his rear legs. Not anything really bad just a little bit of a limp. On Thursday he seemed a little weaker, especially when he was pooping and peeing. He seemed to have plenty of pee coming out, though only a little poop (normal looking poop, about half the size of a pea). He would go to the newspapers and assume the position and then his legs would slowly give out under him. He was also not being his normal jaunty self, he seemed to walk for a little while and then do the flat ferret. His appetite was also off a little bit. Over Thursday night he only did about 6 little poops (peed about normal). On Friday morning we saw a small cut (scab)
on one of his rear legs and a very small scab on one of the pads of his foot and figured that he must have got it caught in the bars of one of the cages, and that's what was causing the problems and that he would be healed in a matter of time. Saturday (yesterday) he seemed to be doing about the same. Last night he had about half the normal amount of soup as he usually does. Today was about the same, but tonight I could not get him to eat any soup, he even refused ferretone and he is pretty lethargic. He is taking in a little water. His eyes are clear, and does not appear to be anemic (he has good color in his gums, pads, etc.). He has not had any seizures and does not seem to be in any pain. His breath does seem to be worse than usual. He seems very depressed and allows us to hold him in our
arms more than usual. I want to get him in to see Dr. Chris, but tomorrow is Memorial Day.
Pete
Brenda: We just pried his mouth open and noticed that he has sores/infection on his gums possible gum disease. We are not sure when this might have happened, I fear that we have neglected him. We have noticed some plaque in the past, but Dr. Chris said this is pretty normal for a ferret his age. Could this infection be the cause of his weakness in his rear? What should we do?
Pete
February 20, 2009:
Lisa, the kids and myself are all doing well, tired of winter though. Bandit (Buddy) was in to see Dr. Chris on Wednesday for his annual check-up and his rabies shot. We've now had him a little more than a year and he has as much stolen my heart as when I first laid eyes on him. A year ago he was barely five months old and starved for attention. Now he has lost his baby fat, gained 8 oz of muscle (3 lbs up from 2 1/2) and just oozes charm and personality. Now if he could only get Arnold to stop occasionally picking on him his life would be grand. Dr. Chris was encouraged from my report that Baby Ferris's has shown no noticeable change in behavior or appearance from when we brought her in 6 weeks ago. She thinks her coat will start to change in the next few weeks, so we're all hoping
that it will all grow back and I can stop worrying.
February 3, 2009
Baby Ferris seems to be doing about the same. If she has lost any hair since we took her to see Dr. Chris it is not noticeable. Her appetite and energy is good and her weight is the same as it's always been. We have also noticed no change in her behavior. She is still as sweet as she has always been, and she is much loved by all. Arnold is also doing very well. He is has a beautiful coat and is a very solid 3 pounds. He can still be a bit of a bully, so we still need to be watchful when he is out and about with Zoey, Rascal, and Buddy (Bandit). It's too bad because you can see how much he wants to play with the three, but his past and sometimes current aggression have made the three very hesitant to engage in any play. They mostly just head for the safety of their cage the minute
he tries to engage any of them (though Rascal and he had about 5 minutes of good play before he got a little too rough for her this morning). I have noticed that when he does engage with the others it seems as though it starts as play and goes that way for a little bit, and then it almost seems as though a switch gets flipped and the aggression will take over. It's a good thing that Baby Ferris has no fear of him. They are so much the best of friends. And though he can get pretty rough with her he never gets carried away. The good thing is that we don't have to keep him completely separate from the others. Most of the time he ignores the others, or if it suits, him they provide a good body for him to sleep on top of.
January 7, 2008:
Hi Brenda: We took Baby Ferris to Dr. Chris's earlier today, and Dr Chris felt that it was best at this point to take a "wait and see" approach. She noted that the hair loss on her tail and on the base was the only symptom she has (i.e. no swollen vulva or any other signs) and that the hair loss alone was not enough at this point to warrant surgery and could just be seasonal. Her idea was that we should keep a close eye on her and reevaluate her in 12 weeks, keeping her appraised during this time of any noticeable changes.
January 6, 2008:
Hi Brenda: Lisa and I are a little concerned about hair loss on Baby Ferris's tail and the area around the base of the tail. Her hair on her tail was somewhat thin when we brought her home in July and by September/October it was pretty much gone. Pretty much everything I found online pointed out that it was "rat-tail" and that it was a fairly common occurrence. It started growing back a little bit in November/December and I was hoping that we were on our way to a full tail again. Today, Lisa and I noticed that she has a bald patch at the base of her butt/start of her tail about the size of a quarter which is new. The hair on her tail is still very sparse but some has grown back. Her tail is not scaly, discolored, or have any black specks, though it does tend to feel cold like it
is not getting enough circulation. Other than that she seems fine. She has as much energy as ever, appetite is very good, her poop is normal, and she has lost no weight. I am concerned that the loss of hair may be adrenal. Please let me know what you think. I just got off the phone with Dr. Chris's office. We will be taking her in late this afternoon. I will keep you posted.
Pete
December 6, 2008:
Dear Brenda: I forgot to mention to you when I was up last Saturday some new developments going on with the kids. On several occasions we have found that Rascal or Bandit have climbed on top of Arnold when he was sleeping and curled-up and gone to sleep on top of him. This has been very exciting because we know that they are not totally afraid of him. Attached are two photos of the latest development. Though this may not be the first time, it is the first time that I am positive that Arnold has taken it upon himself to climb on top of Rascal and curl up with her. The first photo is of Baby Ferris, Arnold and Rascal. The second photo is to show that Bandit is close by........ Yippie... I just went back and took the third photo of Bandit and Arnold (Baby Ferris nose can be seen right
under their chins, Rascal is in back of them.) I cannot tell you how happy I am, what a great early Christmas present. I cannot wait until Lisa gets home to tell her all about it. It is amazing what a little love, patience, and carefulness can bring about. I am so glad that we didn't give up months ago and decide to keep them separate. I was so afraid that Arnold would never warm up to the others and that the best we could ever hope for was that he would, at best, just leave them alone. I know we still have a ways to go, and I'm sure that the squabbles have not ended but this is such good news.
Pete
October 23, 2008:
The Kids are good; Arnold had surgery yesterday to remove the tumor on his neck. He's doing great, eating good, bouncing around like a ferret. He looks like frankenferret with his shaved spot and stitches though. But he's such a trooper he doesn't seem to notice at all. We just wanted to let you know that Arnold is doing fine. He is eating well, has as much energy as ever and there is no sign of infection or other problems with his stitches. Baby Ferris is looking after him and keeping him company while the others wonder what they have to do to get so much attention.
Pete and Lisa
August 2, 2008:
Things are going much, much better today. Arnold's poop is doing alot better, still a little loose but no longer runny. Both of them are doing well, and seem to be very happy.
July 30, 2008:
Baby Ferris and Arnold visited Dr. Chris today. The check-up went well, with both of them receiving distemper and rabies vaccines.
Lisa and I decided a few days ago to are hold off on trying to do any more introducing of Arnold to the others. We decided that it would probably be best to wait until he 100% knows that he has a forever home with a loving mom and dad. When we are home we rotate the two sets of ferrets from the living room to the back bedroom. Baby Ferris spends about 95% of her time with Arnold with occasional play with the other three (usually when Arnold is sound asleep). Both Arnold and Baby Ferris are eating and drinking well and are alert and active. We give them both a little soup in the evening and let them eat kibble with the occasional snack the rest of the day. Arnold's poop has been fairly loose to very runny over the last few days. It is not at all slimy and basically resembles Duck
Soup. I talked this over with Dr. Chris and she said that it is probably due to the change, but that if it is not better by next week we will have to have him back in to see her. I hope the new kids are doing well and that they have been given cool new names. I will keep you updated to anything new going on in our neck of the woods.
July 26, 2008:
Baby Ferris likes Duck Soup.....yippie!!!!! Lisa was able to get her to start licking it off the end of her figures, and after a few tastes she stuck her face in the bowl and started slurping away last night. I have also seen that Baby Ferris and Arnold are quite inseparable. All is going well we will keep you updated and we will get a photo of the four of us off to you soon.
July 25, 2008:
Hi Brenda: I wanted to get an email off to you to let you know how things are going with Baby Ferris, Arnold and the rest of the crew. The trip back to Ithaca was uneventful. Baby Ferris and Arnold handled it traveling in the carrier better than our other three ever have. They seemed to split there time pretty evenly between sleeping, being awake but mellow, and scratching trying to get out. Once home we let them run around the apartment (ferret safe areas of course) alone and check out every nook, cranny, and new smell (especially the new smells). All evidence I see is that they have made themselves quite at home (though a little tentative at first) and are not showing any obvious signs of stress. I gave them both a little bit of Duck Soup. Arnold slurped it up right away, but
Baby Ferris wanted none of it (even when I tried to get her to taste some off the end of my finger, she was like "no way Jose".) I am a little concerned about her lack of interest in both the Duck Soup and from what I've observed the food bowl (though she could very well have eaten last night while we all slept.) She is drinking out of the water dish, and she ate a couple of ferret treats this morning, she is alert and active and her poop looks good, so I am hoping that this is just a passing thing (though we will be keeping a close eye on her.) We introduced them to the others for a little bit last night. Baby Ferris almost right away (after a whole lot of sniffing) took to the others, and them to her. In the short time that she was with the other three there was absolutely no aggression and
it seems that her and Bandit are quite smitten with each other (they were curled up together in a sleeper in no time.) Arnold on the other hand wants to kick butt and take names. We first let him and Zoey sniff each other while we held on to both of them. Arnold tried to take a good bite out of her, so that was that and we quickly learned that it will be awhile (if at all) before we can integrate them. This is not unexpected, and as I have written before, we can easily accommodate two sets of ferrets, keeping them safe and well loved. I have scheduled and appointment with Dr. Chris on Wednesday morning. And I will keep you updated on Baby Ferris and food and all other things. I will write again soon.