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Dominic & Opie
• Surrendered to the Shelter November 29, 2008. |
July 17, 2011:
AM: Dominic and Brooklyn are still the only too in real trouble, still not eating, doing fluids upwards of 4 times a day.
PM:Mindy and I were getting kids up to do fluids and injectable abs. Dominic was gone, not unexpected but certainly sad. When we got Brooklyn up she was responsive, had some life in her eyes, she is not bouncing but she seems to be responding to treatment.
Mindy got the play pen stripped and disinfected. We are removing everything to be washed - hosed - hung on the line or laid out in the hot sun to kill what ever it is that is taking these kids. break is over, back down to the shelter to strip and disinfect more cages. Mindy is disinfecting the play areas
July 14, 2011:
I found them both in their litter box unable to get out. they were both on deaths door - did warmed fluids, did 25 units of Dex, warm bath, tucked in a bed with warm water in a latex glove with blankets. live together are being warmed together. Opie seemed to be the one most likely not to survive this. he did not, I lost him this evening about 5:30 pm. I am not sure Dominic is going to survive - I am having trouble getting his temp up. I use a digital flexible anal thermometer it kept beeping Lo temp so I was not getting a numeral reading.
Just got off the phone with Gail, she and Dick are going to meet me in Avon tomorrow morning to get Opie up to doc for a necropsy.
Arrival Story:
The boys lived with a family that did not want them, went to a new family that had small children. Opie is a new challenge to mum, he likes to bite to get your attention. Opie bit one of the children that he was living with a couple of times so that family thought he would be best to come here for rehabilitation with our mum. He is becoming a very good boy, he only forgets sometimes. Mum says she will have him good as new in no time!
The story from the lady that tried to take these boys in:
While at the vet with my three fuzzies, a lady approached me and asked me if I'd be interested in taking 2 more. I wasn't really keen on the idea because I do work full-time and find it difficult to give the 3 we already had all that they deserve. But, when she told me the situation I couldn't leave them where they were. The lady's son had gotten these guys about 3 years ago, and they were a great little novelty pet for a while. Then, just about a year ago, he moved away from home and just left them behind. Since that time, they'd been mostly caged because she really didn't care to have them around and the one was too temperamental for her. Having already dealt with a nipper and a chewer, I thought I could handle him - get him trained and either keep them here or find a home for them. These
poor little guys also hadn't been to the vet at all since her son got them and were being fed "whatever cat food is the cheapest". So, with some reservations, I picked the fuzzies up and brought them home.
To make a long story short, we quickly found out that the one guy is not a nipper or a chewer, he's a biter. And he hits hard! Something I was not prepared for! I've read all the info on how to work with such cases, but have a really hard time fighting the natural urge to pull away when he does it. To further complicate the matter of trying to train him, I can't keep him contained! See, my house is old and does not lend itself to giving them free-roam of the whole house. So, we've "ferret-proofed" the living room and block it off when the fuzzies are out to play. (The established ferrets get the dining room also now, but I prefer to keep the new guys away from the old guys for the time being.) Well, this little guy is apparently super-ferret - able to leap 3 foot barricades in a single bound! So, giving him playtime has been nigh impossible.
I also have a toddler in the house who loves the fuzzies as much as me. Try as I might to get him to understand he can't give these guys kisses or scratch their ears, he can't yet distinguish between who is safe and who is not. Poor guy has had his lip bit open twice now!
So, I've come to the conclusion that the most responsible thing to do is find someone who is better prepared to work with these guys. BTW...the second one is a good bit mellower - he postures to bite, but has not yet done so. However, knowing that they've been together their whole lives, I would hate to separate them. They have been to the vet and had their rabies shots, but still need distemper if they're going to be around dogs. They do have ear mites, which I've been treating - they still have 3 weeks of treatment to go. I've been feeding them a mix of Evo Ferret, Ferret Store Original, and some high-quality cat food that the lady at the pet store gave me samples of. They've put on a little weight and their fur is looking a lot better. I've also gotten them litter trained. They just needed a high-backed litter pan like my others - they wanted nothing to do with those corner pans.
I'm located in Randolph, which is near Jamestown and a good 3 hours from you. Getting them to you could be a challenge, but I thought you might know someone closer that might be able to take them in. Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to offer.