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Gray
• Surrendered to the Shelter on October 28, 2022. He left for the Rainbow Bridge January 26, 2023. |
January 26, 2023:
Gray is gone, he was in the same spot/position I set him in early this morning. He was 2 days shy of being here 3 months.
January 2, 2023:
I've been finding Gray sleeping with his head and chest elevated, I'm guessing the tumors Doc found in him pushing on his organs and spine are causing some discomfort. He ate well at all 3 meal times, but I have to coax him to finish his last few ml in his bowl. He's bright eyed and eager to eat when I get him up. We may be seeing his slow decline.
December 18, 2022:
I get Gray up first to feed him, before I do the rest of the fur kids meds. Gray ate 3 soup cubes at 11:30, I fix his bowl with 1/4 cup of soup, he wanted more. I feed him until he shows me he's had enough. He did the same thing tonight he ate 3/4 cup of soup. I started him on his bowl with meds he ate that then wanted more.
December 16, 2022:
We are home. Gray is terminal, he has lymposarcoma. We will do palliative care, pretty much what we have been doing, No fluid on his lungs. Gray ate a 1/4 cup of soup at noon, another 1/4 cup at 4. Dropper fed on my lap, he ate with gusto.
December 15, 2022:
We have an appointment with OFD for Gray at 7:45 am tomorrow. I will need to be on the road by 6 am. The van is up in the barn yard, I hope the weather will allow me to bring the van down to the driveway to warm it up before I put Gray in the carrier. everything else is in the van.
December 14, 2022:
Gray seemed a bit better, but he is not eating on his own. I fed him his soup by dropper this morning. He still has the rattle, his color is a bit improved.
December 13, 2022:
I think I figured out what's going on with Gray. I can hear chest congestion. I need to start him on antibiotics. I got his nails cut this morning. I am hand feeding Gray. We are treating for possible heart disease.
December 9, 2022:
I believe I told you we contacted Sandy - Snoopy Snuggler - to ask if she would make Gray a new tunnel sack, I've been having a hard time keeping him happy when I need to wash the only one he has.
Miss Sandy gifted him 3 new ones. They came today, when Gray was having his noon soup I cleaned up his pen then put one of the new tunnel sacks down for him. When he was done with his soup he waddled over to the new tunnel to settle in for his afternoon nap. When I went in to give him his evening soup he was still in the tunnel sack. If you look closely at the blue one you will see the lump in the middle of it.
Our fur kids are so blessed with so many to help take care of them.
December 2, 2022:
I also stripped Gray's pen, put it back together. Mocha did reach out to Sandy to ask if she could make him another sack, bless Sandy's heart she jumped right on it. She told Mocha that Gray needs all the comforts for the rest of his time on earth. Sandy asked for measurements, picture. Picture of the sack he prefers to sleep in, if you look close you can see the lump at the bottom end of the sack.
November 22, 2022:
I let Gray out of his pen while I stripped it and cleaned it. He crawled into one of the bungalow's. I let him hang out there for a bit.
November 8, 2022:
I got Gray moved into the sick pen, he seems to be happy, he's had 6 saucers of soup ate every drop I left for him. I got a picture of him eating his soup, in his new digs.
November 8, 2022:
Gray is eating and moving around, I make sure he has two full saucers, he's eating one at a time. Each saucer holds 1/4 cup of soup.
November 7, 2022:
Gray seems to be eating his soup better, he got 2 saucers this morning, 2 more at noon 2 more before I shut things down, hes eating all the soup but slower than he was. I'm watching him closely. His poo looks good.
November 6, 2022:
Gray is eating his soup but not like he was, he is not eating kibble. Dr Sandra told me to back off the Dex to once a day, it may be causing him to have upset tummy issues. He got his Dex this morning he did not get any tonight. I hope backing off gets him eating his soup better. If he slides back to not being able to use his back legs we may have to go back to twice a day. I hope once a day will make him feel like eating.
November 5, 2022:
Gray met me at the gate when I got down stairs again this morning. He is using his back legs to move around, he's no longer dragging them. He's unsteady but he is doing better.
November 3, 2022:
Gray has been doing more moving around today, He is eating 2 saucers of soup each time I leave them out for him. I left 2 saucers for him tonight. He's been here 1 week today, I don't know how long we will have him but I will keep his tummy full, meds on board and a clean place to sleep, each day we have him is a blessing.
November 3, 2022:
Gray has devoured 2 full bowls of soup this morning. I'll offer him another when I'm done having my coffee. He has little use of his legs, I expect his back legs will end up in the same mess Raine's were, he tries to stand up he flops over like a fish out of water. Keeping him comfortable and stable is my goal.
November 2, 2022:
Gray update, he ate a full bowl of soup out of the saucer on my lap, he wanted more so I put him in the fish bed to stabilize him, saucer of soup in front of him, he ate another full bowl of soup. We may be out of the woods.
November 1, 2022:
Gray ate a full bowl of soup this morning, mostly by dropper then by my finger. I need to find him a shallow bowl, he can't see the level of the soup he doesn't like putting his face into the soup. I think he will eat soup out of a shallow bowl.
Gray, I gave him soup at noon, I put it in a small saucer he sat on my lap ate the entire bowl of soup, I offered him more soup at 1, after Donna and I ate, I fixed 3 cubes of soup served it in a small saucer. I have to keep adding more soup to the saucer as he eats it. He sat on my lap to eat this serving, he finished most of it. He is moving himself from the pool of toys to the fish to sleep. He ventured out to the kitchen but he can't walk on the bare floor, his back legs do not hold him up. He waddled back to his pen where he can more easily walk. I am feeling a bit encouraged with his progress.
October 30, 2022:
I offered Gray a bowl of soup before I had my lunch, he took 15 ml by dropper, then I left the gate to his pen open so he could mosey around a bit in the kitchen. He got to walk around the kitchen twice today. I noticed he is eating kibble, that alone will help improve his ability to thrive. I am cautiously optimistic, he may just decide being here is okay.
October 29, 2022:
Gray seems to have done well overnight. He took several droppers of soup this morning.
October 28, 2022:
We took in a little guy this afternoon. His name is Gray, he is 7 yrs old, already has insulinoma, is on medication. His owner is from China and she is returning home which is why he landed here. I offered him soup in a dropper tonight, he seemed to like it. His owner has him on liquid Pred she did not know she needed to give it to him with food. He slips and slides on bare floors so I laid the Chux down to help him get around. He will be in the medical bank of cages, that is the bank that is up tonight so that's why he is in the dining room end for the night. I've added pictures of him all curled up in the towels he used, his owner left them for him.
Initial Contact, October 14, 2022:
Dear Brenda, I hope this email finds you well. I am writing this email to inquire about information about surrendering a ferret. My name is Rui Tian and I am an international student at Syracuse University. My friend who was also an international student traveled back to his home country and left his beloved ferret, "Gray" to me. I agreed to take care of Gray for months while he is away, but I was recently informed that my friend (the owner of this ferret) is not going to come back to the U.S. We made a decision to surrender Gray to a shelter. I was wondering if there are available spaces for Gray in your shelter now. Gray is on rabies and I'll take him to see the vet later this month. We'll provide food, snacks, a cage, toys, blankets, and so on. Thank you so much for your consideration. Looking forward to hearing back from you. Have a nice weekend.
Warmly,
Rui
October 14, 2022, Shelter Response:
Hi Rui, It appears you have done your homework. Yes we have room for Gray, how old is the little guy? Am I reading this correctly Gray is current on his rabies vaccine but needs the distemper. As long as you keep us updated/informed on the date he is seeing the vet and when you expect to bring him to Naples for surrender we will hold the space open for Gray.
October 15, 2022, Owner Response:I'm glad that there is still room for Gray. So Gray is an old ferret, he is 7 years old (born in 2015 Oct). And very unfortunately, he has Insulinoma and it was diagnosed this March. He needs medication, Prednisone 20mg, daily. I know this makes things more complicated. I am scheduling a regular vet office visit next week to check his health again. I can ask the doctor any questions you guys need to know. Would your shelter still be willing to accept Gray? Thank you for your quick response.
October 18, 2022, Shelter Response:Have you decided when you are bringing Gray? We have a waiting list so if you changed your mind I need to know, otherwise let me know when you will be coming to Naples.
October 18, 2022, Owner Response:Hi! I'll bring Gray to Naples on 10/28 (Friday) afternoon around 3pm. Thank you for holding the place for Gray!
October 18, 2022, Shelter Response:Okay Friday 10/28 at 3. Remember we close at 4. I'll see you and Gray on the 28th.