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Odie
• Odie went to his Forever Home on September 21, 2006! |
Odie was a throw away from Brewerton N.Y. I did not have room to take him so I posted on the internet he needed a home. Renee was kind enough to offer to take him. He went to live with a business of 5.
November 24, 2013:
I was going through some stuff and found this old email. I don't know if you are still at this email address or not. I wanted to update you on Odie. Odie was my lover-boy. He moved with me from CT to AK, but not before surviving a rollover wreck in 2008. He traveled all over the country, coast to coast. He was such a honey. I lost him about 2 years ago in 2011 after his heart became very slow. There were no cardiologists here who could get to the particulars of his heart problems and we could not get enough support for him to give him a good quality of life any longer, so I let him go before he got so bad his life was miserable. He was a good ferret and I am so glad you allowed him to spend his life with me.
Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving!
October 14, 2011:
I wanted to let y'all know that Odie was just too tired to do much. He would eat, but not enough to keep him active and he was not eating enough to get the meds out of the food. He would still try to get to the litter box but had very little poop and then could not support himself to pee. His little body could not keep up with his spirit and now his spirit is free of earthly bonds. I still can't believe he is gone. But, I know it was the right thing to do, but I hated doing it.
He didn't deserve to have to be an invalid. I didn't want him to just go downhill and even develop pneumonia. Isadora is now the only ferret left that I had in CT. Klepto Koko and Dr. Cloud are a part of the Chilly Poopers, too. Tomorrow I will bury Odie and Skitch together where Kiko and Baby Boy Buddy lie. Soon the snow will be their winter cover.
October 6, 2011:
Odie went to the vet on Tuesday, too. Here is my FHL post, which has
garnered some good suggestions for me to pass to the vet. She said he
just has no energy because of the heart rate, but he is not ready to
be helped out!
Short version:
Patient: 9 year old male MF ferret with IBD, an abdominal mass and liver
disease
Meds: prednisolone (0.1 mg bid), lasix (2 mg bid) and lactulose (1.5 g bid)
Hx of current illness: lethargy, lack of energy beginning Fri or Sat;
poops with some orange tinge and firm enough for his diet;
eating/drinking/pooping/peeing
X-ray: abdominal mass has grown and the liver is enlarged; lungs and
heart appear normal
EKG: inconclusive
Heart rate: 80-85 bpm; respirations: normal, but breathing seems labored
Treatment: Because of inconclusive EKG, she did not want to start on
any heart meds. She did increase the lasix to 3 mg bid for 3 days. I
will also give B12 injections daily.
Differential diagnosis: Is enlarged liver causing decreased heart rate
or is this a heart disease complication? Should we attempt a heart med
or not?
Thoughts? Suggestions? Advice?
Narrative (more details):
Odie is a 9 year old Marshall Farms male with IBD, abdominal mass and
liver disease. He is currently on prednisolone (0.1 mg bid), lasix (2
mg bid) and lactulose (1.5 g bid). I add milk thistle to the gravy,
which he gets twice a day and he free feeds on Totally Ferret
turkey-venison-lamb. His poops are firm enough for his diet, and
appear normal.
Odie became a bit lethargic this weekend, acting like he had no energy
and slipping on the hardwood floor. His poop shows a bit more orange
in it, but otherwise appears normal. He can walk about 3 feet and then
would lie down, exhausted. His heart rate was very slow, but his lungs
sounded clear and he did not appear to be in pain, so I waited until
Monday morning to take him to the vet, convinced that he had little
time left.
My regular vet was not there, so the partner took a ferret view x-ray.
A comparison of the last one and this showed that the abdominal mass
has grown and the liver is enlarged. In the past, liver values have
waxed and waned, not become progressively worse. I left him there and
she gave him some injectable lasix, sub-q fluids and a vit. B shot. I
took him home Monday night and called the regular vet today.
Early this morning he climbed off the bed and into the next room to
eat some kibble. He then collapsed and went to sleep. He seems okay
when he rests, but is easily tired out. I tell you all this as an
example that he seems to want to maintain his regular activity level,
but does not have the energy.
I took him to the vet this afternoon, thinking it might be time to let
him go. At the vet, he tried to explore and walked across the room to
use the corner. It exhausted him, but he didn't seem ready to check
out. The vet listened to his chest and his lungs are clear. His heart
rate is so slow that it hides in his breath sounds. I get it at 80 -
85 bpm. So does my vet. We attempted an EKG, but the results were
inconclusive. The EKG was done by a tech and there is not a
cardiologist here who can get more. Because of this, she did not want
to start on any heart meds. She did increase the lasix to 3 mg bid for
3 days.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Advice? I am in Alaska and we have very few
advanced options here. However, I do have a ferret vet who is open to
input. Since Odie is not hurting, and still has enough drive to get up
and look for food and explore, I am not inclined to euthanasia. I
prefer that they go out on their own, but do not allow them to suffer.
Renee Downs
Anchorage, AK
October 4, 2011:
Odie is 9 now and this weekend he decided to take a turn for the
worse. I am not sure he will be with me much longer. I took him to the
vet this morning and she game him some paliative stuff. His liver and
his abdominal mass are both huge. His breathing is labored and the
heart rate is slower. His body temp seems lower at times and okay at
others. He lets me hold him, but then wants done. Anyway, I wanted you
to be aware.
March 11, 2007:
He is SO funn. I get things in the bubble wrap lined envelopes sometimes and Odie loves them. He goes and puts his head in them and then can't get it out. He runs around with it on his head. He is not stuck, just seems to like putting his head in them! He then takes them to his hiding place and it is so funny to watch him try to carry them to the hidey hole. He runs into everything and it is so funny. Love that boy! lol
February 11, 2009 (Now living in Alaska!!!):
O-D-1-Kapodi is doing fine. He plays and chases the cat here! It is so funny. I took him and Skitch outside in the front sack and they hid. Don't care for the cold! lol Or the snow.
Oct. 21, 2006:
Well, Diane Wall called yesterday to say that Odie is a mess! He is a troublemaker and a handful! He is becoming the alpha, I think. He enjoys being with so many other ferrets and has such a good time with playtime. He had a great time at MaFF.
Oct. 7, 2006:
Well, the ferrets decided to get me up about 5:30 this morning. We have cleaned the cage and the litter pans already. We have been in the ball box, the peanut box and up the climbing tower. Odie has already climbed the fence once and Sammie and Rocky have wreaked havoc on my room. They are still romping through the house!
Donna had Odie in one of the playpens when I got him. What she doesn't realize is that he was nice to her. He could have escaped from that pen anytime he chose! He climbs over the pen all the time!
They have been running through the tubes a lot, too. I have been participating in a raisin study and have little packs of raisins everywhere. It is hilarious how they try so hard to get at them.
Anyway, the boys are getting along together great. Was it really just a week ago that they became a business? Renee