It's one of those days...

[Lazy-Ferret]

Today has been one of those days, stressful does not begin to describe it..

I have spent a huge amount trying to get info ready for the insurance companies, stripping our lovely caravan of personal stuff, and then we received that awful insulting settlement offer...

But that all pails into insignificance tonight...

All of our ferrets are rescues, and for that reason, most are older when we get them, but last year, through a strange set of circumstances, we ended up looking after 6 kits that were only 3 days old, plus their parents. Being softies, and seeing them all grow up from little balls of fluff into nice polite teenagers, we did not do a very good job of re-homing them, and ended up with 3 of them staying with us. Last month, one of the babies, was diagnosed with a bad heart murmur at only a year old.. Apart from medication, there was nothing they could do for him, and the vet warned us, we only had limited time with him. We hopefully made him feel special, and thankfully he thought his medicine was actually a treat, and could not believe his luck at getting them so regularly and often.

Well tonight he had a heart attack, and has passed on. We are gutted and shocked, as he had spent the day playing normally, and being his usual annoying self, making me laugh out loud, even when at my most stressed today, as he made a point of coming onto the sofa, and throwing all my collated paperwork on the floor, and then happily danced all over and under it, before running of, to play with the others. I was wondering how the insurance adjustor's will take to tiny ferret foot prints on their paperwork, but to be honest, stuff them, it's only paper.

I know they are not everyone's cup of tea, but ferrets really are special little animals, and we could all learn a lot from them, in how they live their lives to the full right up to the last second.

Sweet Dreams Little Picnic, we are so glad and thankful you ended up coming to live with us.

[briggie]

rest in peace little friend

[AD Ent]

Aye, poor little fella. Thanks for sharing.

[melissachels]

aww poor bugger, he enjoyed his last day by the sounds of it tho

[macabethiel]

How sad sorry to hear about the Ferret.
We have 3 Chihuahuas (Previously had German Shepherds x 3 over 30 years) the eldest Chihuahua - Ben is now 13, Percy the pain in the but is almost 3 but the one that steals our hearts and affection in Hugo 6 years.

Hugo was re-homed by us from a breeder who supplied us with our previous dogs before they became 'fashionable'.

We renamed him half-pint though he also answers to squidge.

He was fed with a syringe when he was born as he could not suckle due to a badly deformed jaw. As a consequence his tongue is too long for his curved jaw - it skews sideways. He weighs just under 1 kg and is about the size of a male Guinea Pig.

We had to have all his teeth removed 20 months ago as they were rotten and causing him pain.
Because he has a very slow heart beat the Vet was not happy about using a conventional anaesthetic when removing said teeth so he used the old fashioned Nitrous Oxide Gas so he could bring him round easily if his heart beat showed distress.

He is a great character and though he is at the Vet every few months with bronchial / windpipe issue he is one of the family.

We have to hand feed him the bulk of his meat as he cannot chew properly he just sort of swallows small bits. His favourite is Aldi Garlic Sausage and Tongue from the butchers.

To eat a biscuit he takes it in his mouth and slobbers all over it to make it soft. He then spits it onto the floor leaves it for up to half a minute then eats the mush !

His nose is always snotty but he accepts us wiping it for him to reduce crud build up !
We do not expect him to live a long time as he is prone to breathing problems and his heart is quite weak we have had him just over two years now he has so much courage we might get another two out of him who knows ?

[bry]

Pets,soon become family members.And therefore,their lost is felt is felt as such.
At least you had good times together mate.

[Lazy-Ferret]

I went to the hospital today, I have been having bad pains in my heel and arch of my foot since the accident, that have got worse and worse.... I think it where I was pushing the clutch pedal down, when I saw she was going to hit us, and basically put all my weight on the one foot.

So I drove up to the hospital, I would have walked, but my foot really does hurt, so after crawling round and round the car park 10 times, trying to find a parking space, I ended up driving half way back home, parking the car in a side street and hobbling back to the hospital.

As I walk in, I look in the waiting room, there are 2 people in there, and the number 91 is on the big red neon display. full of trepidation, taking my self to hospital is a very big step for me, I take my Ticket.. Bingo, number 92... I take a seat to wait for my number to be displayed in the 2 foot high neon red display, and use the waiting time to solve the question of life, universe and everything, but I did not manage to work out, why the car park is full, when there are only 2 people in the waiting room!!!

After a while, a robotic voice, announces for Number 92 to come forward, and there is a loud Ping, and the red neon sign changes from 91 to 92... Now I do have an advantage here, as the reception in the waiting area, is actually nothing to do with the minor injuries unit, which has it's reception the other side of a set of double doors.. I only know this, as we were up there a couple of weeks back with Suz.

So I hobble to the correct reception, where I get to answer lots of questions... the worrying one was when she asked me who my next of kin was... I did not even realise foot pain could be life threatening... So now in a heightened state of anxiousness, I am sent back out to the same waiting room, which is now rather strangely, empty... Where did the 2 other people go?... they weren't even together, and to get to see the nurse, they would have had to walk past where I was sitting answering the receptionists questions...

I carefully, and very nervously sit down to wait for my name to be called... I chose a different seating area, to where the others were sitting, just in case they were abducted, or taken away for chemical testing... Now I understand why they wanted my next of Kin.

I spend the next 45 mins randomly flicking from thoughts about, what my name would sound like when the computer called me, to why the TV on the wall has a large red sticker saying "This is not a Television", to keeping an eye on the exit doors, just in case what ever took the other 2 people should return for me.... I do not look at the large red neon number sign, just in case it is actually a brain washing device.

Eventually, a lady walks out into the waiting area, and says "Mr Slade?, would you care to follow me?"... So now I will never know what the computer generated "Mr Clive Slade" name would sound like. I follow her out of the waiting area, through both reception areas, and into a little room out the back... leaving the waiting area totally empty. As I pass the exit doors I wonder whether now would be the best time to make a break for it, but get distracted at the cars waiting for a space in the over flowing car park...

Once in the little room, I am asked to take a seat... there are two, one is uncomfortably close to the nurse, but the other one, is rudely too far away... I hate having to make decisions like this... As I guess she is going to want to check my foot over, I decide on the closer one, and put my jacket on the other... We are now almost knee to knee... I notice a window behind her, not sure it would work as an escape route, but it's good to see there are plenty of humans still milling round the car park looking for spaces, maybe they would hear my shouts... Briefly, I wonder if all the extra cars belong to all the missing people, and how often someone comes round and clear the un-needed cars away... I wonder what they do with them all?

The Nurse decides to have a little chat with me, apparently, I seem a bit nervous!!!! We talk at length, discussing all sorts of things, from her child's future career choice, to the accident, and even to my thoughts on the meaning of life, where she explains how she thinks my theory is floored. After all this talking, she looks at my foot, and makes a scary and very upsetting diagnosis on my foot pain...



Today I was told, as you get older, your Plantar Fasciitis sags…. Then if you over stretch it, it goes into cramp like spasms when you relax… e.g. sleep, and there is nothing they can do, it just a thing old people have to contend with!!!



So I must now be officially old, as my Plantar Fasciitis is all saggy…

There is some good news though, I think a saggy Plantar Fasciitis actually Trumps wrinkles, and Bingo Wings!!!

So I escape from the hospital in one piece just a lot older, and despite the pain in my foot, I hobble into the car park, jangling my keys, like I am about to find and get into my car. As I look around me, I see a whole host of cars all trying to converge on my location and all trying to second guess which car I am going too. Everyone of them hoping to be the first to grab my empty parking space. At the last possible second, I turn and walk out the car park entrance, just taking one last look over my shoulder, to check out the mad look of frustrating disappointment on all their faces.....

Yep, I am now old, cantankerous, and grouchy... Result, I missed the male menopause... :-)

[RobN]

, RIP the little one,

Loved your Hospital Story

[micktheshed]

Lazy-ferret;
I've had almost exactly the same happen to me some years ago.
The 'cure' is to have an foam insert made to fit into your shoe. This will support the 'fallen arch' & reduce heel strike as you walk. These are expensive (£100ish) but free on the NHS & last years. I now only buy shoes with padded soles to amplify the cushioning.
The effect is truly amazing, & coupled with physio is as good as a cure. Get your doctor to arrange it ASAP before you do serious damage & don't walk around without shoes or slippers on as bare feet make it worse.

This why I now drive an auto!

Micktheshed (MD with bar, consultations only if your rich enough LOL).

[melissachels]

Originally Posted by micktheshed

Lazy-ferret;
I've had almost exactly the same happen to me some years ago.
The 'cure' is to have an foam insert made to fit into your shoe. This will support the 'fallen arch' & reduce heel strike as you walk. These are expensive (£100ish) but free on the NHS & last years. I now only buy shoes with padded soles to amplify the cushioning.
The effect is truly amazing, & coupled with physio is as good as a cure. Get your doctor to arrange it ASAP before you do serious damage & don't walk around without shoes or slippers on as bare feet make it worse.

This why I now drive an auto!

Micktheshed (MD with bar, consultations only if your rich enough LOL).

boots do good arch supports I've got some that go from your heel to just behind your toes think they were bout £25 quid

[solarman216]

Clive, respect mate, you love your ferrets like we love our Jacks, and I feel for your loss, insurance papers excluded, but she lived till the end, that is what they do, regards Rick