[Gpdd] Rainbow Bridge: Condolences-Flint

[Moxie and Nexus]

So sorry to hear about Flint and how you tried to save him.
We try to do the best for our animals and try to make the best decisions, and sometimes it just doesn't work out.  
I had a 3 year old ferret five years ago that developed insulinoma, which is a death sentence.  It is cancer of the pancreas and causes low blood sugar.  It can be managed for a time with medication like prednisone, but that is a temporary fix.  Usually, this disease manifests in older ferrets.  I did a ton of research and found the best treatment was surgery, a partial pancreas removal, as ferrets have more than they need.  This could put the disease in remission.  I gathered a lot of info for my vet and we decided to go ahead with the surgery.  My boy never recovered.  He lingered for two weeks and I had to have him put to sleep because his kidneys failed.  The stress of the surgery was too much.  He must have had an underlying kidney problem that didn't show up on blood work prior to surgery.  I sure beat myself up over that.  Here I thought I was doing the best for him, trying to give him more time, and I put him through that surgery that killed him.  I would have still had him
 if I just kept him on medication.  His name was Chance because he was returned to a pet store for biting.  I adopted him and he turned out to be the friendliest ferret after I broke him of the biting.  I think he had been abused.  He never had much of a chance, hence his name.  He developed adrenal tumor at age 2, another rare occurence for a young ferret.  He had surgery for that and then got the rotten insulinoma not even a year later.  My point is that we always want to do what is best for our animals, and we think we make the right decision and then it doesn't work out and we feel guilty.  And we beat ourselves up.  
It is true that you can't replace a pet that is lost, but you can love another one in a different way.  A week after Chance died, I got another ferret and he turned out to be special too.  I haven't forgotten Chance but I was able to move on.
Take care.


Moxie, Nexus, Smudge, Ziggy, and Chuckie
God Bless America
In God We Trust