PUTTERING IS A GOOD THING...

George (foreground) and Dave sleep in the sock nest.

I took Dave to the vet today so she could give him a check-up and see how he's doing. He's actually doing quite well -- he wakes up from his naps and putters around and he's eating good. Dr. Dori said his heart and lungs sound pretty good. He does have some sores in his mouth, on his upper gums. So, we are giving him Clavamox for that. We are decreasing the Lasix and weaning him off of that to see how he does.

Dr. Dori showed me Dave's x-rays and, yeah, it looks pretty bleak. She notes two growths (probably tumors) -- one in his heart and one under his trachea. ::sigh::

So...I'm cherishing every day he is with us. Right now, he has a good quality of life. I hope it stays that way. Still, how do I prepare for this, the inevitable? How do I stop the heartbreak of loosing him?

Anyway, I snapped the photo above this evening. The "sock nest" was created when Dave came to us with his cagemate, Cupid. They stole K.'s dirty socks, took them under his desk in his office and slept there. After Cupid died we never picked the socks up, but Dave didn't sleep there much. Lately, though, I've seen him back under there, usually curled up with George or Misty. It's bittersweet.

Cupid and Dave sleep in the sock nest. After Cupid died, Dave stopped sleeping there.

About Dave Bear

His favorite places to sleep are the sock nest under K.'s desk, the big plastic container in our bedroom or the toy box we converted into a Hidey Hole. Sometimes he'll surprise me, though, and I'll find him in a ferret pile in the hammock under the bed or sleeping in one of the crinkle tunnels.

Even though he's blind, he gets around just fine. A few bumps into the walls at times. Or a bump into the Thing that mommie put in his path that wasn't there before. But he just good-naturedly finds his way around it.

He hits the potty pad more often than his comrades, none of which are blind.

He knows exactly when it is time for his Duck Soup and comes straight to the kitchen and waits for me. My favorite time of day is sitting with Dave in my lap as he gobbles up his soup and then washes his feet.

He loves boxes. K.'s trash can. And WalMart bags. And "crunchies". And N-Bones. He lets the other guys steal his treats and he just comes back for more. He "hides" his treasures in the middle of the living room floor. We just pretend we don't see them.

He lets me give him his medicine, even though it's yukky. He knows I'm taking care of him. Plus he always gets Ferretone after his medicine.

He's gained a lot of weight and waddles. He's losing his beautiful coat. And he is just so beautiful to me. He shows me unconditional love, because I, too, have have gained a lot of weight and waddle. But Dave doesn't care. I'm Mommie and he loves me.

BAILEY MUST'VE STOLEN MY CALENDAR

Holy Cow, where does the time go?? My last post was in January?? Really??? :::hanging head:::: Aarrrrgghh. Let's update, shall we?

Well. Bailey, my champagne baby who got scalped by Milo, is now a part of the Wildkatz and he and Milo are BFF's. (Go figure) Bailey is the wildest of them all and he loves to find trouble. He loves to sneak in Keith's office, climb up on his desk and knock everything (including the wireless keyboard) off. He also enjoys erasing the greeting message on the business phone and stealing the computer mouse and Keith's glasses. He will attempt to steal the TV remote and it's a game of tug-of-war trying to get it back. He loves, loves to run and quite often we will just see him hauling ass through the house. It's hysterical. He's such a little clown!

Angel, my little girl who had adrenal surgery last November, never regrew her hair (except on her tail). Dr. Dori felt a lump upon examination and suggested a second surgery, which we did. That was just this past June. Turns out Angel was growing a tumor on her right adrenal and bone was forming around it! Weird. Now the little stinker is growing her hair back and she is going to be a beautiful DEW!

Oh, and we went to Shreveport in April for the First Annual Ferret Fun Rodeo. We had a blast! Smokey won 1st Place for Longest Kisser; Bailey won 1st Place in the tube races and 2nd in the bag races; Angel won 1st Place for Smallest Female Ferret; Angel and Smokey took 3rd Place for Opposites: Big and Small.

That pretty much brings us up to date -- at least with the Big Stuff.

But, there is one more Big Thing, and this just happened today. Dave, my blind guy and oldest by estimation, has insulinoma and I've been giving him prednisone for about a year. Lately he's had some hair loss on his back and head, a sign of possible adrenal disease. We felt that he was healthy enough to withstand exploratory surgery to remove the tumors, so it was scheduled for today. Just as they were about to put him under anaesthesia, Dr. Dori noticed Dave kind of choking and she realized he wasn't breathing good. So she did an x-ray and ultrasound and discovered a large mass that is either in his heart or his lungs, which is constricting his breathing.

Needless to say, the surgery was cancelled and she started Dave on Benazapril for his heart and Lasix to help get rid of the excess fluid.

Bottom line: my little Dave doesn't have much longer. And my heart is breaking.

GENERALALITIES

That Dave. He's such a Duck Soup addict. I feed all my guys DS every night. I hold each one individually in my lap and they eat their soup while I pet them and talk to them. This gives me a little bit of time with each ferret, plus I can do little "inspections" to make sure they don't have any lumps or bumps. Dave just loves it. Sometimes he waits for me in the chair (too cute). After he eats, he stays in my lap and cleans his face and feet and stretches. It always brings me out of whatever is distracting me.

Sometimes George hangs around in my lap a few minutes, too; the rest of the guys can't wait to jump back down (they still have to give me a 'lovie' first, though, that's the rule).

Every now and then I put the bowl of Cupid's leftovers (what didn't get pulled into his syringe) on the floor. Dave gets it every time! He may be blind, but he can sniff out a bowl of Duck Soup. I don't mind at all ~ it's very good for them.

I'm thinking of trying real chicken in the place of the chicken baby food I use, just to see how the like it. I tried offering raw beef a few days ago, which didn't go over too well, haha, but perhaps boiled chicken in the DS will be acceptable. :?

Cupid is still with us. Still bad, no real change. One of his little eyes was all gooey today when I got home from work. His nose was a little crusty, too. I got a syringe of soup and a bit of water down him. My poor baby.

Last night, Keith put Cupid in a little bed and put him on the floor next to his side of the bed ((so sweet)). Cupid slept there until about 4 am, when I woke up cough, cough, coughing....So I got up and put Cupid back in his cage.

I am sleep deprived, but I don't care. It's worth it.

CONSIDERING DAVE

(OK. So, I decided to give someone else some blogtime and give poor Cupid a break...)

Meet my little guy, Dave E. Bear. Dave is Cupid's BFF and is just about the sweetest, most gentle fuzzy ever. I brought Cupid and Dave home from the rescue I volunteer for. At the time, the rescue was getting full and needed some space, so I took them in to foster.

It didn't take long before these two guys stole our hearts (and our socks). As a Christmas gift this past Christmas, I officially adopted Cupid and Dave. It was the best gift ever!

Dave and Cupid came from a home where their owner was a young girl who was leaving for college. The girl's parents didn't want to care for these two, so they were surrendered to the rescue.

Dave is almost 5 years old (approximately) and is a big, beautiful black and white sable. He is a Marshall's ferret and a Gemini :0) . And, Dave is blind. I don't think he was always blind - it must have been a progressive degeneration of some kind. When we first got him, I noticed he slept with his eyes open. Then I noticed he ran into things (poor baby). Now he gets around so well, you'd never even know he couldn't see. He has an amazing nose and can smell Duck Soup a mile away!

Dave E. Bear's favorite things are eating Duck Soup and then sitting in my lap afterwards to wash his hands and feet and stretch. He loves snuggling in one of his favorite sleep spots and snoozing, playing in sacks and slo-mo wrestling with Cupid (seriously, it's funny).

He is learning to tolerate baby Milo's sudden pounces and piggy back rides. When he has to, he can hold his own in a rumble.

Dave is the essence of pure goodness and unconditional love. He is a good sport and is so patient with himself and with others. He is a peaceful little fellow and he had brought so much healing to me.

He is a beautiful boy and I love him deeply !!