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.

BAILEY UPDATE UPDATE

OK, so the swelling and scabbing was just too much. I decided to get Bailey in to the vet first thing this morning and I'm really glad I did. The wounds were abscessing and infected. Dr. D. shaved his little noggin and drained the wounds. Now you can clearly see two teeth punctures from the sabre-toothed ferret that got hold of him. Not pretty, but it looks better than the mess he had before the vet cleaned him up.

He got a shot of penicillin and some oral antibiotic (Clavamox). And she told me to put Preparation H on his wounds. Apparently, it's not just for hemorrhoids anymore...

We got home from the vet and Bailey was war dancing and dooking and crunching his kibble. Now he is blissfully asleep, dreaming, I'm sure, of the day he can kick Milo's ass.

Milo, interestingly enough, has been searching all over for Bailey (I have Bailey separated from the others - in the back part of the house). He's seemed a bit anxious. This morning he came and laid at my feet and then rolled over on his back. Awwwwww!!! So I picked him up and gave him lots of lovies and told him that I still love him very much, no one is mad at him and everything is going to be OK. Then, he just bounced off and went to play with the others, all happy again.

Tell me they don't have minds.....

I'm still thinking about the poor little ferret, Buddy, who is stuck at the SPCA. Man, I dunno. I so want to go get him, but, considering all the 'trauma drama' that just went down this week; not to mention the fact that I had to pay the vet with a post-dated check today....I have no business adopting another one. Hubby would really be pissed and I really need to consider the expense of these guys. It's important to me that they are properly cared for. That they get to the vet when they need it, they get their shots, their heartworm preventative...decent food...all that. AND my attention and time.

It breaks my heart, but I can't save them all. I want to. But I can't. I'm not doing myself any favors by looking at sites like the SPCA and Craigslist. It just adds to my heartbreak. Now, I have this little guy that I've never met, pictured in my head, sitting at the SPCA -- waiting for someone to love him.

GAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! I hate it. It's so freaking unfair.