(Old) Charlie
This is Old Charlie. He joined our family at the age of 10! His former owner kept him outdoors in a rabbit hutch with a cagemate for his first seven years. When the cagemate died, Old Charlie was brought in to the garage. The grandchildren never came to visit anymore. He never had a hammy or a blanky or a litterbox...he didn`t have any toys. He was eating cat food. When the owner spoke of just "klunking him in the head", because he was OLD, his daughter told him about Cathy and asked if she could take him to her! The father agreed and Old Charlie came to live at the sanctuary and made many new friends. He had insulinoma and was losing his fur due to adrenal disease. These are before and after pictures of Old Charlie who is a loved and happy boy now---and will be for the rest of his days !!!
UPDATE (By Zoo): June 25th, 2003
Old Charlie began losing his fur two years after his adrenal surgery, indicating that the other gland was probably diseased. His prostate was very enlarged. We opted for lupron (a form of chemo) instead of subjecting him to another invasive surgery. Old Charlie has lots of spunk and a burning desire to live. He needs his bladder expressed every 5-6 hours due to the enlarged prostate, but still runs and plays quite a bit! His appetite is very good. One of his favorite games is "hunting" down morsels of kibble which have been sprinkled on the floor for him to find. He is such a positive old guy. Hopefully, the lupron will kick in soon, and shrink the prostate enough so our old man can go on his own. Will post updates later.
UPDATE: October 26th, 2004
Five months ago, his legs became weak. He couldn`t walk anymore but scooted all around his cage (and the room, when he was out). He loved his soup. Wasn`t ready to die in spite of several small stokes. What spirit he had! He always bounced back...
The past few days his attitude had changed a bit. He slowed down and didn`t want as much soup.
Last night, his body temperature lowered. He was sleeping peacefully at bed time.
At 3 a.m. when I was doing special feedings, he began to seize intermittently. The seizures became worse and closer together as the morning wore on. Realizing that he was not going to recover this time I helped him cross at 8:15 this morning.
Old Charlie turned 13 in late July or early August according to his former owner who lives here in Kirkland.
We had a little over three wonderful years together. He was my sweetest old man. Although I am busy with 50 others here, I just feel totally lost today. This is the end of an era here at Zoo`s Ferret Sanctuary...
Love, Zoo
Captioned by webmistress