Friday, January 16, 2009

Rest In Peace my sweet Sadie


(Sadie before she was sick)


It with a heavy heart I post today. On Jan. 13th and 12:45 pm our sweet ferret Sadie crossed the rainbow bridge. It's been hard to talk about, which I why I am only now reporting this news.


Some of you may remember the day we found out she was sick. She'd stopped eating and was losing weight rapidly. She was diagnosed with Inuslinoma. We were able to get her eating again with the help of a special food and medications. After a month or so she was again the happy playing ferret we all loved.


(Sadie taking her meds one day after the diagnosis.)


A few months ago, after a job change and a big pay cut, we had to make the tough decision of finding Sadie a caregiver that could afford her medical care. We could not afford the care she needed to keep her healthy and happy. After almost 5 years of loving her, we had to give her up. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but we knew it was best for her. We found her a wonderful home with a ferret sanctuary just over an hour away from our house. She had 13 other ferrets to play with, lots of free roaming room, and a wonderful couple to care for her. They were also experienced in the area of caring for ferrets with special medical needs. After a visit to K's house, we knew she was the one to love our Sadie for her remaining days.

K has been fantastic. She sent us updates and photos in email. She invited us over to play with Sadie, or any of her other ferrets, anytime we wished. While we no longer had Sadie in our home, she was always in our hearts.

K contacted me shortly after Sadie died to tell me what had happened and to let me know she passed peacefully in K's arms. It appears Sadie's liver had given up. We knew this would happen sooner or later, but it's still very hard. We tried to give her the best life a ferret could have, and tried to put her needs ahead of our own wants. I hope we made the right choices.

My children and Sadie, December 2007.






Goodbye my sweet girl. We love you and your absence leaves a hole in our hearts that can never be filled.

9 comments:

OhYeahBabe said...

I'm really sorry for your family's loss!
OYB

Vikki said...

I'm so sorry. I feel so badly for you all. Losing a family pet is like losing a family member.

T.J. Freeman Jr. said...

Amy, I'm sorry to hear about your loss. We had a couple ferrets right before our first child was born and they were some of the most loving and playful animals I've ever been around.

Patty said...

Oh Amy, I'm so sorry. Losing a fur-baby is so hard. You and your kids are in my thoughts.

~Lena said...

Oh no, I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm crying right now after reading your post because I just lost my Theda, (my beloved cat of 17 years), right after Thanksgiving, and my heart is still completely broken over her. My deepest sympathies to you...

Amy Dungan said...

Thanks so much everyone. Knowing you care means the world to us. ((HUGS))

Unknown said...

I'm so sorry for your loss, Amy. Pets are truly a gift from God, if only borrowed for a brief time.

Jennifer [To PIN/share a Post, Click the 3 dots or the Red SAVE Button] said...

I agree with Carol. :-( So sorry for your loss.

I saw a dog get run over yesterday (thankfully, he survived (but when I looked he was right in front of the car and focused on the other dogs. One dog, amazingly, ran to his aid to comfort him. People rallied to help the injured animal who has such an adorable face (he was sooo confused and hurt) - front paw (wrist) broken). I was so traumatized and took hours to calm down properly. I cried and prayed and in the end I think he will be okay. The dogs "play" in the streets here. It is so crazy and sad too. I had a premonition and wish I had prayed even harder. Sigh.

Children learn so much about love and caring when they have pets.

Amy Dungan said...

Thanks Carol and Jennifer. It's amazing how much animals can touch our lives.

I hope the dog is ok too Jennifer. It's sad to see something like that happen...