Extreme Weezils : Chronicles 13

Yes, it has been an entire YEAR since a new Extreme Weezils Chronicle entry has been written. This past year has been the most tumultuous EVER. Can you say LIFE CHANGES? Due to pending issues and simply trying not to dwell on things I will not get into most of it here, but there are some important ferret-related happenings to address...

BEAR ~ March 2000 - November 2004

On November 18, 2004 Bear passed over to the Rainbow Bridge. He had been looking sickly for a while, but all vet examinations turned up nothing of note or concern. His final wellness exam caught a large mass in his abdomen. Bear had a huge tumor that pushed all of his internal organs over to one side of his body. How, everyone wondered, could a happy go lucky ferret, acting his usual ferrety self, be so incredibly sick? So, Bear went in for surgery to remove the offending mass. I dropped him off myself in the morning on the 18th. Just a routine surgery, right?

Late that afternoon the vet called from the operating room. He had just opened up Bear and was absolutely shocked and horrified to find not only the tumor but that all of Bear's internal organs were absolutely infested with the cancer. If he closed Bear back up and sent him home, he would suffer greatly for the remainder of his very short life. The next step was quite clear to us and the vet. We had no choice, for Bear's sake, other than to not wake him up and allow him to go peacefully...

As peaceful as it may have been for Bear, it was NOT so for myself. Having never lost a fuzzy before, I was absolutely devastated and grieved hard for months. Our special Bear, while always in our hearts and minds, would never again play soccer, grab our ankles when we walked by, or would couch-dance again.

Late last year also brought two diagnosis of Adrenal disease - Basil and Raven must have Lupron shots monthly to supress the symptoms (hair loss, itchy skin, weight loss, etc.) Both are doing fantastic on the shots - thank God.

Sunday, February 22, 2004 10:40:44 AM

Spring is creeping towards us here in the Seattle, WA, USA area day by day. The ferrets are losing their winter weight. Sonya will be celebrating her one year anniversary with us in a couple of days. The cats will be ten and a half years old. Basil is continuing to lose his eyesight to cataracts, and, we fear, he may be showing early signs of adrenal disease.

Hold your fuzzies close to you each and every day - ALL OF YOU! Today may be your last with them, and tomorrow - for them OR you - may never come. How can I be so morbid and fatalistic on a beautiful pre-spring morning? One look at Basil's cloudy eyes, watching him bounce off the walls and careen into obstacles, realizing he is going to be FIVE years old this October ... The other ferrets are not too far behind in age. We were warned about this, but I would not have it any other way. If they need to be ill - even all at once - so be it. I would not change a moment of life with our fuzzies - all TWELVE of them!

Tuesday, January 27, 2004 3:30:47 PM

WEEZIL CAM is BACK online ... for now ....

Sunday, January 25, 2004 11:10:33 AM

ATTENTION : The Extreme Weezils have NOT had a computer, AT ALL for almost six months, so almost ALL your form submissions have been either lost or amongst a HUGE amount of mail to go through. PLEASE be patient if you HAVE contacted us and have not received a reply. ALSO, somewhat related to this issue, the IMMENSE amount of SPAM I've been getting via the same email address has made it absolutely MANDATORY for me to create an entirely NEW contact email address ... Write to dook@extremeweezils.com or see our FEEDBACK page....

The Extreme Weezils are now proud members of the American Ferret Association .... promoting the health and welfare of ferrets across the country and the world!

Here is a breif review of the months of Extreme Weezilized activity:

I've travelled across the country and back - to visit my family in Boston... This last trip I took was the most difficult one of all, as my Nana was in a nursing home while my Zayde worried himself half to death about her ... I only had one week to help, to visit, to count my blessings each moment I had family near me....

This household has been turned inside out, upside down, and inverted in so many different ways that it is almost shocking that we have come out the other side relatively unscathed. Details aside due to the personal nature of such, I am still a bit stunned that we are all still here.
Again, the fuzzies have helped me get through another seemingly impossible life situation... Thanks, fuzzies!

I still remain at my pharmacy manager job, despite the roller coaster ride experienced DAILY as such. Exhausted, I'm thrilled to have a week off that I'm staying HERE instead of flying off to see my family in Boston (although part of me really, REALLY wants to go anyway...)

... and that is just SOME of what has been going on with me PERSONALLY .... I've got to really think about all the things that have happened to the fuzzies this past handful of months....

Saturday, January 24, 2004 5:06:17 PM

The Extreme Weezils are BACK and ready for MORE ferrety FUN ..... It has been a loooonnnngggg half a year or so since I was able to sit down at a computer to do ANY work on the website, or able to take photos for that matter..... What has been going on? Where have the Extreme Weezils been for so long? If I can come up with an acceptable answer that doesn't make me feel ill, I'll let you know.

MEANWHILE .... behind the facade of this innocent-looking bookstore .... I'm HARD at work updating photos, banners, graphics, and YES, even planning to get WEEZIL CAM going again. STAY TUNED!