Webmaster Andy Binnie-Douglas

© Cumbria Ferret Rescue 2010

Cumbria Ferret Rescue

AKA Lakes and Borders Ferret Welfare & Rescue

We are a member of

Our Friends Gone to the Rainbow Bridge

Lumpy (Truly)

? - 2010

Lumpy came to us in January 2010 along with her (presumed) sister Scrumpy (Scrumptious). She was examined at the vet and was found to have a pea sized lump on her neck, suspected to be a tumour, which could not be removed, thus making her un-rehomable. Andy & Karen adopted both of them as we wanted to make her remaining time on earth happy , and the pair were bonded.

Time passed and the lump grew and shrank several times. Lumpy and Scrumpy were given their proper names at a competition in Pets@Home, and they both developed into great PR ferrets. However Lumpy started to show signs of stress at events as the lump grew into a much larger mass, slowly encompassing her neck.She was retired from PR work, but continued to potter around and also came along to shows for the company - but stayed away from the public snoozing away in a hammock.

Eventually her health deteriorated, she started to squabble more and more with the other ferrets, and that moment came when, for the first time, she pushed our hands away from her neck when we were examining the lump. This we took as a sign that she was now in pain, and as her quality of life could only go downhill from this point, we decided that it was time to let her go to the bridge. Sleep well Lumpy, you will always have a place in our hearts.

 

 

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In memory of Cody - Trish's very much loved house ferret

(? - 2010)

 

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Sandy

(? - 2010)

Sandy came to us along with several other ferrets late last year. He had a large abscess on his neck which was lanced and we hoped would clear up. He was very quiet and good natured, never attempting to bite anyone despite what must have been painful prodding etc which he had to endure at the vet. For a while things seemed to be improving, though he did loose some weight, but eventually the swelling dramatically increased in size again. He went off his food and was very listless and dull eyed. On a last visit to the vet he died before any further attempts to lance the abscess could be made. Dook on little buddy.

 

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Silent Bob

(?-2009)

 

Bob was found wandering by a member of the public and handed into Alston Animal Rescue. He was a lovely sandy whole hob but was very underweight & had lost a lot of his coat. A few days later he was transferred to Kendal in the care of Trish & in the company of Jay (a silver mitt hob).

Karen & Andy met the two boys, fell in love with them & decided that they would both make a great addition to the family, so they moved into the two up - two down hutch & were given their names. Bob loved to play with the water in the bowl, splashing it all over in delight. He was a most affectionate wee soul, nuzzling & cuddling whenever he could.

However things did not go well with Bob, his weight was very much an issue & for several reasons Jay soon moved into the main pen with the rest of the gang, while we attempted to build Bob up enough to be neutered so he could join in too. A visit to the vet to check him out could find nothing wrong apart from his weight. But things went from bad to worse as it became more and more difficult to get him to eat anything.

Over the next 10 days we tried everything, ground up kibble, ‘Duk’ soup, cat food, baby food and loads more besides. We spent countless hours trawling the Internet for ideas & inspiration. He would eat a bit of something, then refuse the same thing at the next feed. His weight meanwhile was dropping off alarmingly. He slept almost constantly, quite often cuddling round the back of Karen’s neck or in the hood of her dressing gown. He no longer had the energy to play with the water bowl.

Eventually, in desperation, we turned to force feeding him Duk soup with a syringe. At first this seemed to be working, he accepted the soup well. His weight stabilised but did not increase. Then he started to refuse the syringe & we scheduled a vet visit to try and boost his appetite with a steroid injection.

Sadly before this could happen he took a rapid downturn & lost control of his bodily functions. The vet visit became an emergency and Bob was carried to the Rainbow Bridge in Andy’s arms. RIP Bob.

“Where he came from we cannot say

but to us it was from the RSPCA

loving and quiet, age unknown

our love for him has grown and grown

thin and frail we cared for him the best we could

but God had other plans for Silent Bob

though now he has gone he left his mark

firmly printed on our hearts”

(Trish Dixon 2009)