→ qzpm:Every special ferret dances into his own place in your 09/09 16:32
→ qzpm:heart and stats there forever. 09/09 16:32
推 pokababy:建議把 貂 放進文章標題，這樣以後的版友比較好找 09/10 06:06
When it's Time to Say Good-Bye
Judith A. Bell, DVM, PhD
Veterinarian, Author, Internationally recognized expert on ferrets
This article was adapted from the "The Pet Ferret Owner's Manual" for
PetEducation.com and is used with permission from Judith Bell, DVM, PhD.
Most of the time, people outlive their pets. Dogs and cats sometimes survive
far into their teens, but ferrets rarely live more than 7 or 8 years. Eight
years is not long in the life of a human being. But it is more than enough time
to become so attached to a favorite ferret that the thought of losing that
busy, furry little body and wonderfully bright spirit is unbearably painful.
Old ferrets, and, sadly, even young ferrets, sometimes contract terminal
diseases, usually cancer. Ferrets have such an optimistic outlook that they get
along extremely well in the face of chemotherapy and surgery. They have a very
high threshold of pain and do not appear to suffer much post-surgical
discomfort. The pet-human bond becomes so strong that even a ferret that does
not feel like eating will swallow hand-fed food for the person he (or she)
loves. There comes a time when the disease has taken all his reserves. He loses
weight and becomes skeletally thin. He barely has energy to get up to use the
litter box. He sleeps most of the time, and eats only when his person of
significance begs him to take one more bite. He begins to lose control of his
hind legs. There is no medical treatment that will reverse all this. Your
little friend tries to go on only because he knows you expect him to. He licks
your face as usual, but he never does a dance of joy, never gets out of his bed
unless you pick him up. You suddenly realize that you are forcing your pet to
fight a battle that is already over, not because you really believe he will get
well, but because you can not face losing him. He is waiting for you to let go.
It is time to say good-bye.
If you have had a good relationship with your veterinarian, you can call him or
her almost any time of the day or night when you have made the decision to
release your friend from his struggle. Euthanasia means giving a very high dose
of anesthetic, from which there is no waking. You can hold your ferret in your
arms while he falls asleep for the last time. You can wrap him in his favorite
bedding and cry all the way home. You can bury him with his most cherished toy
in a spot you can see from your window, and plant flowers there in the spring.
If you have a hundred other ferrets, you will still remember what this one
meant to you. Every special ferret dances into his own place in your heart and
stays there forever.
Reference:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=11&cat=1297&articleid=569
有養過貂的朋友，一定會對這段文章印象更深刻。
貂是個很特別的物種和擁有特別的個性。我認為它和人的互動絕對不亞於一隻狗或是貓。
也因為如此，飼養上面的責任即對它的照護就更為重要。
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