Ivy, An Emotional Battle

by Sarah Romano

Ivy has been with us for a year and a half now. She is 6-7 years old. Her story is a sad one. When she came to us, she was skinny and terrified of everyone and everything. The more we saw her, the more her sad past was unveiled to us. We believe that she had been abused. This awful thing has damaged her emotionally.

Ivy was so scared of humans she was put with another ferret for comfort. They loved each other, but unfortunately her cage mate George passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. Ivy was devastated! She stopped eating and drinking. She would have withered away until she died if we had not hand fed her until she would eat on her own. She grew to trust us, so we offered to foster her.

Her past left a wound that will probably never heal completely. Ivy is an emotional little girl. To this day, she will stop eating if anything in her life changes, even slightly. This can be very bad, as Ivy has recently been diagnosed with Insulinoma, a low blood sugar disease that can be deadly in ferrets. She must keep eating to maintain her sugar level. She is on daily medication to regulate her blood sugar.

Ivy is comfortable in her foster home. She runs and plays and is very happy. However, because of all her health and emotional issues, Ivy will probably not be moving out of her foster home. Since we do not euthanize, she will stay in her loving environment for the rest of her years.

This is the case for many of the ferrets at Ferrets Unlimited Rescue Services. Your support helps us with the medical bills for these old but very sweet souls. Just because they may be a little older doesn't mean they shouldn't be loved just as much as the others! They should shine!

You can sponsor one of our hard to place ferrets. A regular donation to a particular ferret will go for his or her medical bills. Show these golden oldies they do matter! Maybe you want to adopt but can't, try sponsoring a ferret! You will get monthly updates, pictures and we can even arrange for you to meet him or her, if you wish.

Ivy has been sponsored by Diane and Daniel and by Megan. Thank you!!