Bart and Milhouse are my two young ferret friends. They are 15 and 16 months old and have been with me since they were 1 and 2 months. They are the nicest, most loving, most friendly little critters you will ever meet. Bart is more bold and courageous (even taking on the mean ol' kitty cat) and Milhouse has always been more shy and curious. They are absolutely inseparable, they can't stand to be apart from each other even long enough to take a bath without rattling the cage or trying dig under the bathroom door.

Recently Milhouse (the brown one) seemed to be weak and wasn't wanting to eat or drink. A quick trip to vet revealed that he had let his curiousity get the better of him and managed to eat some sort of non-food object that got lodged in his stomach/intestines. The veteranarian at Mission Animal & Bird Hospital in Oceanside, California went over options with me and we came to the conclusion that surgery gave him the best chance of survival. His blood pressure and body temperature were very low and he was incredibly dehydrated. They started him on fluids and glucose and performed surgery late at night (3/8/15). They say it was successful but there is a lot of bruising on his intestines and a lot of fluid build up in his stomach, so further hospitalization is necessary. I hope for nothing less than a full bright eyed and bushy tailed recovery and the doctors say with proper care and attention they are hopeful for the best. 

My heart sunk to the pit of my stomach when I received the $3400 estimate  for his treatment and surgery (the final bill came to $2500 after the vet hospital was able to reduce the price and review necessary treatments). But I knew that I could not let money be the reason why my friend would die. He is so loving and I would absolutely hate to see his cage-mate Bart have to continue without his best friend at such a young age.  I have opened a line of credit through the veteranarian hospital which luckily has a 6 month zero APR financing plan, but was only approved for $1700. I have to pay the rest with an existing credit card.

I work as a instructional aide at a special needs school dealing primarily with Autism but other developmental disabilites as well. I work extra hours as a family support services provider for young adults with Autism and Cerebral Palsy. Most of the kids I work with have met the ferrets and love them very much. They are a constant hit at the school drawing out such curiousity and compassion from kids who normally have trouble conjuring or expressing such emotions. 
The down side to this profession is it does not pay any kind of glamorous salary. This is why I am turning to anyone who might be willing to help. Any amount would be so incredibly appreciated and would make things just that much easier for my family and I. 

Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.

-Ian