Hello again to all of our supporters.

First off, on behalf of the Ferret Rescue board and all the fosters, we would like to share our heartfelt appreciation to all who donated to Rio's treatment and kept this sweet little ferret in their thoughts and prayers. Thank you also to Dr. Auger and Dr. Laite for their input and consultation in fighting to save our darling fuzzbutt.

We unfortunately bring the sad news that Rio's battle came to an end today. Numerous courses of treatment were attempted, from steroids to a number of different antibiotics, all to no avail. Rio never stopped fighting but a decision was needed as we had run out of treatment options and a diagnosis had yet to be found. At 13:00, the process to transfer her from Alta Vista Animal Hospital to March Road Animal Hospital began. With the help of Dr. Cheryl Laite, and in the arms of Jen and me, Rio was helped across the rainbow bridge.

Rio's case is unusual because she was able to remain aware and appreciative of her surroundings, keep a robust appetite and normal urine and stool output all despite the apparent severity of her respiratory issues. For the duration of her treatment, from Sunday the 17th to Thursday the 21st of May, she was kept within an oxygen tent, on 24hour ICU care, all the while eating her duck soup meals and doling out nose kisses for anyone who asked. Her breathing rate did remain shallow and very rapid even in her oxygen rich environment and the two sets of X-rays that were taken showed an abnormal lung consolidation pattern. After 5 long days, Rio was clearly tiring and we knew that we'd soon have to let her go. Though a bacterial or viral infection seems to have been ruled out, it is still important to obtain a definitive diagnosis to be sure Rio's plight is not likely to affect other foster ferrets. We knew in order to find the cause of Rio's issues and to prevent her from truly suffering, we had to say goodbye sooner than later. This has been one of the hardest goodbye's both Jen and I have been asked to face in our many years as part of the rescue.

In the end, we are left with a $2200 bill at Alta Vista, as well as a bill at March Road Animal Hospital for the assistance received from Dr. Laite in helping Rio cross the Rainbow Bridge and in hopefully finding Rio's illness. The total of that bill has yet to be determined, as is the final diagnosis. We will share this information as soon as it is available to us. Keep in mind that a decision to go the route of invasive therapy, non-invasive or not to treat is ferret and illness dependent. We try to let sick animals cross the rainbow bridge for the right reasons and at the right time. Rio's case was difficult but we know that everything reasonable was tried. There are no regrets, only sadness.

As we are a volunteer charity, receiving nothing in the way of official government funding, this latest medical crisis could have left the rescue's bank account very depleted and with no ability to recover even after our biggest upcoming biannual fundraiser. Without your generous additional donations that we have received so far, we may not have been in a position to provide definitive treatment for other sick fuzzies in the near future let alone maintain the current level of care that we offer. We can't thank you enough. For all of you who pulled together to help give us that extra boost, especially in these difficult times...THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts. In addition to getting monetary donations, knowing that we have such a supportive, ferret-loving community has helped to keep our spirits. It reminds us that others share our passion for these wonderful souls and keeps us moving forward even after little tragedies!

We again, would like to thank Dr. Daren Auger and Dr. Cheryl Laite who worked with each other and Alta Vista to try and solve the mystery and save Rio's life. Thank you both for not giving up! We know that she appreciated every extra hour that you gave her, as do we. We couldn't have fought so hard without your support and advice.