VAIL — Buddy was near death a year ago.
He was malnourished, underweight and severely dehydrated. He required weeks of intensive veterinary care. Almost more shocking than his condition was his recovery.
Buddy is one of numerous pet ferrets that are mistreated, neglected and abused each year.
Buddy's original owner was a member of Ferret Friends of Tucson. She suspected her pet had been stolen by a neighbor — the same one who returned the severely abused animal three months later.
"You could tell he was on his last; he was ready to die," said Ferret Friends member Don Heywood, who lives in the same neighborhood as the other club member. "She waited until he was absolutely dying. That's the only good thing I could say, is she did bring him to my door."
Buddy's nails were painted pink, he had lost half his body weight, and a doll skirt with an elastic band was wrapped so tightly around his body that it had to be cut off.
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"The ferret had been abused to the point that it did physical damage — that tight clothing on it for a long period of time and dehydration," Heywood said. "Even getting him to the vet as fast as I tried to get him there, I still thought he was dead."
"He was presented to me for lethargy and severe dehydration," said exotic animal veterinarian John Vagnetti. "He did stay for an extended period of time in the hospital. We had him in intensive care and on IV fluid therapy and antibiotics and supportive care."
Buddy spent two weeks recuperating at Valley Animal Hospital, said his current owner, Ferret Friends treasurer and Raytheon engineer Dian Curran. When the $700 vet bill was more than Ferret Friends could afford, Curran stepped up, paid the tab and added Buddy to her ferret family, which now numbers eight.
Curran and Heywood each own ferrets that came from abusive or neglectful homes. Still, Vagnetti doesn't think ferrets are any more prone to abuse than other pets.
"I probably don't see higher incidents (of abuse) in exotic pets," he said. "It probably stands out more because the exotic pets aren't as common as dogs and cats. With a lot of these exotic pets, the biggest problem is the owners are not well-learned in the proper husbandry and care of these animals. They bring them home because they're unique and they have this animal they're stuck with . . . and they're not familiar with a lot of the animal's needs."
Linda Iroff, director of the Ohio-based International Ferret Congress, an education and networking nonprofit organization, agrees that owner ignorance is a bigger problem than deliberate abuse.
"Some of it might be that people aren't familiar with ferrets and don't know what kind of care they need. They do require a fair amount of attention, so if they're not given the attention they need and the proper kind of food, they're not going to be happy animals.
"Some people react to getting bitten by kicking the animal across the floor," Iroff said. "If they kick a 75-pound dog, it's different than if they kick a ferret."
Owner frustration plays a part in ferret neglect, too, said Julie Fossa, of the West Central Ohio Ferret Shelter.
"I've been sheltering for eight years and I've seen a lot of unusual things," she said. "People see this endearing little creature in the pet store and they impulse buy. They don't realize they just brought home a perpetual 2-year-old. Not everybody's cut out to be a ferret owner."
Fortunately, Buddy's new owner is a ferret person.
"I think a lot of people get impulse-purchase ferrets like I did with Midnight," said Curran about her first ferret. "They're cute, they're playful, but they . . . require a lot of care and after a couple of years the novelty wears off. What happened to Buddy, I have no comprehension of deliberate animal cruelty, but a lot of our ferrets come from people who abuse them.
"When I got him, he was very scared. It took him six months to recover. He was always a very curious ferret, but for three months, he just sat and was seriously depressed. Then he started coming out of it."
A year after Buddy's ordeal, said Curran, "He's not as affectionate as he used to be. He's not as much a people ferret, but he's back to his curious self."
How to help
● Ferret Friends of Tucson
For more information about the ferret rescue, adoption and resource group, go to www.ferretfriends.org or call 762-5568.
