Art and Healing- "Bonkers" Carol Chretien

Painting of Bonkers
Carol Chretien

The "Peanuts" character "Snoopy" always starts his novels off with "It was a cold and stormy night...." and you smile at the cliché' but the following story was told to me by one of the biggest hearted people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. There are people who love animals...a lot...then there is Kathy. This is the great ferret rescue caper related to me by Kathy Kelley (with permission granted) 

 

Bonker's story begins on a cold snowy night in February 2003.   I was exiting off the highway when I noticed a small animal crossing in front of my car.  As I slowed down I realized it was a young ferret.  I pulled over to the side of the road and got out of my car.  It was a dark wooded area and I thought I would never be able to catch this little guy.  I just stood there in the woods and called, "ferret, ferret, ferret."  Within minutes this little creature was sitting on my foot looking up at me.  I picked her up and brought her home.

 I was very puzzled because ferrets cannot survive in the wild and this little guy was clean and very healthy.  About 300 yards across the off ramp where I found her there is a pet store.  I called the pet store to make sure that someone didn't report a missing ferret.  I thought maybe someone had lost her in their parking lot.  As it turned out they did not sell any ferrets that night because the shipment they had just received, the ferrets were too young to be sold. 

I decided to keep "Bonkers" because I thought there was

a reason I found her.   As I got to know this little ferret I became aware that she is an escape artist.  I figured out that she must have escaped her previous owner during transport to the pet store.  She likes nothing better to get by me and make a mad dash throughout my house.

Bonkers is now 3 years old and has been diagnosed with lymphoma.  Her prognosis is not good and I now know why I happened to find her on that snowy night.  She has to be hand fed warm soft food 3 times a day along with her prednisone and antibiotics.  Having experience with ferrets I know that you cannot just allow them to stop eating.  Her instincts tell her not to eat but with coaching she is eating quite a bit.  I like to say I have to "jump start her."

 

At this point it is the quality of life that is important.

 

I've been playing a ferret game with her.  I pretend to forget  to close her cage and let her think she is escaping.  Her little head peeks out of her cage and she makes a mad dash for the door, down the stairs and runs through my house.  She is so happy that she thinks she "got away" again. 

I believe finding Bonkers on that road that night, at that exact moment, was meant to be.  Keeping her alive is a lot of work but well worth it.  An extra year can often be 1/5  of a ferret life.  She deserves the best
and I am so glad that I was able to give this ferret the best possible life she could have. 

 

(the painting "Bonkers" was auctioned for charity through ART HELPING ANIMALS to support the work of The Sarvey Wildlife Center)