She adopted 3 abandoned ferrets 5 years ago, wants former owner to know they were loved
Cassandra Fortier wrote an open letter on Reddit on her ferret's last day
Cassandra Fortier of Moose Jaw, Sask., said she couldn't imagine ever having to give up her pets — let alone without a way to find out where they ended up.
It's what motivated her to write an open letter on the New Brunswick Reddit page to the former owner of three ferrets she adopted in the summer of 2020.
"I just wanted that person to know what had happened, because it would eat me alive to wonder what had happened to them after I dropped them off that day," she said.
But Fortier doesn't know who the past owner was or if the information reached them. That's because the ferrets were found on the porch of a Woodstock woman who was known for taking in cats in need.
Fortier, who lived in Oromocto at the time, said the woman soon learned that the SPCA didn't take on ferrets. Instead, she was referred to the Ferret Lovers Society of Atlantic Canada, which is when Fortier, who had fostered ferrets in the past, was asked to take them.
"I'm sure a lot of people are familiar with the term 'foster fail,' and that happened in fairly short order," said Fortier.
Fortier named the ferrets Tia, Garth and Wayne — after Tia Carrere and the characters from Wayne's World. For the first two weeks, she had to dress in full personal protective equipment and take antiseptic showers to care for them while waiting for disease test results.
Once they were cleared, the three ferrets settled in well with Fortier's other two.
"A group of ferrets is called a business, so I liked to joke that I was a medium-sized business owner."
Tia especially connected with Fortier's elderly ferret, Jimmy.
Jimmy had insulinoma, a type of pancreatic tumour that causes the body to produce excessive amounts of insulin, which occurs commonly in ferrets.
Fortier said ferrets are quite prone to several medical conditions, such as adrenal disease, lymphoma and chordoma — a spinal cancer.
And while Fortier had a great vet in Fredericton, she said a lot of vets won't take on ferrets even though they require regular veterinary care.
In the summer of 2021, Fortier said Tia also showed signs of insulinoma, but the surgery didn't improve her condition and she was euthanized that July.
A year later, Garth also got insulinoma. From late summer 2022 until he was euthanized in February 2023, Fortier would use her coffee and lunch breaks at work to run home and manually empty his bladder.
Garth was Fortier's only ever albino ferret, which meant he loved getting dirty.
"I'd often take him out in the yard while I was gardening and he helped me plant a couple hundred tulip bulbs just by digging holes for me," she said.
He loved to go to the garden centre in Lincoln and would "climb up on his hind legs and peer into the pots … while he thought I wasn't looking."
Wayne was more of a playground guy. He loved to go down the slide, even though Fortier built him his own at home. She said he was also the most affectionate.
After five years of living in Oromocto, Fortier accepted a job in Saskatchewan so she loaded up her hatchback with a five-gallon bucket with goldfish in the footwell, her cat on the heated seat next to her, and Wayne and her other ferret, Dewey, in the back.
While living in the prairies, Wayne was diagnosed with chordoma on his neck, which meant he wasn't a candidate for surgery. A week before Wayne died, Dewey, who had lymphoma, had to be euthanized.
Since ferrets are social animals, Fortier said Wayne quickly withdrew and his condition declined.
On his last day before being euthanized, Fortier took him to a local park near the water where there wouldn't be anyone around to ask questions or want to pet him.
"We just took some time to be together … enjoy the great outdoors and, you know, say goodbye."
That was when Fortier wrote her open letter to the previous owner, similar to one she wrote after Garth died.
Fortier said the ferrets were clean and affectionate and she can only assume they were well loved.
"They ultimately ended up in a very loving home, you know, all of their needs were met, all of their wants were met, they were certainly very spoiled," she said.
"After Wayne was put to sleep, I felt the need to sort of give that final update, and hope that the information reaches the original owner and that they're … confident that they had had a good life."
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