In 2015 I saw this little ferret peaking his head out from behind a dumpster in Florida in the middle of Summer. He was gaunt, and desperate for someone to save him. He walked right up to me and looked up at me and I scooped him right up. I brought him to a vet to get him checked out and he was full of fleas on his fur and in his ears, malnourished and in need of medical attention and love. I could not resist his sweet face and decided to get him cleaned up and have them run tests to check his health. It turned out his health was good, he was just a mess on the outside, so we got him cleaned up and got all his shots and vaccinations taken care of and I took him home. The joy this sweet boy has brought into my life is like no other. He is just a bundle of fun, steals Kleenex travel tissues and hides them under the bed along with anything else he feels like stealing. He has a huge cage in my bedroom, but he quickly made the bedroom his own, and I let him. Fast forward three years later and suddenly a big lump appeared on his jaw line. After being biopsied it turns out he has squamous cell carcinoma. I found this out two weeks after the biopsy and took him to the vet for the follow up and to get his sutures out. The news is not good. The tumor has grown in just two weeks and the margins are widening. The only option is surgery. My vet can remove the tumor and try to get all the cancer cells out while taking half of his lower jaw. She has done this surgery before and is optimistic that he can live a happy, healthy life. But, time is not on our side and he needs the surgery this week. The cancer is so aggressive that if it grows any more she won’t be able to get the tumor out and leave him with the other half of his jaw still in tact. If we don’t do the surgery he will spend the next couple of weeks deteriorating which would lead to quite a bit of pain and he would have to be put down. Max still has so much love in him and a lot of life to give. The surgery could cure him, and he could live a long and ferret happy life.