Ferret owner spends $4,000 to give creature a pacemaker

This ferret owner loves his little pet so much, that he had it fitted with a pacemaker when it was found to have heart problems.

Zelda the ferret belongs to Carl Hobi. He has three of the mammals, and when Zelda fell ill back in December, he rushed her to the vet, where they discovered she had cardiac issues.

"She would lay around not want to do anything, breathing heavy it seemed, would not eat her food," he told Inside Edition.

The vet diagnosed a blockage in Zelda's heart causing her to need a pacemaker. The surgery would cost Hobi $4,000.

The tiny pacemaker had to be specially ordered and chances of success were slim.

"They said because the veins are so small and they have to suture while the heart is pumping and one little slip and it's all over," he said.

Fortunately, the operation was a complete success and Zelda is doing great.

Hobi says the animals are like his children.

"I don't have kids," he said. "I love ferrets. You do anything for your kids."

He also said that if he had to do it over, he "would do it again in a heartbeat."