Regina wrote:
>To Anon--  what a horrible experience you had.  I very much hope that the
>ferret did not have rabies.  I thought you would like to know for future
>reference that in Massachusetts, even a ferret with an unknown vaccination
>history can be quarantined for ten days rather than euthanized after a
>bite incident.  Hopefully the information can help others too.
 
I'm not so sure if the ten day quarantine applies to animals with unknown
vaccination history.  However, it definitely would NOT apply in this case,
because ANON noted that the ferret had a (possibly old) bite wound.
 
In a case where the biter is unknown, and the bitten one has no known
vaccination history, the law mandates a SIX MONTH quarantine for the bitten
animal.  Since this isn't economically feasible for most shelters, the
animal is generally put to sleep if an original owner doesn't come forward.
Such animals are NOT made available for adoption, even if you offer to do
an in-home quarantine.
 
--skyla (still uspet about the little stray cat she wanted to adopt)
[Posted in FML issue 2888]