Recently, Especially Ferrets Inc. in Denver, Co., posted an article about
the cutting of two ferrets teeth that they had rescued.  The lady who cut
their teeth is a wholesale dealer in small animals and obviously knows very
little about ferrets, was inspected without notice by the local animal
control and the state Veterinarian, Dr. Keith Rorher.  The local animal
control wanted to shut her down immediately, but Dr. Rorher talked them out
of it.  They did cite her for several violations and summoned her to court.
Dr. Rorher warned that he considered the cutting of ferrets teeth to be
cruel and inhumane and if heard anymore complaints about it, he would take
drastic action.  While I was in the hospital getting my quadruple bypass, a
lady called the shelter and said she had bought a baby canadian ferret from
this lady and it was a biter.  The lady volunteered to cut the teeth of
the ferret and when the ferret owner reacted with shock and expressed her
concerns about this issue the teeth cutting lady said she could recommend a
vet who would do the dastardly deed.  The following letter was written by
one of my vets who specializes in ferrets:
 
"On March 29, 2000, I examined two adult ferrets brought to me by
Especially Ferrets.  Both of these animals had been "rescued" and were
brought in due to a concern about their teeth.  On physical exam, it was
noted that all 4 canine teeth from both animals had been sharply cut by a
sharp object.  These cuts had exposed the root canals of each tooth thereby
inducing much pain to the animals.  Upon seeing the severity of the
injuries, I called a veterinary dental specialist to discuss treatment
options.  In that the ferret jaw is relatively small and weak, surgical
removal of the teeth was not considered an option and the suggestion was
made to have root canals performed on both animals.
 
The teeth of ferrets are similar to those of humans.  If damage is severe
enough to the tooth to open a root canal, much pain will be realized until
the root dies or is removed.  Left open and untreated, the tooth will
invariably abcess and the life of the animal would be in jeopardy.  these
teeth do NOT grow back or heal themselves.  It is abhorrent to me to
conceive of the possibility that someone would intentionally inflict such
cruelty upon an animal, but in these particular animals, it was quite
evident that their injuries were just that, intentional and cruel."
 
In my opinion, anyone cutting ferrets teeth should be beheaded.
 
Please e-mail me about how you feel about this.ferretguy
[Posted in FML issue 3083]