Pat: Hey, you saved so you did the right thing.  Circumstances just caught
up with you, anyway.  You tried and no one should flame someone who tried.
The people folks get P.O.ed with are the ones who live high on the hog
in terms of luxuries for themselves, and then try to hit others up for
essentials like medical care.  You know the type.  Everyone has met people
who are like that.  People who tried, as you did, are certainly respected.
Hope you are successful finding a vet who will let you pay on time; some
have been mentioned here on and off who barter labor for parts of costs,
too.  Glad you mentioned the saving, too, though, because it has become
custom for some of us to just plain include such info otherwise, simply
because there ARE so many people who wind up needing it that they write
back, anyway, that it saves time to include it up-front (nothing more to
it).  Most turn out to be young people who are just learning the skills
involved, and we all know that money management does take some serious
skill learning over a number of years, with continued learning afterward.
Time is in exceedingly short supply for many here so sometimes short-cuts
just are needed to be of service to anyone.  Hope your hubby heals well
and is very glad afterward.
 
Everyone: Meeteetse's wheelchair is slightly delayed due to one part not
being there, but Doggone should have it here in about 2 weeks.  The harness
will be bright for visibility.  Hadn't thought of that -- it's for safety's
sake.  The price will be only $150 with $15 shipping; since we'd expected
a hundred more that's good, but they actually do reduce price for small
ones.  (Her meds alone run about that every two months.) THEY HAVE MADE AN
IMPROVEMENT!  These are wheelchairs which have already received a LOT of
praise from others here, but the makers, themselves, felt that they could
be even better.  Instead of using roller blade wheels, they now use special
ones from model airplanes which give better shock absorption.  Ages ago
when we made one (which someone "borrowed" and never returned) we used
castors that turn 360' (heavy, unfortunately) but Doggone's have bars that
prevent the ferret from moving in a way that will cause tipping and are
designed to be very light.  They've got a bunch of animal photos up on
their site, though no ferret ones even though they'd made them for ferrets.
The cutest picture is the bunny at the end in its chair.  The info is very
well presented.  http://www.doggon.com
 
Quoting Moxie yesterday in relation to the father wanting to find a
cheap ferret:
>from the aricle by Mary Van Dahm, "The average ferret may cost between
>$1,500 and $3,000 in medical care during its lifetime, depending upon what
>part of the country you live in and how familiar your veterinarian is
>with ferrets." I think this family may need to fully understand what is
>involved when you take a ferret into your home before getting one.  And
>what expenses will be incurred during the life of the ferret if that is
>a concern.  Maybe I misinterpreted the father's motives...
 
Am in agreement; it's best when people know what to expect beforehand
and respond accordingly.  Around this neck of the woods I would not be
surprised if the lifetime total is above that since the range above is
about what the final illnesses run around here for their last year or two.
Loved comments by the others who tackled this topic, too, especially Lisa's
short but sweet comment that the lowest cost of a ferret is the purchase
price, and really enjoy when teens give their perspectives and what they
have learned.
 
MF: sure, they'd have a profit in increasing their sales are.  So what?
Right now they are putting good money into something which may not pay off
for them, but if it does then it also saves the ferrets in CA and helps the
ferret-folk just as their past success there did.  Apparently, there are
NO OTHER ferret-farms doing squat there.  Hey, they make profits, too, but
they aren't trying to help.  Why not?  Got to take the good with the bad,
and MF has both.  Just as there are reasons to try to change what is wrong
there are also reasons to appreciate what is right.  Besides, it's only
fair, balanced, and logical.
 
Hey, Jaime, your server returns mail, saying that you don't exist!  No,
it's not just a moral victory; it shows the legislature that CA F&G has
been caught in lies in a very effective fashion in THEIR OWN COURTS, plus
(even more important) it means that ferrets which are confiscated have a
lower chance of being automatically destroyed since CA F&G was trying to
say that ferrets are a serious rabies hazard, deserving nothing but death
(despite the Compendium CA F&G applied a lot of pressure in that state).
Yes, MF did save ferrets with that lawsuit that won, and maybe they'll
help save more with others.  No reason to not praise them for what is done
right; maybe praise would influence the other farms to finally put a bit of
their work, info, and money into also trying.  I know that you personally
are just trying to get details because you said so, but why does taking the
good with the bad seem so painful to a scant few?
 
Judy wrote:
>X-rays showed an enlarged heart, which was pushing his trachea out of
>place, and what might be a small amount of fluid in his chest.  Charlie
>needs frequent x-rays to keep track of this so we know when and if
>medication will be needed.
 
Judy, Ruffle had her esophagus compressed this way.  If that happens we
had very good results with liquid diet for her.  You know the drill.
Just wanted to let you know that can work.
 
Okay, I can't subtract.  Since the first Fox book was 1989 it WAS on the
FML that the early discussion by participants happened, rather than on
the lists which led to FML formation.
[Posted in FML issue 3190]