Hello everyone!
 
It was a rough weekend for me.  I took my little girl Bean in to the vet on
Saturday for her swollen vulva.  Some of you might remember that she had
the same problem last September, but the vet gave her a hormone shot and
the swelling went down.  But the problem resurfaced about a week ago.  She
has no other symptoms and she doesn't seem to be in pain at all.
 
They're thinking it's adrenal.  They did some blood work just to check
things out generally and I have to take her in for an ultrasound next week.
The vet didn't feel anything enlarged during the exam, so hopefully if it
is adrenal it's not too far advanced.
 
So now I have a couple of questions:
 
If it is adrenal, what are the pros and cons of surgery vs.  Lupron?  I'd
really rather not risk losing her to surgery or putting her through all the
stress, if she could live comfortaby w/ Lurpon shots.  And I know that it
depends on which side the cancer is on if it's a really complicated surgery
or not.
 
Does anyone know of a ferret vet in NY that does adrenal surgery?  I like
my vet (St. Mark's vet) but I don't know if I trust them to do the sugery.
Honestly, I don't really know if I would trust anyone.  Also, they tend to
be on the (REALLY) expensive side as well.  I have friends w/ cars upstate
(Goshen) and out on Long Island so I am be willing to travel a bit.
 
I have been thinking about getting a 3rd ferret just in case something
happens to my little girl.  Do you think it would be too much stress on her
to introduce a new ferret while she's sick?  Also, I'd like to get one from
a shelter, but I live in NYC, so I'm not sure anyone would let me adopt
from them.  I'd also like to bring them to meet a potental roomie before I
brought him/her home.  They've only met one other ferret since I brought
them home and Daggett (my cinnamon boy) tried to beat him up.  Both Bean
and Daggett just turned 3 in May so I'm not sure how easy it would be to
intorduce an ferret.
 
Lastly, does anyone know of any shelter close to the NYC area?  I think
there was one in Yonkers, but I think I remember hearing that it closed.
 
I want to say thank you in advance!  The folks on the FML have always been
so supportive and helpful.  I don't know what I would do without you!!
(THANKS, BIG!!!)
 
Leslie
Bean (what's all the fuss about....just put me down and gimme some raisins!)
Daggett (Hey!! How come I don't get to go outside?!?)
[Posted in FML issue 3481]