Sorry folks, I am a bit behind in my FML...
 
Regarding the poster who said that she had given her ferret's body to a
person who was not a vet for a necropsy and was wondering if she should
keep bugging them to get her ferret's body back: of course!  It's your
ferret, you have every right to ask for the body back.  I think it's
awful that a person you trusted passed themselves off as a professional
and then refused to hand the ferret back over or disclose their
"findings".  My suspicion is that the person probably botched the job
and the ferret was in no condition to be returned to you, and there is
nothing to report because the person didn't know enough to really tell
what happened to the ferret.
 
I just wanted to take this opportunity to point out:
 
A necropsy is ONLY an actual "necropsy" if it is performed by a vet, in a
hopsital, and tissue samples are sent out for analysis.  A person simply
cutting a dead ferret apart on their kitchen counter is merely dissecting
it, and they are NOT performing a "necropsy", they are just dissecting for
their own purposes, whatever they may be.  Anything they report back to
you may or may not be accurate, and you have no way of knowing if what
they find is true or not.  If the person dissecting your ferret is not a
trained vet or even a vet tech, they are only guessing at what may or may
not have been wrong with your ferret.  If they claim they need to do it
for "research", well, if they are not a vet and have no plans to become
one, there is no reason that they need to keep opening up dead ferrets.
 
My advice would be to never allow a non-veterinary professional to do this
if you are looking for solid answers as to what happened to a ferret.
Even someone who is very knowledgeable about ferrets does not necessarily
have the skill or expertise to dissect your pet and tell you what was
wrong with it (unless it was something very obvious like a ruptured
spleen or a huge blockage).  No matter how knowledgeable someone claims
to be about ferrets, if they are not a vet, they do not have the medical
background to determine exactly what happened.  And as you have
discovered, getting the body back can be tricky if it's just some person
and not a licensed vet who has a legal obligation to return your ferret.
Who knows what this person has done with your baby's body by now, denying
you the closure you need to put him to rest.
 
So please, to all fert-lovers out there, if you want a necropsy, see a
vet.  If you just hand it off to someone who claims they are knowledgeable
enough to open up your ferret on their kitchen table and tell you what
went wrong, you have no control over the situation and may not even get
your ferret back (or if you do get it back, who knows what shape it will
be in - a vet will sew it back up and make it presentable; the amatuer
vivisectionist may maul it beyond recognition, which is not a fitting end
for a beloved pet's remains).  I know that there are people who claim they
know enough to do this, but unless it's done by a vet, it's NOT a necropsy
and you can't trust the findings with any degree of medical certainty.
Unfortunately, there are people who will lie about their "qualifications"
and go to rather obscene lengths to get their hands on an animal for
dissection to further their own curiosity, without regard for the feelings
of the pet's bereaved owner.
 
I know you posted anonymously, but if there's any chance that off-list
you'd disclose to me the name of the person who did this, I'd like to
try to get some authorities involved and make this person stop passing
themselves off as a "necropsy"-ist when they're not.  It's hideous for
someone to be falsely telling people that they can perform a necropsy
when they are in fact only dissecting, and have no standing to be
requesting people's personal pets and claiming that they can diagnose
cause of death.  If you would tell me who it is, I'd like to make sure
they don't keep doing this, whoever they are.  I live in Massachusetts
too, and I don't like to think of this happening in my state.  I'm
offended by what happened to you as a fellow ferret lover and owner.  You
were bereaved and were looking for answers, and someone took advantage of
that.  Frankly, it's inexcusable.  It's heartwrenching enough to lose
ferrets without someone doing something like this to add to your grief!
 
If you're so inclined, you might want to report the person to the
Veterinary Licensing Board in Massachusetts (I can give you their contact
info), as well as the authorities in the town they reside in.  It's
illegal for an individual to claim they are qualified to perform medical
procedures (even on animals) when they are not, and it sounds like that's
what happened to you.  Basically, what you have here is fraud, and also
property (your ferret's body) that was not returned to you as promised
(theft).  The reason for writing or calling the board that licenses
veterinarians is that probably some vet had to teach the person to do
this, and if the person is doing this with a vet's knowledge, the vet
could be in some hot water too.
 
Anyway, talk to me off-list if you'd like.  I'd like to see this stop if
we can manage it, so that another person doesn't have to go through this.
 
Thanks,
Heather W., also in Massachusetts
[Posted in FML issue 3833]