>Ah!  A poll!  Ok, here goes.
 
I am NOT a shelter, I am a person with ferrets (I DO NOT ask for
donations, raise money, or adept them back out) this is COMPLETELY from
my pocket.  I currently have 11 ferrets ranging in age from 1-6 yrs,
Oscar (you may remember him as the Wonder Ferret) just got operated on
he was supposed to have an adrenal gland removed (the "easy" one which
turned out to be the bad one), a massive cyst on his liver (had to have
a whole lobe removed), and two pancreatic masses (yes insulinomas).
I just got his bill in the mail $884.33 JUST FOR HIM.  Between the
metronitazole (?), amoxi, pred, carafate, pepcid, and pepto that's been
about $200 since January.  There was also Dudley's surgery which set me
back $600.  My total since January 2004 is approx.  $1684.00,
again....solely my responsibility.
 
Last year I spent around $3000 between meds, surgeries, and visits (and
that is with the discounts and without major surgeries).  I am not "rich"
I make about $25,000 a year, I drive a reliable OLD car without a payment
(i have never had a car payment, I have too many ferrets), I rent my
apartment, I work 50+ hours a week to pay these bills, oh yeah and I also
own a horse which "shows" this Spring (you think ferrets are expensive :S
just for the saddle/tack for the western part is going to set me back
$1000 and the vet gets $200 just to pull in the driveway).
 
I have always believed that owning animals is not as simple as "If you
can't afford it, you shouldn't own it", there are ways to adjust your
lifestyle to compensate for your animals, it is a matter of priorities in
a lot of cases and if you have problems, and you truly love your animals,
you'll find there are many people (including vets) that are willing to
help you out if you are sincere in your efforts.  I am not trying to bash
anyone I am merely trying to encourage "creative thinking" when it comes
to paying for the care of our critters and to remind everyone not to lose
hope because where there's a will there's a way (I even quit smoking!!).
 
Didn't mean to rant (sorry)
Good Luck To All,
Lisa and the Diabolical Dozen
[Posted in FML issue 4454]