On Thu, 23 Sep 2004 03:00:03 -0400,  "Amy ." <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
>>It sure makes more sense to go by the advice of a professional who is
>>trusted to treat one's ferrets than by that of people and sites who are
>>unknowns.
 
>As I stated previously, sometimes even the "experts" are lacking.
>I trusted my vet, an "expert", but he could not even understand the
>vaccine mfgs statement in not vaccinating an unhealthy animal.
 
I have to agree with Amy here.  I had a boy with ulcers, and when I took
him to the vet and described his symptoms, the vet had no idea what was
wrong.  I did extensive research online after the first visit, brought
him back suggesting the ulcer diagnosis, and gave the vet a good deal of
information I'd printed off Dr. Williams' website, among other veterinary
sources.
 
My boy died a few months later, after being on-and-off a series of
too-short antibiotic treatments.  Poor thing went through so many
up-and-down cycles with his ulcers, because the vet did not know better,
and preferred to rely on the out of date ferret book the clinic had, than
contact any of the ferret vets who's contact information I gave him.
 
Less than a month ago, my girl Ziya (who'd already been through her own
bout of ulcers, and recovered well.  Not making the same mistake twice
now that I know what to do!) was vomiting, refusing food, and not
pooping.  I brought her in, positive it was a blockage, and told the
(new) vet all the symptoms and why I thought surgery might be necessary.
The vet first suspected a recurrence of her ulcers, and wanted to
rehydrate and send her home for observation over night.  She went into
surgery that day, after an xray and bloodwork and my insistence that I
would rather risk surgery on a slightly dehydrated animal than risk a
complication from a blockage overnight.
 
When she crashed two days later, from severe dehydration, I brought her
in again.  Poor Ziya was so wobbly and disoriented, the vet thought there
must be something awful wrong, and was considering a second exploratory.
She'd never seen a severely dehydrated ferret before, and didn't realize
how bad they could get.  I'd had a severely dehydrated ferret before, and
seen how subQ brought him around.  So I said, "try it, and see what kind
of difference it makes.  If she's still really bad this afternoon, we'll
figure out what to do next."  I went home with a bag of subQ fluid, and
an alert, feisty, rehydrated ferret.
 
The big difference between Vet1 and Vet2 is that Vet2 was willing to
listen, accept my ideas as reasonable, and check out my hypotheses on how
best to treat her.  She did, of course, run tests and take x-rays, and
do what was necessary to verify my suggestions before acting... but she
gives me credit for having more hands-on real-world experience with the
animals, and doesn't get stuck in that "Me Medical Professional, You
Know-Nothing Layman" attitude that even well meaning vets and doctors
can fall for.
 
Of course being able to trust your vet is a wonderful thing... But if
your vet doesn't have years of dedicated ferret experience, it's even
more important to have a vet that will trust you as well, and admit
they don't know everything.  It is possible to get reliable veterinary
information online, and when you're dealing with a vet who's got a busy
practice full of cats and dogs, being able to trust that your vet will
trust the information you give them can literally mean the difference
between life and death for your ferrets.
 
--
Teresa -- and the
Three Polar Packrats
(Zoe, Ziya & Blitzie)
[Posted in FML issue 4645]