I'm very sorry for your loss.  I know first hand that reactions to
Purevax can be no less life-threatening than to the other distemper
vaccines--last year I almost lost Pan to a violent and rapid reaction
to Purevax.  It's very scary.  And although he did survive the reaction,
it left him with ulcers and a subsequently touchy digestive system, and
we were seriously worried about brain damage for a few days, since it
took him a while to get his spirits back up.
 
That said though, I will continue to vaccinate Seti and any other ferrets
I may have in my life, because canine distemper is just as scary a
thought.  I am scared for Pan without any protection, and we will have to
take special precautions for the rest of his life.  He and Seti will no
longer be able to go outdoors, I won't allow them to meet other animals,
we're going to have to figure out some way to sanitize shoes before
coming inside the house (sadly, our front door opens directly into the
living room and there's no way to leave shoes outside, so this one will
be tricky), etc.  We'll do all this gladly for him, but I feel that both
ferrets, now only 2 years and 4 months old, will lead a less full life
because of it.  :-(
 
Regina
 
Regina Harrison  [log in to unmask]
http://users.rcn.com/badriya/
blog: http://badriya-z.blogspot.com/
 
"Is that my business?  Well, what is my business?  Do I know?  Did I ever
know?  Let's not go into that.  You're not human tonight, Marlowe.  Maybe
I never was or ever will be... Maybe we all get like this in the cold
half-lit world where always the wrong thing happens and never the right."
--Raymond Chandler, The Little Sister
[Posted in FML issue 4567]