In response to yesterday's post of using shelter funds  wisely, what about
rabies shots???  In your calculations there were no  funds allotted for rabies
shots. In the state of PA they MUST be  administered by a licensed professional
to be valid.  At clinic they are  $12/shot, so add $72.00 to your total.  If
you are doing the vaccines  yourself  what about the cost of having all the
meds on hand for a possible  reaction??  Fluids are $7, DEX is $30/bottle and
Epinephrine is $9/bottle.  If you are going to squabble about funds please do
include   EVERYTHING.  Money should not be the biggest concern when doing  at
home shots.....the possibility of a reaction should be the concern.  I  have
been with TinyPrints when the shelter ferrets have had reactions, it's a  very
serious thing.  Do you feel confident enough to administer the correct  dosages
to stop the reaction?  I know of several ferrets, none from the  shelter but
those of personal friends, who have died because they were OD'd when  trying to
stop the reaction.  Is it worth "saving precious funds" to risk  killing a
ferret??  Because if you give the shot at home, a reaction ensues  and the
ferret dies, you have basically killed that ferret.  The clinic  that TinyPrints
uses has a lot of experience in stopping reactions, they have  not lost any yet.
And they do not charge for saving the ferret, it is  included in the cost of
the shot, unlike a vet who will charge an arm and a leg.  That is the kind of
cost that is best to cut.  I know that there  is still no guarantee that it
will not happen in the presence of a vet, but in  my opinion it is in the best
interest of the ferret to receive shots from a  trained professional.
 
Another factor to consider about home vaccinations: the validity of the
paperwork.  TinyPrints runs under the guidelines of the AFA and they (as
well as the USDA) say that Galaxy D is not recognized for use in ferrets.
Did you know that there are individuals out there that vaccinate with
Galaxy D and then falsify their paperwork with Fervac labels to get into
AFA shows?  If you vaccinate at home how does anyone prove it?  When you
use a vet or a clinic the records are valid, there is no question.  Any
ferret that walks out the door at TinyPrints can go directly to an AFA
show, no questions asked.  Why would a shelter not want their records
validated?  There have been issues among shelters and private breeders
that never would have occurred had they not tried to cut costs by home
vaccinating and it "cost" them plenty in the end.  Why would TinyPrints
want to risk that??
 
So asking a shelter to save money by self vaccinating is not in the best
interest of the ferret or of the shelter.  Because if issues arise and
there is no valid paperwork to prove that shots were given, it could be
the end of the shelter......and then where would all the ferrets go??
And as a side note, ALL of the rescues this year to date have been of
ferrets that need enormous amounts of medical attention, none of which
TinyPrints turns away.  And yes the shelter needs funds, but those funds
will NEVER come from risking another ferret's life just to save a few
bucks.  If you add all the necessary items for home shots: your total of
$84, plus rabies $72, plus the drugs for a possible reaction $46 you get
a grand total of $202......that is $8 less than the $210 TinyPrints is
spending.  Divide that by the 6 ferrets.....you look in their little
faces and tell them that they are not worth the extra $1.34 each.
 
Caryn
[Posted in FML issue 4845]