It was a restless night last night, but when the phone rang at 9:30 Am
rain or no rain things were looking up.  Hop A Long was going to be
released so Steph of Ferret Svc of Freedom agreed to make the drive to
the No NH vet hospital to pick him up and bring him to Concord NH to meet
me.  I then placed a call to the shelter vets office to alert them that
Mon AM we would be there at opening-- only to find our vet had emergency
coverage this weekend.... so I drove through torential rains up and back
with the ferret and we got in to see the vet.

The ferret: Hop A Long is actually a 5 - 51/2 year old MF (Marshall
Farms) neutered male, heavy silver mitt.  He weighs in at 3 pounds and
has a chipped upper right canine, but outwardly appears very nice.
Clean, freshly shampooed, clean ears ( what part of this reads stray
ferret to you?) no sign of fleas, ticks or road debris, no scratches,
abrasions etc..  Hop A Long had most obviously a deficiency in his front
left leg.  The papers from the releasing vet hosp.  stated the same
observations.  So we had x-rays and a brief physical at the shelter vets
hospital after hours.

Hop A Long has a rather disconcerting fracture of the ulna and radius
on a diagonal approx 1/2 inch above the wrist.  It is referred to as a
simple break - but that merely means the fracture is not (at this time
compound) protruding through the skin.  The radius has shifted and
rotated over the ulna and there is suspicion that it may be embedded
in the tissue.

The truth is our vet is not comfortable with a delicate surgery like
this.  The bones cannot simply be wrapped to heal as they are no where
near an alignment both are shifted and into soft tissue.  Setting a pin
in could prohibit blood flow and thus the bone may not heal at all... So
what now.  Thanks to Dr Sandra K who is a Ferret Wise alumni ( she has
adopted 2 challenging kids in the past) located and talked to a small
animal orthopedic specialist who WILL see our boy in the afternoon
SUNDAY.

So Hop A Long has been vet wrapped in a padded bandage to make him more
comfortable for transport.  He and I will start our trek to NY in the
early AM where I will leave him in the capable hands of Dr Sandra for
treatment.  The options have been explained to me and we have agreed to
whatever needs to be done will be.

Can you read "we need some help in these sentences"?

It is likely that our boy will need a KE fixture - pinned on the
outside to adjust and bring bones into alignment.  This is the best
solution for a long term fix to be most comfortable.  ( Please See our
ebay listings -- and don't be afraid to part with enough money to buy
that new CD! ):)

ebay listings are at:
[URL sent is invalid -- requires her logon.  I suggest going to eBay
and search for seller creativekolor to find her auctions.  BIG]

Hop A Long deserves to be free of pain - though it is a good thing he has
pain sensory now.

He also is likely a cast off after being stepped on by his owner.  There
is nothing in his demeanor, appearance, etc.  which would suggest that he
was a stray in 80 plus degree heat.  He is far too healthy in appearance
for that to have happened.  I think that there is nothing that infuriates
me than to see a cast off ferret when it has been injured at home.  (I've
Got Troubles was the same in 1997.  AT least his leg was a back leg that
was pinned for recovery.)

This case is another case that will make my blood boil - and yes God help
the owner that calls me looking to give up their ferrets in the next few
weeks!

Please think of us kindly and keep us in your prayers...

Alicia & Hop A Long and all the kids at :
www.ferretwise.org
[Posted in FML issue 5263]