WOW!  Audrey has graciously offered to put the ideas and tips for how
to educate general shelters on her website!  Way to go, Audrey!  Many,
many thanks!
 
John also wrote:
 
>Please, if you have a suggestion, do not hesitate to post this,....it
>is all relevant!.......Tootsie, Sukie, & Wolfy,...all have the problem
>in their sights,.....let`s all hope that the "targets" in their sights
>are, or will be, reached!.....
>
>I hope for the best!
 
I think that the FML is the best place to discuss this, if we can get
enough of the right people to notice this discussion and tell what they
have learned: specific problems, techniques, tools, etc.
 
It is interesting how sometimes just hitting on one key idea can make
a huge difference.  This is a human example in the news today:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/31/health/31charity.html?th&emc=th
 
It tells of charities which are now undertaking the financing of
drugs which can save human lives but were neglected because they are
inexpensive to purchase.  Notice that at first they couldn't even get
tax deductible status because their concept was so new.
 
One of these diseases, Black Fever (kala azar) which is the second most
common fatal parasitic disease after malaria, could have been cheaply
cured beginning in the 1960s.  It took 40 years but people finally seem
to have figured the right way to achieve results.  The medical approaches
were not the problem; figuring out how to finance the development without
industry being the choice makers and removing governmental impediments
were.
 
Sometimes one key approach which no one has tried before makes all of
the difference in the world.  If people can break down the needs and the
impediments in the general shelter discussion maybe there are options
which may open up once the right techniques are found.
 
Yes, I know that they, like ferret shelters are hurting for money; some
things are unlikely to change and that sadly is one of them.
 
-- Sukie (not a vet, and not speaking for any of the below in my
private posts)
Recommended health resources to help ferrets and the people who love
them:
Ferret Health List
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
FHL Archives
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
AFIP Ferret Pathology
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
Miamiferrets
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
International Ferret Congress Critical References
http://www.ferretcongress.org
[Posted in FML issue 5321]