I am very fortunate to live in a small town that happens to have one
excellent ferret vet. He also does the usual dog & cat stuff, &
reptiles. But, being a rural area, he also has to do cows, sheep,
pigs, & even alpacas. It's sometimes hard to find him in the office
this time of yr, cos he's pulling calves most of the time right now.

But personally, I trust our vet as much (if not more) than my family
dr. My family dr will not come into the office at 11:00 on a Sat night
to look at a sick child; my vet comes into the office to see our
ferrets or our cat willingly. In fact, several wks ago, when all 4
of our ferrets came down w/ respiratory infections, 2 of them got
particularly bad on a Sat night. We called him on his cell phone at
10p, & he said he's meet us at the office at 10:30. When my husband got
there w/ Oberon & Puck, it was then that we discovered that Dr B had
come into the office to see our guys, *right after his wife gave birth
to their 3rd child*!!

Another thing that's good about living in a rural area is the costs.
I wouldn't begrudge our vet any amount he were to ask, cos he's that
good. But, as an example, our Ivan, who is going adrenal, had an
ultrasound, including 15 min of iso, this past Mon. The total cost 
or everything? $46.95.

Paying for meds or scrips? My husband is a pharmacist. Dr B just calls
everything in to him, even though he doesn't have to. Some meds we've
had to get from him, cos they're things not used in humans. Who cares
about the price? I wouldn't deny my grandmother her meds, cos they were
expensive. Same w/ our animals. They're part of the family, & you pay
what you need to pay.

Our local Red Cross started something last yr, called the Red Cross
Humanitarian Awards. They ask for nominations for "everyday heros" in
various catagories - people who volunteer their time & skills to help
out, people in the business world who go the extra mile for someone,
etc. One of the catagories was for those who work for animal welfare.
We nominated Dr B this yr, & he won. The care he's given our animals,
as well as the extra time he's willingly put into that, goes above &
beyond what most vets I've worked w/ would do. But, as he said when he
called us today to thank us for the nomination, "I'm no hero - I just
do what I do." We need more vets *&* human dr's w/ that much devotion.

If our vet decided to double his charges, we'd still follow him
anywhere (& we have, as he's changed practices since we started seeing
him, right out of vet school). You can't put a price on that kind of
skill & care.

Lin, Oberon, Max, Puck, & Ivan
~ Missing my angel Ariel - 20 April 2000 - 20 January 2007. Wait for
me, my Baby Girl. I miss you so much. ~

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email me at: kay tee en eye el at double-u owe aich dot ar ar dot see
owe em
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[Posted in FML 5550]