The only way to find out for sure is to start calling and ask. Ask
if they have a ferret vet. If no, who do they refer to. Do they see
their own patients after hours for emergencies? If no, who sees them
for them. Call everyone that is the referral and tell them you are
a patient of Dr. X and you have ferrets (and rats). Ask the same
questions - do you have a ferret vet available for emergencies? Is the
ferret vet ALWAYS available? If not, who do they refer to? Keep asking
the questions because the bottom line is - you want to know: If I have
a ferret (or rat) emergency after hours, will I be able to get a ferret
vet to see my pet no matter what day? Because if they can't see you on
Tuesdays or when on vacation, you need to know before you need them.

I have planned and planned and planned and STILL had an emergency on
a night when not ONE of the THREE ferret vets was available. I have
driven for an hour only to be turned away and once to have my ferret
die 10 minutes before arriving at a vet halfway across the state. And,
I have had a dog specialist 10 minutes away see my ferret and save his
life because he was willing to try. You need to find that out, too.

Ask the non-ferret vet: Will you SEE a ferret? And, then have the name
of a ferret vet who is willing to talk to the non-ferret vet in an
emergency. And, if you have someone who is willing to learn, help them
do it. Get them the DVDs of surgeries from the ferret experts. Buy a
ferret medical book for their library. Help your vet BECOME an expert.

Finally, if your vet refers to someone who is not always available,
ask your vet if (s)he knows that there is not always a ferret vet
available. If you are more willing to do the work now, before you need
them and not just yell when you can't get them, they will be more
willing to work with you. Good luck.

-- 
Renee Downs
It's amazing how much can be accomplished if nobody cares who gets the
credit!
"The most effective way to do it, is to do it." Amelia Earhart
Ferret Emergency Response, Rescue & Evacuation Team (F.E.R.R.E.T.)
http://www.ferretemergency.org
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International Ferret Congress
http://www.ferretcongress.org
American Red Cross
http://www.redcross.org

[Posted in FML 5781]