21 of the ferrets are up for adoption

Hopefully, Bill Gruber or someone else had a chance to include that
somewhere in the FML; it arrived as a Google News Alert for "ferrets"
last night.

More:

<http://www.wvec.com/news/topstories/stories/wvec_local_013008_ferrett_adoption.728743c7.html>

Yet more with an insider's take:

<http://www.wandtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7801257&nav=menu589_1>

Sadly, for some people with many animals there is a fine line which
delineates when keeping many topples over into hoarding.

I am not going to determine which of the 3 or 4 seizure situations I
have read about recently are hoarding but a newspaper story on another
person made clear that one was not a hoarder. In her case the woman
herself called animal control, explained that she had many animals,
further explained that she had developed a serious medical condition,
and let them know the animals needed a new home for their own safety.
She also gave them her vet's information and the vet clarified that
these were animals who had received excellent care.

For those who want to decide for themselves: remember that conditions
may change over time, and remember that people, especially those under
stress, may change over time -- though often that is temporary. No one
wants to be a burden but there can come a time when an individual has
to make arrangements for adored animals with someone else who is better
able to provide care. That hurts horribly. I had to do it when I was
young. Of course, that did not involve a large number of animals.

Dehydration would likely have been determined by trained veterinary
technicians or veterinarians, as would starvation rather than illness-
created emaciation as can happen with some malignancies. They'd be
careful on that score because the law would require it for any possible
future court case.

Besides the animals' states of health things that will be taken into
account will include how often the ferret had veterinary care, how
much waste was laying around and where it was, how much unremoved old
or really old garbage was present, any other times any of the people
may have been in trouble for animal abuse, hoarding, unsanitary
conditions, etc.

No matter how anyone defines the situation, and not being there or
having related personal communications I am not about to do so, just
give generalities which are used while I continue to listen, the entire
situation is a sad one.

Here are some resources. There certainly are others out there.
AVMA:
http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/oct02/021015a.asp

Tufts site with extensive information:
http://www.tufts.edu/vet/cfa/hoarding/

Psychiatric journal article on hoarding:
http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/p000425.html

HSUS:
<http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/behind_closed_doors_the_horrors_of_animal_hoarding.html>

Pet abuse database:
http://www.pet-abuse.com/database/

The sheer number in the freezer surprised me if they were being
collected for communal cremation because didn't Barb Carlson mention
that they had a few, just enough to bring down the cost by doing a
joint cremation, but also few enough that each could feel like there
was enough of her or his ferret's ashes in the divided ashes later?

I wonder if anyone has thought of sharing the departed ferrets with a
veterinary school for educational purposes? Frozen animals can be later
used for dissection. That could help other ferrets later due to the
vets and future vets afterward knowing ferret anatomy better.

More personal update:
Dad passed away around 3 a.m. on the first. By that point it was a
mercy; Dad was 93 with several painful health problems and advancing
dementia which had fortunately not yet entered the paranoid stage some
other very elderly relatives had encountered. He was lucky enough to
go in his sleep of pneumonia, which he always called, "the old man's
friend".

His memorial is being delayed a little bit while my step-mom continues
recovering from her own respiratory infection, until some of her
relatives who were already traveling for a wedding will already be
in the area, and to give me a bit more time to recover more after my
recent surgery before I travel. My surgeon had just okayed me for
travel if I took a load of precautions (some specific for travel)
but Dad passed the day before we were heading out there.

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html

[Posted in FML 5872]

=========================================================================Date:    Sun, 3 Feb 2008 14:21:57 -0800
From:    Beth Randall <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: VA ferrets- placing? transport?

Is there anyone or place to contact regarding taking in any of the VA
ferrets?

I've seen a few people post here that they could take a couple - we
can too- probably up to 4 - 6 with no problem right now- older, sick,
disabled all fine here- ours is a sanctuary not a shelter so we do not
re-home the animals here.

We are located in NW IL about 2 hours west of Chicago, I saw where
another poster in Chicago offered to take 2 males - so if there is
transport being arranged, or a coordinated effort to place these of
any kind please let us know-

thnx!
Beth
[log in to unmask]
www.crittercamp.biz 

[Posted in FML 5872]