Hello to you FMLers who remember me after all this long absence! And
to everyone!

The ferets and I are still in Ethiopia. But there are a few big
changes: I have moved to the country side amd I now have a ferret-savvy
vet. She's from Switzerland, is in her late 30's, and is working at the
wildlife sanctuary that another foreigner (British, maybe) has started
in a nearby town.

Sadly, Rhea has a heart condition that often is so bad she cannot work.
Her partner, Matt is deeply worried. Me too.

My most darling ferret Jonas is getting old and skinny and fur-less.
Through Rhea I am treating all of them for parasites. I will miss
Jonas sorely when he dies. I am hopoing that the current treatment
will fatten him up. He has already gained weight over the past 2
days -- he is already small, but he weighed only 618 grams Thurs AM
before waking up. Today, Sat, he was at a whopping 688.

He is still very lively, though doesn't dance. I brought him into my
livingroom Tues, and he ran and ran around looking at everything. Naked
little tail w a tuft at the end sticking out from under the furniture
as he explored. Rhea thinks the fur loss is due to the stress of the
move from the city to here, plus the result of the rainy season (our
winter). He's grown a lot of his fur back. We'll see. When shefirst
saw hmi, I proposed tit might be due to one of the fur-loss diseases,
but she thinks not. She's not a ferret expert, but at least knows the
basics and cares a lot.

The vet equioment that Dr Sandra Mitchell of Saco Maine donated to our
clinic arrived in Africa about 4 months ago. Getting it to Ethiopia has
involved an astounding amount of paperwork, but that's the normal
routine here. I finally got Customs to clear it, and the transit agent
is now working at the last tasks. One of the fine things that is coming
is gas anesthesia machines.

CAN ANY OF YOU SEND US AN ULTRASOUND? We need somehing to be able to
see inside the animals. HOW ABOUT BLOOD WORK EQUIPMENT? We lack so many
of the basics. But are no worse than any other clinic in the country
except the ones at the main vet school. Even theirs are scanty and
some aren't in good condition.

Edilegnya, the donkey, finally has a healthy left hoof. I gave him a
course of Ciproflouxine and that finally did it. Clearly no pain now
when he walks on the hoof. He likes to talk with me and the dogs. When
they bark, he brays, and when he brays, they bark. When I bray at him,
he brays back! It is such a trip.

It looks as though I will be able to open a branch of the UK's Donkey
Sanctuary here in our little town. A nice woman, sent us some rare
Earth x-ray plates that are the right size for donkeys and horses. And
Sandra Mitchell sent us an x-ray viewer and some other plates. But WE
NEED AN XRAY MACHINE.

[Posted in FML 7184]