Hi folks,
 
I just had a moment, so I thought I would use it to post this information
that I already sent to Chere Mccoy, about heartworm treatment.
 
Dr. Richard Henderson, of the Galveston Veterenary Clinic has successfully
treated a ferret for heartworms.  The ferret was a 5 pound male named
Sherman (appropriately named for his size), who now weighs in at 5.5 pounds.
 
As I recall, the treatment involved running a cathiter down into the heart
and administering a slow drip of diluted arsenic solution through it for
about half an hour.  There was about a six week recovery period, during
which it was *EXTREMELY* important that Sherman be kept as inactive as
possible.  The reason for this was to allow the heartworms to disolve into
small pieces, that would not block the blood vessels.  Too much activity by
the ferret, durring this recovery period, could cause the heartworms to break
into too large pieces that could become fatal if one of them were to become
lodged in a blood vessle.
 
It is very fortunate that Chere discovered the heartworms in Rusty when she
did, as the first symptom of heartworms in ferrets is usually death.  Such
was the case with Sherman.  He was romping around one moment, climbing up the
front of the couch the next moment and fell over with no heartbeat or
breathing the next.  Fortunately, his owners were both present when this
happened.  They learned, very quickly, how to do ferret CPR.  Today, Sherman
is 5.5 pounds of the gentlest, most vocal, active breeding ferret I have ever
seen (except for my own Slinky, who is the gentlest ferret alive).
 
If you should ever need heartworm treatment for one of your ferrets, you might
give your vet Dr. Hendersons address and phone number, as a reference.  He can
be contacted as follows:
 
   Dr. Richard Henderson, DVM
   Galveston Veterenary Clinic
   2108 61st. Street
   Galveston, TX  77551
   Ph:  409-744-5355
 
I am sure that we will all be looking foreward to status reports from Chere,
on Rusty's successfull heartworm treatment.
 
On another note, we still have one female kit left for sale to a good home.
She is a sable who was 10 weeks old yesterday (3/10).  She is *VERY*
imprinted on humans, having been handled and nursed from birth (I had to
nurse the kits through the first night - before Godiva's milk came down).  In
fact, she even gives ferret kisses.  How many 10 week old kits would you trust
that close to your face?  Although she has not been registered, her pedegree
is registered through NAFA and we will supply registration forms if you choose
to register her.  You can contact me at:
 
   email:  [log in to unmask]
   phone:  713/952-4233 (answered as Action Rubber Stamps)
 
Next time, "Murphy was a Ferret Breader" or "Your Jill Never Read All Those
Books That You Did".
 
Until later,
 
"Cats may be cool, but carpet sharks rule."
 
John Gaver ([log in to unmask])
 
[Posted in FML issue 0434]