Victoria -
 
what a terrible time you've had... I'm sorry about your Antigone, too. I am
sorry that you felt my remarks so personally, and I see how you could have.
 
By way of explanation, let me say that your first post sounded very serious to
me, and therefore 'I wondered why...'
 
I will be the first to admit that I am ignorant : I don't own a ferret yet. But
I read books and magazines (and, uh, yeah - the FML), I've talked with a vet or
two, pet shops, and hope to develop a relationship with the Georgia Domestic
Ferret Association (yes, Jan, I hope to be at the Forsythe County Humane
Society meeting).  I am trying to learn how to care for a ferret before I try
to 'own' one.
 
After reading your latest 'post', I think you behaved responsibly and caringly
towards your ferret.
 
I am glad Victoria shared the details about her ferret's trouble, and how she
handled it - I've been wondering what the 'worse'-case scenarios are in taking
care of a ferret.
 
For the FML community - can anybody say what their experience is with $1000
surgery on a ferret?  I mean, a few hundred dollars to remove a foreign object
from the stomach would be too little? too much? too what?
 
[$1000 seems rather excessive, even in Canada.  One of our ferrets went
through a series of things, finally culminating in an exploratory that
yielded a rather large woody mass (like a clump of toothpicks) in her
lower abdomen.  It wasn't in the intestinal tract or the stomach.  We
figured she must have gotten impaled on something before she was found
and turned into the Humane Society, from which we got her indirectly.
All told, the multiple visits, including a spaying, HCG shots, IV,
antibiotics, and about three weeks of pet hospital intensive care cost
around $800 over 5-6 months.  The final surgery and recovery cost
around $350.  Dr. Michael Taylor in Toronto is the best ferret vet in
Toronto.  He's *very* good with ferrets.  He has his own clinic now.
"The Links" clinic seems pretty good too.  $1000?  Well, maybe there's
something else we don't know about...]
 
[Posted in FML issue 0752]