Wow - What a FML!!!  I feel like I've been through a war....but I do feel
like I should comment on a couple of things....
 
        To Moonferret about the loss of Frito:
 
        I sympathize with your loss, having lost several unexpectedly myself
(and I'm a vet, no less).  Tom Kawasaki has done a lot of surgery on my animals
over the last few years and all have pulled through (although some needed a lot
of nursing care on my part post- surgically, not becuase of his surgical
ability, but because abdominal surgery always requires good nursing care.)  He
is generally a very caring vet, although the pressures of his practice do not
allow him to be as close to his patients as we think he should be, and I know
that he himself would like to be.  Overall, though, he does have an excellent
track record.
 
        Tom provides an excellent service for ferret owners who can't afford
surgery anywhere else (I cite your $160 adrenalectomy as compared to the $800
charged by the Animal Medical Center in NYC).  I think you would agree with me
that it wasn't a cut-rate surgery, even though there was a bad post-op
complication.
 
        I will still continue to recommend Dr. K., and as his friend and
colleague, I am passing on your comments to him.  Sometimes we can learn from
the cases that don't turn out as we planned as well as those that do.  If I know
Tom, he has already contacted you and you have had a long talk.  If not, I urge
you to contact him.  He is always trying to refine his techniques and save
ferret lives.  He's certainly not in it for the money.
 
 
 
        To Tarra Lindborg:
 
        I am sorry that you were upset by another of our FML'ers.  I must admit,
too, that I was momentarily struck by some doubt when you said that you were
supplying kits to pets stores (shades of MF), but I appreciated the extra detail
that you went into about the great lengths that you are going to in order to
make sure the ferrets have good homes.
 
        But a lot of us, I think, are just biased against pet stores.  Certainly
a lot of the problems I see on a day to day basis arise as a result of pet
stores - not to bash them all,  but most of them, as you know, are breeding
grounds for various infectious and nutritional diseases.  There are some
however, that are run by caring and scrupulous owners, and I hope that the one
that you are dealing with is one of those.
 
        I guess my comments now are to the FML at large - it is easy to strike
out in anger, but far more practical to discuss a matter rationally.  There are
times when I get questions from owners that my initial reaction is to  say "Hey,
you dunderhead!!!! Don't you have any common sense????", but you quickly realize
that that type of approach won't open many minds (or doors).
 
        We may not agree with each other's opinions and practices, but we should
approach each other with an open mind. Tarra, I know from our previous
communications that you truly care about your animals.  Please, for the sake of
our small community, be careful in your new endeavor, and keep tabs on these
potential new owners.
 
       Bruce Williams, DVM                 Department of Veterinary Pathology
       [log in to unmask]         Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
       (202) 782-2600/2602                 Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
[Posted in FML issue 1015]