To my Friends on the FML:
 
    "The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things..."
 
    With some reluctance, I must inform you that the AFIP and my Department
will no longer be accepting ferret cases from private owners or veterinary
practitioners, but only from veterinary pathologists on a second opinion
basis.  This brings this species now in line with the way all other species
are handled in the Department.
 
    While it would be easy to blame this change simply on economics, several
factors were considered in this decision, and I must agree that at this
time, for many reasons, the policy change is indeed for the best.
 
    Over the last five years, when we started accepting cases from
practitioners, I have amassed almost 2500 cases.  This makes us the largest
repository of ferret tissue in the world.  We now have multiple cases
representing every known ferret disease, and many new ones that have never
been reported.
 
        Still, the cases come in, 5 and 6 a day.  Now, the caseload of one
person equals that of the thirteen others in the Department.  It has come to
point where turnaround time has dipped to an all-time low.  My day starts at
5AM and ends at midnight, and weekends are not exempt.
 
    The biggest problem is that while we have amassed a tremendous amount
of  knowledge, I do not have the time to publish it, so it doesn't benefit
anyone.  That needs to change, and I must take a more global, and less local
outlook.
 
   I have always been a teaching diagnostic pathologist with an interest
in ferrets.  I also specialize in diseases of marine mammals, and work at the
Institute where all marine mammal stranding tissues are sent.  Yet, I have not
published in this area in two years, either.  I have now become a ferret
pathologist with an interest in the diseases of all other species.
 
    Rest assured that I have not abandoned my interests in ferrets.  My
research on epizootic cattarrhal enteritis continues.  I have several papers
in initial stages, which will now have the opportunity to be completed.  I
have lectures in Washington D.C., London, and New York planned over the next
five months and am working with Sue Morrow on the first veterinary
conference on ferret medicine to be held in White Plains, NY in November.  I
will continue on as the vet-in residence on the FML.
 
    While I realize that without access to free services, many ferret
tissues will not be read.  There are many veterinary labs out there, and the
body of information on ferrets is such that most pathologists can do a
credible job.  I read ferret cases at AccuPath, my own company.  (For more
information on services offered by AccuPath, please contact me at
[log in to unmask]).
 
    I rode my motorcycle to work for the first time in months, because I
didn't have a large load of cases from the previous night to return.  Today
I 'm meeting my wife after work at the health club for the first time.  I
hope to spend some time with my family now - I've got three ferrets who have
serious diseases, and I want to spend some quality time with them before
they are gone.  My boss mentioned that I have logged less leave time than
anyone else over the last three years.  With the cases continuing to grow in
number, I will never have time to do these things, or pursue any of my other
interests, so it's time to put an end to the endless stream of cases...
 
    Please let your vet know that I have enjoyed doing all of your cases,
and I hope to continue our collaborations, albeit on a somewhat different
arrangement.  I continue to be here for telephone consultations, etc.
 
    Thank you for your understanding, and I hope that you will continue to
have pathology done on all of your ferret cases.
 
--
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP              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 1232]