I read the ferret news letter offen but I've only posted once before but I
felt that this time is was necessary.  If this message saves one ferret's
life or makes a owner think twice about the care they are receiving from
their vet, it was well worth it.
 
I have relocated about 5 or 6 times within the last two years, which meant
everytime I had to find a new vet for my 3 ferrets.  Right after I moved the
fourth time, it was time for two of them to get their regular shots and
checkups.  So we found a good doctor who took care of a lot of ferrets and
he was good and knew what he was dealing with.  Then about 4 weeks ago my
oldest ferret, Fred, decided he'd like to see what plastic tasted like.
 
Unfortunately, he swallowed it.  We did not know this took place until the
next day when he got out of his cage and was so sick.  He had no energy and
was very sick.  My husband, Greg, called our usual vet immediately but got
their answering machine giving the office hours which said they should've
been open but appearently no one was there.  So he called another local vet
who said they accepted ferrets.  So Greg rushed Fred over there and within
45 minutes he was in surgery.  He told my husband they never get the chance
to operate on ferrets but he knew what he was doing.  They removed the
object and said he was fine and the suctures in his intestine were clean.
But, Fred never was healthy again.  He didn't eat for two days straight and
then when he started eating again he was fine for a few days.  We gave him
the amoxi drops twice a day like we were told but Fred started having
diarrhea and he was losing weight.  Greg made several trips back in to see
the vet and the vet blamed the diarrhea on some other food we had been
giving him.  He had not eaten anything at all.  This vet wouldn't listen to
him and was trying to get him to quit bothering him.  Unfortunately, he
didn't know what was wrong but he couldn't admit it to us and he never ran
any tests that we know of.  The only good thing he told us to do was to
force feed him this liquid cat food, which was the only thing that kept him
alive.  (During this entire time my husband and I were living apart because
we were once again moving and I had already moved and he hadn't, which made
matters worse.)  Finally, we knew this vet wasn't going to do anything for
him so I went home and got him and took him to a vet who specialized in
ferrets and birds and reptiles.  Of course, the regular vet was on vacation
but they had a vet filling in for them who was marvelous!  She did all she
could for him and they did all these tests on him and determined he had a
stomach ulcer which was caused by the surgery.  He stayed with the new vet
from last Monday till Thursday morning.  They had given him several IV's and
medication to treat the ulcer and he seemed to be doing a lot better.  They
ran several tests to pin point the problem, which the other vet never did.
I was in a car accident on Wednesday so I didn't make it in to see him but
my husband called twice that day and also saw him and said he was doing much
better and that he would be ablet to come home on Thursday night.  The only
major concern we had for him was that he still would not eat but I thought
it was due to the fact that he'd been there and which was very stressful on
him.  I was getting ready to go see him on my lunch break on Thursday when
my husband called to tell me to come home.  He was crying and I knew
instantly Fred had died.  Greg had been there when he died.  His bowel had
perforated sometime in the morning and they didn't know it.  I guess he died
quickly and he is now free of pain and is no longer suffering but we are
both devasted.  We both loved Fred more than anything.  He was like our baby
to us.  We went and picked him up and drove him three long, silent, tearful
hours to my Mom and Dad's farm to bury him there.  It just made me feel
better knowing he's at one of his favorite places, his Grandma and
Grandpa's.  Fred was only 1 yr and a half.  He never had any problems before
and he was also the first ferret I ever had.  But we were lucky to have such
a good vet in the end, she really cared about him and I know she feels bad
too.
 
The whole point of this is that I never used to think it mattered what vet
we went to just as long as he or she knew the basics but I WAS WRONG and
I've learned my lesson the hard way.  Please don't be as ignorant as we
were, make sure your vet knows ferrets extremely well because their lives
are extremely fragile.
 
<<<<<<<<<<<<IN MEMORY OF FREDDIE DENNIS HERTZ>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
                      February 9,1996
                             to
                        July 31,1997
 
He will be missed by all of his family especially his brother William and
sister Samy.........
 
Keely and Greg Hertz
[Posted in FML issue 2022]