The cost of producing a high quality professional video tape is not
insignificant.  Taping surgeries would take special equipment and extra
care to make sure the delicate medical procedures were clearly shown
without compromising the safety of the patient.  I strongly suspect that
Dr. Weiss hired professionals to tape and edit the video; I don't think he
spent his spare time in the study editing the footage on his computer.
Professionals cost money.
 
The cost of production can be spread out over the number of tapes sold, but
somehow I doubt this one is going to be on Blockbuster's best selling list.
Dr. Weiss has invested an incredible amount of his time and own money on
research into the two major ferret diseases, adrenal and insulinoma.  His
published articles and especially the Lupron research has resulted in some
of the greatest breakthoughs in ferret health care in the last decade.
 
Yes, I wish the video cost less so it would be easier to convince vets to
purchase it.  But now that is our job to convince vets that this will help
them save furry lives.  If you need to, get your local ferret club to do a
fund raising event to purchase the video.
 
In the meantime, I would like to nominate Dr. Charlie Weiss for the FML
Ferret Hero of the Year award.  I had been thinking about this even before
the cryosurgery info and video came out.  As I said, he has done an
incredible amount of work to publish and publicize new and better ways to
treat ferrets.
 
If anyone has any good ideas on how we as a group can recognize and reward
his efforts, I'd love to talk about it with you.  In the meantime, shhh,
don't tell him!
 
Linda Iroff
Oberlin, OH
 
Support the Ferrets Unlimited/Raisin Retreat Ferret Shelter by visiting
http://www.iGive.com/html/ssi.cfm?cid=3585&mid=30146
[Posted in FML issue 2846]