Sherri,
You're right to feel uncomfortable about bringing Bandit to the
veterinarians you've talked to.  Not all vets have such a negative attitude
toward ferrets.  Our veterinarian, Dr. Stacey DiMaria of the West Frederick
Veterinary Hospital in Maryland, once warned us to stay away from a
particular emergency clinic because of how the doctors there handled a
biting incident.  I asked her, "If a ferret bites someone here, is she
safe?" Dr. DiMaria said, "Yes." She had the chance to prove this a year ago
when we brought in Bridgett, a recently rescued ferret, for vaccinations.
Bridgett bit Dr. DiMaria hard enough to draw blood.  She just laughed and
said, "This will match my iguana bite!" She showed us the iguana bite, put
some gauze around her finger, and that was the end of it.
 
No, there is no epidemic of rabid ferrets, just an epidemic of paranoid
public health officials.  It is actually very unusual for a ferret to get
rabies.  The average number of confirmed cases in the U.S.  is less than one
per year.  The CDC records no documented cases of ferret-human rabies
transmission.  I'm sure you will be reading a lot more about this
controversy in future issues of the FML.
 
Keep trying for a ferret-friendly vet. There are many of them around.
---Clare
---Clare Sebok
[Posted in FML issue 1552]