>From:    "Tara C. Radford" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: People who talk to animals...advice
>
>I know a certain ferret owner whose beloved ferret is in the Vets office
>under observation.The ferret owner had the ferret communicator "talk"
>with her ferret.Her ferret told this person he did not want to be at the
>Vet,he wanted to be home.Doh... This made this ferret owner feel very
>guilty.Let's face it,whose ferret "wants" to be at the Vet?  That "kind"
>of communication is better left unsaid.This ferret owner feels bad
>enough..
 
Tara, if the owner didn't want to know, the owner wouldn't have asked.
An animal's wishes regarding his or her potential treatment *should* be
considered.  Ferrets are sensitive, living, thinking creatures with
wishes and wills.  We should not just subject them to surgical treatment
after surgical treatment, or to taking medicines they hate, without
considering how they feel about the whole process.  Who are we to decide
that for them?  We do so now because we have to - but if we can learn
what they want, we should respect that.
 
>Plus, a bit of a diagnosis was made as to what is wrong with this
>ferret.  I took the symptoms,sent them to a VERY famous DVM,and he
>saw that diagnosis as the last possibility.
 
How many times does it have to be said that ferrets cannot ultimately be
diagnosed without being seen by a vet?  No matter who the "famous" DVM
is, he or she cannot be sure of a diagnosis without physically examining
the animal.  Did the ferret owner ask you to send the list of symptoms to
the vet?  Why are you even involved in this?
 
>I think it is VERY dangerous for anyone to be diagnosing anyones ferret
>by "talking" to them.
 
Again it is absolutely NONE of your business what an individual owner
does regarding his or her pet, when the owner is clearly trying to do the
best he or she can for that pet.  The choice of treatments is a heavy
burden for any owner, because as a pet owner, you're ultimately
responsible for whatever happens to the pet -- good or bad.  It is not
something to be taken lightly, and whatever the owner decides to do is
between him/her, the pet, and God.  It is, again, none of your business.
People have a hard enough time dealing with serious illness in pets
without someone like you being critical for absolutely no good reason,
other than to sound superior.
 
>One thing, you are most likely leaving yourself up for a lawsuit if you
>say the wrong thing to the wrong person.
 
I am a licensed, practicing attorney, and I cannot imagine any *possible*
basis for suing a pet communicator for the results of a reading.
 
>I certainly hope people take these "communications" as entertainment and
>not as a substitute for care from a certified Vet.
 
Well, clearly the pet owner in this situation was AT the vet's office,
so he or she IS getting veterinary care.  So what is the point of your
comments?  Is there any point, other than to cause grief for this already
clearly upset ferret owner?
 
Melissa Ince
[Posted in FML issue 4078]