To Kari in Mass.: I agree with you about having a 24-hour watch for a
ferret after surgery, but unfortunately, not everyone has access to that
kind of facility. We're lucky we have one in Albuquerque that takes care
of ferrets; if this city were any smaller, we might not be so fortunate.
 
Grief: I'm sorry about the loss of Mei-Mei, too, and all the other
ferrets that have gone away in the past few weeks. You guys are all such
good parents.
 
Shampoo: My fuzzbeans seem to do pretty well with "Ferret Glo" shampoo by
Four Paws (no, I don't have stock in the company, either). When I tell
people that, they laugh because the brand name is so cute. Which reminds
me, I need to give Angel a bath; she has more fur than I've ever seen on
a ferret, and she's starting to shed.
 
Adoption: My vet gave me the vaccinations for Angel free yesterday
because I adopted her from their office. Can you believe this -- she
nearly died of a liver infection, which he believes originated in her
intestinal tract. After $380 worth (one of the assistants told me that)
of treatment that included IVs and antibiotics and several days of
hospital care, her family didn't come back to get her. Then they changed
their phone number. But they still lived at the same address, as evidenced
by a certified letter that went out three or four weeks later telling
them the ferret would be adopted if they did not come back and get her.
They returned the letter and said nothing. They didn't leave a name for
her or any history of shots. Apparently, they also had a couple of dogs
and cats, and one more ferret. They kept both ferrets outdoors in a cage
all year long. Keep in mind, we have days that are over 100 (F.) in summer
and below freezing in the winter -- maybe it's just my own bias, but I
could never leave a pet outdoors all the time, even a big dog. I think it
was very nice of my vet to administer her shots for free, especially since
they already lost so much money on her care in the first place. Of
course, now she's my responsibility -- I sure hope she stays healthy.
 
Linda, Espie, Frankie, Lucky Charm, and Angel
[Posted in FML issue 1125]