Hi all-
Julia Tandy posted a couple of issues back (sorry- was offline for a few
days and just getting caught up) about how the university hospital near her
had 1-4 ferrets for adoption twice a year.  These ferrets had been used for
preemie medical testing.  I don't know if she got any responses, but I
didn't see any mention of the post in subsequent FMLs.  I just want to
briefly clarify what she was talking about when saying these ferrets had
been used for medical testing so people don't get the wrong idea.
 
I went through medical school so I know what testing she's talking about.
The term "medical testing" brings to mind horrible images of animal torture
and a lot of this does exist.  I know that a lot of research is done using
ferrets as test animals.  As a disclaimer, I am against the vast majority
of the use of animals and know that there must be alternatives.  I am NOT
trying to trigger a debate on the pros and cons of the use of animals in
medical research (I know how easily debates get triggered here- PLEASE don't
start something :) ).  It's simply not the issue here.  These ferrets are
being used (or rather, helping out) for something completely different.
 
One thing that is imperative to learn in medical school is how to intubate
a newborn, especially a premature, infant.  Intubation is the insertion of
a small flexible tube into the trachea to assist in breathing, and in many
premature babies the lungs haven't developed fully and the baby is unable
to breathe well enough on its own to sustain life.
 
Obviously there are also times when full-term babies need to be intubated
for whatever reason.  In med school you can practice adult intubation on
cadavers and dummies and when it comes time to do it on a real person for
the first time it's relatively easy and things aren't on a life-threatening
basis (you usually intubate people for routine surgery with the
anesthesiologist right there to help you).  With tiny babies you don't have
those opportunities for practice- each case is life-threatening, so you want
to have practiced on something similar to a newborn or preemie.  Ferrets and
kittens have remarkably similar respiratory tracts to babies, so they are
routinely used for practice.  Again- don't go screaming at me- just listen.
 
In my case, we used kittens.  These were kittens that were obtained from
shelters and other places- kittens that would have otherwise been put to
sleep in many cases.  I was amazed at how well these kittens were treated
and the rules we had to abide by.  They were anesthetized (I think, but I'm
not positive, with ketamine), and each kitten could have no more than two
attempts at intubation.  If you didn't get it by then the kitten was allowed
to wake up so it didn't have injury to it's respiratory system.
 
No trauma at all.  After the kittens awoke they were adopted out.  None were
put to sleep.  I think 3 people in my small class came home with kittens.
I was told that they sometimes used ferrets, but the same rules applied.
Probably a good thing they didn't use ferrets or I would have ended up with
all of them!  They in fact had a lab mascot- a great huge ferret named
Oscar, who ran around the place and was much loved.  Anyway, what I'm trying
to say is these are wonderful ferrets who need good homes.  They haven't
been subjected to any scary diseases or been abused in any way.  They
haven't been exposed to any weird drugs that would cause them to develop any
illnesses any more than any other ferret.
 
Julia makes a good point- there are a lot of great ferrets who need good
homes such as we on the FML can provide them, and she just can't take them
all.  So please write to her (sorry- i can't remember her email address or
where she's from- Julie, you might want to post again and clarify!) if
you're wanting to adopt!
 
On a different note, I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my newest
adoptee- a boy named Zima- from Sandy in southern Indiana.  He's going to be
here on Saturday- I can't wait!!!!
 
Love to all-     jamie
 
PS- If someone feels the need to address the whole animal testing issue
and whether this counts as animal abuse or whatnot, please address me
personally.  Ii DON'T want it to become a huge war on here- that just gets
nowhere fast.
[Posted in FML issue 2324]