Bravo!  I really liked the posts talking about how good vets are.  In
23 years with ferrets we have encountered one (Yep, count him -- and
make it fast -- one...) vet who gouged us.  He actually is someone who
used to be very sweet but he ran into some avoidable hard times and
changed.   That's the sort of thing you could see in any profession.
The others have been WONDERFUL.  Seriously.
 
Fact is, providing vet care is part of the responsibility of having
animals in the family and the results of not doing so are way too often
truly abusive:  distemper which could have been avoided, heartworm when
prevention isn't used in endemic areas, animals destroyed who could
have had a lot more quality time with treatment, or animals dying of
things which could have been corrected with treatment, etc.  Needless
deaths and needless suffering are abuse, plain and simple.  People who
take animals into their families have the obligation to keep them safe,
to reduce chances of accidents, to ferret-proof, to provide care, to
provide vet care, etc.
 
I have vast respect and appreciation for veterinarians because they
have EARNED it, time and time again.
 
Sometimes it can be hard to afford the care needed, and often enough
Steve and I have chosen to do without things to provide a level of
care which is consistent with the love we feel for our ferret family
members, but that is just a normal part of life among so many of us
here on the FML.  When our family economics decreed it, we also did not
add new four footed family members after losses, instead letting the
numbers work their own way down.  After all, it would be unfair if we
added ones without being reasonably sure that we can provide them with
decent care.  So, at this point in time we have 1/2 the number of ferrets
we had when we had the most, because this is the number we can care for
well enough right now.
 
I really liked reading the excellent letters of those who share respect
and appreciation for vets.
 
Hope I said this well enough; I know that asthma has been making me a
poor communicator recently.  That's ragweed season for you...
[Posted in FML issue 4620]