Hello to you all,

BEtween losing Ada in late March and losing Artie two days ago, we lost
Robert, my first and much-loved ferret. I can't even bear to describe
him now. I would just cry a long loud time, and am not ready for it.

My next post will be a copy of an email I wrote to my friend Wendy as
I was going through the ordeal. As with Artie, I was sure we had saved
him at one point.

Has anyone had this experience w coccidia -- great progress followed by
an unremitting reversal?

We are now gathering as much info as we can about the disease to
protect our remaining ferrets. Of course we are encountering
conflicting opinions, but plesaase send us your experiences and advice.

Artie's autopsy indicates coccidia. His lower intestine was full of
digested tarry blood from his colon to his duodenum. We also think it's
coccidia since we had a general infestation at one point and cleared it
up w sulfa. That recovery was spectacular -- after 1 day of treatment,
their stools were back to normal. We continued treating for abt 10
days.

We've decided to give a prophylactic course to the remaining ferrets.
What is your advice for that? Drugs, dosage, frequency, duration.
Anything else?

What's your opinion on the organism's survivability. It appears to be
tenacious.

Will sunlight kill it, and if so how long does that take? Do you agree
that killing it requires mechanial action, rather than or in addition
to chemical disinfection?

Is there a way to clear it from soil? Is there a way to test for it
in soil??

These are all the questions I can think of, but probably some of you
have info for us in different areas.

I am focusing hard on the future, but this has been a terrible
experience. On top of the grief and sorrow is the misery of knowing
that if I had left them behind in the US they would probably still be
alive. I do remind myself that they would have had a terrible shock
if I had left them behind, and that they all had a great time here,
and were happier than they had been in Calif, and that, of course, I
thought all would continue so happily, but, well, you can imagine.

A slender silver lining: I'm not a religious person per se, but did get
some early bible training. Do you remember Rachel who "would not be
consoled"? I never could figure out why she should have been condemned
for that, and in fact still don't agree w condemnation anyway, but now
I see the problem/solution/whatever. I have found it in myself to mourn
and grieve, go numb, and yet get joy in between.

Yesterday was Palm Sunday/Hosannah here. Lovely customs are connected
with it, including a church ceremony with gorgeously decorated donkeys
carrying palm fronds, people dressing in white, and making and wearing
crowns, bands, and rings of palm. I am determined to get pix for you
all.

[Posted in FML 5950]