Alexandra, BRILLIANT!

You can not rationally argue out what has not been rationally argued in.
-- George Bernard Shaw

Given any health problem in our ferrets I really prefer an educated
expert with 8 to 10 years of university education (undergrad and then
grad school and sometimes specialization training on top of that)
after the bakers' dozen of primary education (craving pasteries right
now...), and personally I tend to seek ones who got ferret health care
in there somewhere and have also had experience with them. I prefer
that to health advice from someone who did not study veterinary
medicine. Now, there are going to be other things I'd trust a 3 year
ferret experience non-vet about, but trusting someone to have the best
advice in one area of expertise does not mean that person is going to
be a good source of accurate and complete data in other areas.

If I want health advice with a strong background I will go to a
veterinarian instead of to a farrier (or instead of just tackling
it myself). Just will.

If I want shoeing and certain types of horse foot advice with a strong
background I will go to a farrier rather than a veterinarian (or
instead of just tackling it myself). Just will.

That does not demean either profession or all of the learning that went
into being able to do either field well. They are SPECIALIZED AREAS
OF KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE and each is important, but neither should
pretend to replace the other. The only person who can do both is the
one who has had the complete education and training of both, and we
might well not have anyone here who can claim that.

Taken together the members of the FML cover a broad range of areas of
expertise. Sometimes I am downright jealous of those who sew so well
or who do woodwork so well because I can do some easy sewing and easy
woodwork, but I know there are those here who will always -- ALWAYS --
always do much better than I do. Also, I am sometimes envious of those
who do humor far better than I ever will. Ditto, so many other areas of
expertise: chemistry, computing, physics, photography, writing, baking,
music, and if I kept going I could fill the FML forever... Still, I
APPRECIATE that they are better than I am at their strengths, and that
they are better is cool. It's the way things SHOULD be. EVERYONE has
special things about him or her and special strengths and that is a
GOOD THING. It is something to appreciate. Each of us needs to be
good at the things that she or he is good at and to appreciate and be
grateful for the expertise of those others who have taken the time to
learn other things and work toward perfecting them (since nothing will
ever actually be perfect), because their hard work, their education,
their experience benefit all of us. So, yes, I really appreciate
veterinarians and trust them to know their areas of expertise, but they
are not who I would have file a hoof and shoe a horse for me and vice
versa.

And, now you also know why I make sure to remind people in my sig lines
that I am not a vet, AND why we spend a LOT of time at the vet hospital
with our own ferrets. Experts simply are experts, and that includes
veterinarians. Vets are the best (at least for health issues...).

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html
HAPPY:
http://www.6footsix.com/my_weblog/2010/01/high-fives-for-happiness.html
"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)

[Posted in FML 6617]