I am so upset.  So horrified.  So disgusted with the vet who did this to
my ferret.
 
Cathy Johnson-Delaney, DVM killed Foxy, without my permission and without
my knowledge.  She performed a postmortem exam and took tissues from her
without my knowledge or permission.  I went to pick up Foxy and she
wasn't there.  It took me several hours to discover that she was dead and
that her body had been given to a board member of Washington Ferret
Rescue (WFR) to take home and keep frozen in her fridge.
 
Dr. Johnson-Delaney now refuses to return Foxy's body to me...and I
spoke to two other board members today who say they are letting Dr.
Johnson-Delaney run the show.  Dr. Johnson-Delaney is also on the board
of WFR.
 
Four of our ferrets were participating in Dr. Johnson-Delaney's "adrenal
study." This study was presented as being done on pet ferrets.  There
was to be no premature killing.  There was to be n0o participating in
the study for x months and then killing all of the ferrets.  But Dr.
Johnson-Delaney decided that last Saturday was the day she had time to do
a postmortem, so she killed foxy.  She is making many false claims now
saying that Foxy was in pain and not eating.  This simply is not true.
When we put her into her carrier we had to wait because she was eating
and walking around with her ferret family.  Foxy was doing just fine when
she left here.  However, even if she was pain and was "suffering" it's up
to the animals owner whether or not the animal be killed.  Everyone is in
agreement that no one even attempted to contact me.
 
I have several e-mails from Dr. Johnson-Delaney.  She knew these 4
ferrets belonged to our shelter and in an e-mail dated 9/4/03 she stated
that Foxy's hormonal levels are doing ok.
 
In an e-mail dated 10/4/03 Dr. Johnson-Delaney wrote: "I'm just too
overwhelmed to not follow a systematic approach to seeing all these
ferrets.  I get them too confused.  " And that is what I suspect is the
real reason that Foxy is dead.
 
In an e-mail dated 10/6/03 Dr. Johnson-Delaney wrote about Foxy: "Other
than hair problems, her last hormone values were ok, so its just the
tumors that we can't really control.  Is she doing ok otherwise?"
 
And on the same date I responded: "Foxy's verrrrrry naked, but other than
that she's doing great!"
 
Dr. Johnson-Delaney has not only refused to accept any responsibility for
Foxy's death, even though she is the one who overdosed her on isoflurane.
Dr. Johnson-Delaney first told me it was the fault of the WFR volunteers
who told her that Foxy was there to be euthanized.  When I told her that
wasn't possible, none of the volunteers knew anything positive or
negative about Foxy.  Dr. Johnson-Delaney next told me it was the fault
of Liane (WFR founder) because Liane was supposed to have had me sign the
ferrets over to the study (Liane, just sent me an e-mail saying this was
never the case and she was never asked to have me turn them over to Dr.
Johnson-Delaney and that Dr. Johnson-Delaney knew they were our ferrets.
(Our ferrets would NOT have participated in the study if that were a
requirement.)
 
Dr. Johnson-Delaney next called my veterinarian and told her it was MY
fault!  She dared to say that I had brought Foxy there to be euthanized
(this in the face of her treatment sheet stating that Foxy was there to
receive her Lupron injection.  I have a copy of the treatment sheet she
used that day.)
 
Dr. Johnson-Delaney and the rest of the WFR board of directors had
assigned Liane to be the go between for Dr. Johnson-Delaney and myself.
 
Liane told me just 2 days ago that Dr. Johnson-Delaney agreed to my
requests (1) that Foxy's records be removed from the study.  (2) that
Foxy's body, tissues & blood samples be returned to me (3) that the
photos she'd taken of the postmortem be returned to me.  In exchange Dr.
Johnson-Delaney wanted a letter from me stating that I would not report
her to the State Veterinary Board for killing my ferret and I agreed to
do so.
 
The deadline was Friday, November 7th.  That came and went and I
contacted Liane to ask if they needed a few more days.  Liane said yes.
In the meantime Foxy's body was to be turned over to me this morning.
This morning turned into the afternoon.  I spoke with the Jeremy
Peterson, the president of WFR.  He told me that Foxy was not coming back
today and that Dr. Johnson-Delaney told him to put "everything on hold."
There was no reason forthcoming.
 
There have been several other strange twists to this.  Dr.
Johnson-Delaney told me that Foxy's body was in the freezer at the
shelter.  I picked up the ferret, defrosted her and took her to my vet to
do another postmortem on the remaining organs.  When she was unwrapped
and I saw intestines draped over her face, I couldn't watch anymore.  The
disrespect for the body was obvious.  It was several days later that Dr.
Johnson-Delaney told my vet that the ferret she had seen was not Foxy,
and I have been trying to get Foxy back ever since.
 
The WFR board member who had Foxy's body was told to defrost, put the
intestines back inside and then the body could be turned over to me.  It
seems obvious that Dr. Johnson-Delaney, has now decided that it would not
be in her best interest to have another veterinarian look at Foxy's body.
 
On Monday, I'll be filing a complaint with the State Veterinary Board and
my attorney will become involved in trying to get Foxy back.  This has
been a hideous nightmare.  It has caused all of us at the shelter to be
unable to sleep, to have crying jags thinking of Foxy when we put her
into her carrier, telling her we'd see her tomorrow.  Was she struggling
when she died?  She must have been.  Foxy was not ready to die.
 
Sandi
 
Best Little Rabbit, Rodent & Ferret House
a non-profit animal shelter
14317 Lake City Way NE
Seattle, WA 98125
(206)365-9105
Open 6 days/week (closed Tue) or visit our on-line store at:
http://www.rabbitrodentferret.org
[Posted in FML issue 4326]