Hi All
 
Up date on the Dutch ferret with extra feet.  I took her to Hanneke
Moorman yesterday and Hanneke confirms that she has two feet in each back
leg complete with bones and nerves; Hunneke has never seen this before
either.  The left foot is not to bad, the bottom foot has a pad, the toes
and the nubbins, the second foot with the toes and claws is on top of
this, the right foot is more of a problem as the extra foot is more to
the side and the digits fold under, at the moment she is walking on the
digits and it doesn't seem to bother her too mutch, she will now be
monitored to make sure she doesn't start to walk on the side of her foot
as this might cause bone damage if she does it for to long, If all go
well we will wait until she is around the 700 gram, then Hanneke will
take x rays to decide what, where, when and who will do the repair work,
she will also make some good digital photos.
 
Baby Hopje ( in Dutch this means tiny but also hope ) has been adopted
by Stichting De Fret, so all her needs will be taken care of for the rest
of her life, she has found a forever home with her shelter mum and she
is an otherwise healthy and very happy baby girl, When I brought her home
to the shelter last night, I was given a photo of Hopje in a tube coming
towards the light, I will always treasure this photo, for me it was very
symbolic, how dark a tunnel would this little girl have had to travel if
she had not crossed our path,
 
We can not help all the ferrets, but the ones we can help makes it all
worth while, Will keep you all informed
 
Stephenie
Stichting De Fret Netherlands
[Posted in FML issue 4621]