I am checking this out*way early* due to past experiences ( bitty story
follows); Please, does anyone out there live near Park Rapids, Minnesota
who might know of a good vet for small animals??  (I don't expect to get
so lucky as to find one that has worked on ferrets, but that would be a
plus)...Detroit Lakes would do in a pinch, but would rather find one near
Park Rapids, Walker area.....Please write and let me know!!!!
 
My story: we left on a Minn. lake vacation last summer(11 days away from
little Fang)...my mother-in-law was supposed to come up and get him the day
after we left (she had pheasant eggs hatching in the den where Fang would
be located)...She had taken care of Fang on a previous vacation, and
everything had gone smoothly, with her four cats to keep him occupied....
 
I called her from Minn. when we arrived to check on him, and she told me
that, due to masss confusion at her home during that time(they produce and
sell honey and raspberries, and customers are always coming and going, and
the pheasants were late hatching, etc.) she had decided to leave Fang in
our home (free roam, only caged at night when we are here, but because of
this situation, he was free roamed for the entire 11 days..with nobody to
tuck him in at night :>(
 
She did come up every day to water my flowers, and when she did, she made
sure she checked him (food, water bowl, and gave him his daily dose of
Ferretone)...she said he was VERY glad to see her during these brief
visits... she said he was curled up beside the fish tank when she arrived
every day !!)  In her ignorance, she did not understand how lonely and sad
he must have been!!  He was so lonely that the fish were the only living
thing he could find for company!!  (no, he never tried to get the fish; he
had never shown any interest in them prior to our long absence!  He just
slept beside them during this time.)
 
My entire vacation was dampened with my worry for his loneliness; he was
never one to get into trouble (never climbed onto counters, etc.) but he
was so depressed that he ate less, lost weight..and couldn't understand why
he had been abandoned.  Ever since this happened, I have regretted leaving
him for that long, and will never do it again.  It is one of those things
that you can't undo, but forever hurts inside that you let it happen at all.
 
Next June, we will be heading back to the lake, and I will not go without
Fang, even thought the resort won't allow pets!!  I will smuggle him in,
and keep him from being seen.  I just wouldn't go without him, so I don't
mind breaking that rule; no guilt at all.  I am asking ahead of time about
a vet in that area in case something happens....he will be six next spring,
and after reading all your stories, I am still paranoid.
 
Forgive my long post(I lied about the bitty part)...
lizzi
[Posted in FML issue 2832]