Greetings.  I have a quick question about rabies shots...I hope that someone
will be able to help.
 
Last week I took my two little girls to the vet for distemper/rabies and
general checkup.  The checkup was good and the vet said that they were very
healthy.  He gave them the distemper shots but refused to give them the
rabies vaccine.  Now, everything that I have read said that ferrets have a
natural immunuty to rabies, there have been no reported cases of rabies in
ferrets in the last hundred or whatever years, and that the only reason to
get the vaccine is to protect against some crazed person who, by some freak
of nature, has gotten bitten by my rabbid ferret.  The ferret gets taken
away..blah blah blah.  Anyway, the vet said that currently there is no
rabies vaccine specifically for ferrets.  He administered the vaccine to a
ferret three years ago, the ferret had a very negative reaction and almost
died.  Until they develop a vaccine recommended for ferrets, he says that he
won't give them.  He also said that if for some reason one of my sweet,
sweet little girls bites someone and they scream the rabies thing, that he
will tell them that ferrets can't get rabies, etc.  (whew) I trust my vet,
he came highly recommended, and was very gentle and careful with my little
girls, but should I take them somewhere else?  Or insist that he give it to
them?
 
Thanks-  Jason
Samantha-"Stop kissing me!!!!!!"
Tabitha-"Daddy, mommy made fun of my big ears!!"
[Posted in FML issue 1881]