She wasn't there to examine the ferrets in the "intensive care" area,
but she did. She wasn't there to check out my ferrets, but she did.
And, she wasn't there to make me feel better, but she did. And, in this
way I was introduced to Dr. Ruth Heller, who had traveled to the river
house to adopt one or two of the DMK ferrets. She brought with her a
friend and employee, Susan, who was also interested in obtaining a
ferret for show purposes. Watching Dr. Heller point out the strengths
and weaknesses of several ferrets, I was able to appreciate some of
the finer points of showmanship.
Dr. Heller operates Ravensnest Ferrets
<http://hometown.aol.com/ferrethealer/RNFerrets.html>
with "my partner, Beth Bowles, who is active with me in the ferretry
and in showing ferrets." A trip through her website reveals beautiful
ferrets, including a poster boy! As a breeder, Dr. Heller has had the
opportunity to make some good memories ("Oh, there's so many"). At the
top of that list is "having babies born into my hands, with trusting
moms sure enough of me to allow and want that, although my first
Best-in-Show comes close."
When Dr. Heller began her veterinary career, she did an internship
with Marshall Farms, thus beginning her ferret career. She "got two
ferrets ... directly from the farm. They were both black roan mitts,
and I fell in love with them as kits." Because of "their loving nature
and joyful interest in life" Dr. Heller decided to make ferrets a more
prominent part of her life. "Also, as a vet, they are a challenging
species to treat properly."
Like many other ferret enthusiasts, Dr. Heller has interests in "lots
of things! I read - I have a lot of favorite books - books I reread for
pleasure when I'm too tired to try something new." But, when she is not
to tired, Dr. Heller likes to "garden, sew, play with my dogs and my
ferrets, attend science fiction conventions..." She also likes to
listen to music, "ranging from classical tenors (love Pavarotti!)
through songs based on science fiction and fantasy novels."
While Dr. Heller may like to spend some time watching a favorite
movie -- "oddly enough, 'Dirty Dancing'" -- her favorite moment that
didn't involve ferrets was spent at the theatre watching more animals.
A difficult choice in a long line of happy memories, "it took a while
to narrow this down, but I'm going to go with seeing the theater
production of "The Lion King". It still sends chills down my spine,
thinking about it."
To relax, Dr. Heller also enjoys "spending time with family." Given 24
hours to spend with anyone, Dr. Heller would choose her heroine, "my
mother. She took all the hardships life threw at her, and what she
gave back was an amazing amount of love. There was so much I never got
to say or learn." Dr. Heller has learned much and still loves learning
today, taking the experiences in her life to teach others.
Sometimes a bad experience can benefit many. As Dr. Heller shared the
worst ferret experience of her life -- "hands down, giving Mongo his
distemper shot and having him go into respiratory collapse within
thirty seconds" -- she will also share the results of her distemper
titer study and discuss canine distemper in ferrets at the upcoming
Pittsburgh symposium. "(Beth) has been a great help in getting the data
entered for the titer study." Dr. Heller would like to be remembered
"As someone who made a difference, who changed things for the better."
Come listen to the results of the study, which has used the information
from several FML ferrets. This is sure to be a fascinating presentation
and the lives of ferrets and their owners will most certainly be
changed for the better!
To use Dr. Heller, visit or call her at:
Borderbrook Animal Hospital
3741 William Penn Highway
Murrysville, PA 15668
724-327-2200
Join us in Pittsburgh
November 7-9, 2008
International Ferret Congress (http://www.ferretcongress.org)
Ferret Emergency Response, Rescue and Evacuation Team (F.E.R.R.E.T.)
http://www.ferretemergency.org
[Posted in FML 6103]
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