It does seem that many of the shelter fuzzy's get ill, but I believe this
can be attributed to many things.  With the little fuzzy's that we get into
our shelter, we have no idea of the little one's history.  We don't know
what they were fed as a diet, if they ever saw a vet, or what their living
conditions were like.  (i.e. were they kept in an aquarium filled with
cedar chips in the basement....) It's sad to never know if the little guys
endured neglect or abuse.  Being brought from one place to another can also
cause stress, which isn't good on their systems.  And, not knowing what
their diet was to begin with, doesn't help us in ensuring their food intake
hasn't change.  We feed our shelter baby's Marshalls, but if they weren't
"imprinted" with a good ferret diet, sometimes they won't eat it, no matter
how good it is for them.  They are also exposed to more illnesses being
moved to a shelter filled with "unwanted" pets.  The way I see it is, if
the pets are unwanted enough to be brought into the shelter, more than
likely they were not getting proper care before they were brought in.  Some
viruses may lie dormant, (ECE as an example) and only rear its ugly head
when there is stress in the little one's life.  My goal as a shelter worker
is to give the little guys as much love and care as possible.  Should they
become ill, I can only ensure that at last they are recieving medical
attention, which can do nothing but help them...
 
It may be true that the fuzzy's bought in a "pet store" are not initally
exposed to many illnesses, they may be healthier since they are coming
in as small kits.  The shelter kids are handed a raw deal in my opinion.
(And, it should also be noted that the shelter baby's that we have gotten
in to our shelter are all Marshall's babys, no breeder kids...) And while
they may be more prone to illness, they are in desperate need of being
loved and wanted.  I truly believe, a little bit of love can go a long
way...
 
Just my 2 cents...
~~faith
[Posted in FML issue 3144]