Pam Grant wrote:
>And there is no wrong or right way to handle it unless you are not
>informing people of what they are being exposed to. It is not fair to
>the ferrets to not inform their owners.
Yes, and this is one of my biggest concerns. My last post on ECE was
emotional and I didn't rationally address some of the comments made by
Pat Nothnagle and Dr Williams.
Not all people who turn animals over to a shelter are uncaring people -
several years ago I had a doberman - by the time he was 5 years he had
killed a neighborhood cat that had wandered into my yard, attacked one of
my own cats, and put one ferret in the hospital. How far should I have
gone before I did something? My relationship with him had changed
drasticaly - I knew I didn't love him anymore. Turning him over to animal
control or the HS was not something I wanted to do. I found someone who
had a doggie shelter and she took him and found him a new home. Now, if
she had told me she had parvo in her shelter, I would have found another
alternative. And if she didn't tell me and I found out later, I would have
been really p.o.'d.
In some areas, there are options. Pam Grant, yes, thanks for giving me a
different point of view - you are in a very endemic area and ilt probably
won't make a difference where you are - and I commend you for the steps you
take to deal with it - distributing a pamphlet with Duck Soup, etc.
However, there are many areas in the country where it is isolated - most
often having been brought back from a show or other ferret gathering.
Most of those areas haven't experienced ECE outbreaks - however, if an area
shelter continues taking in ferrets while it has active greenies, it only
increases rather than decreases the spread of the disease - and therefore
the early demise of many innocent ferrets. Is it any less negligent to
expose an already compromised ferret (with predisposition to insulinoma or
lymphoma, let's say) to ECE and have him/her die in the shelter rather than
by the side of the road? (Please, this is an example, not a direct flame
at anyone in particular)- and I don't mean from ECE - I mean from lymphoma
or insulinoma. As Pam said, ECE compromises even more an already depressed
immune system, so even if they only have the greenies for a day or two, the
virus can and often does wreak havoc with other body systems, hence, early
lymphoma and/or insulinoma, etc.
In some instances, steps can be taken. Diane Rogers of the Baltimore
Ferret Club closed down their existing shelter and reopened it somewhere
else. New building, new ferrets. Suzanne Resinger of the Central AZ
Ferret Club has taken 'no-ferrets-at-club-meetings' one step further and
has cancelled all meetings until further notice. The WNYFLFA Shelter does
not have ECE. I am not actively involved in shelter activities other than
by phone and administratively. We have also reached out to our club
members and have found them to be a wonderful source of generosity. Many
have offered to be foster-ferret-parents if we need them. We will pay vet
bills and provide housing and they will provide food, litter, and love.
People who join ferret clubs love ferrets and want to help out in ways that
they can. Taking in one or 2 ferrets to prevent spread of ECE while a
shelter is recovering from active ECE, is one very big positive way club
members can help out. And many will, if they are just asked. Not only
will it save the new shelter ferret from contracting or being a carrier of
ECE, it may reduce one more household that the virus is carried into.
If infected shelters remain a focal point of distribution to non-infected
areas, it only exposes more innocent ferrets - as well as unsuspecting
owners - to the ravages of ECE.
And yes, Pam, I too have noticed as well as others, that kits are
suprisingly the least affected by this virus. They don't even really
"suffer" with it the way adults do. And diarrhea seems to be minimal
if at all present. It will interesting to see if that pattern remains
after a vaccine is developed.
Debbie Riccio
WNYFLFA
Rochester, NY
[Posted in FML issue 1244]
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