I've been home just a few weeks and have not had time yet to unpack
most of my stuff, much less start the frightening task of sorting
through my email to answer questions and send thank-you notes. I spoke
at the Buckeye Bash a few days after my plane landed and visited my
grandkids on the way home. The following week I was in Chicago for
several days to work with a group of veterinary dentists who were
independently checking my dental studies (I am not a vet and I not a
dentist, but apparently I got things right).

I came home to deeply worry about -- and have an extended visit
with -- Elizabeth, who started bleeding in her 2nd trimester and
remains at great risk of losing her baby (which was first communicated
to me in a voice mail that I distinctly heard as "Andrew has been in
an accident..." See why I *HATE HATE HATE* talking on the phone?). She
is currently confined to her bed and the baby's heart rate is ok, but
things seem ominous. It has consumed much of my recent time.

In my remaining copious spare time, I have been working on Ferret
Project data, writing something for Ferrets, something for an overseas
magazine, something for a non-ferret journal, and trying to unpack just
a single piece of luggage from the trip. In the meantime, I have hardly
emailed anyone at any time about anything.

This has little to do with Alexandra. I've just reported it only
because I wanted to point out that when I get busy like this, I don't
read the whole FML -- I just scan for a few favored posters, Alexandra
being among them. As I started to scan through months of FMLs, I was
shocked to read of the controversy regarding her recent loss of Ping.
Ok, that is an obvious exaggeration; I wasn't actually shocked. Sadly,
I expected such comments.

Ping died in an accident. They are called accidents because they are
unplanned, unintentional events that -- without intent of harm --
result in damage, injury, or death. They are also of a random nature
and therefore unpredictable. Yes, I can use statistics to infer that
if you drive long enough at night, a drunk driver will hit you, but
because they are random events, no one can say when or where, or even
if at all. That is why you can't prevent an accident by predicting
when one will occur. I am an expert on accidents. I've put a nail in
my head, nearly cut off my thumb, broke bones, stepped on or kicked by
horses and cattle, bit by a rattlesnake, hit by falling rocks, fallen
from cliffs, skidded on ice, and have even been hit by that drunk
driver driving at night. I know all about accidents; I doubt if I go
a month without one. It is not that I am accident-prone; I just do a
lot of stuff so there are increased risks of accident.

Because accidents are random, they follow statistical principles. This
means they can cluster -- there can be long periods of time without
an accident, or short periods where a lot of accidents seem to occur.
An "accident-prone" cluster can make it superficially seem as if the
victim is responsible -- at least in part -- for the events. As an
example, I've traveled all over the USA and Europe and have rarely had
a theft, but on the Ferret Project trip this year, I was robbed four
times, even having my entire camera bag, containing all of my video
and most of my still gear, stolen a few days before I left. It was a
cluster of thefts which -- averaged out over thirty years of other
ferret and photo travels -- is far below the average number of thefts
expected compared to the risk (the overall rate is evidence of theft
prevention, not the cluster). What on the surface seems to be
carelessness by a victim is nothing more than a random clustering of
events. Put simply, it is nothing but a period of bad luck accidents.

Such as with Alexandra, who also suffered a statistical cluster of
two that might superficially seem like negligence. However, it wasn't
negligence; Alexandra had nothing but bad luck accidents; unpredictable
random events clustered together.

Yes, you could argue that risks for such unplanned, random events can
be reduced if the ferret owner removes the ferret from situations where
the event would occur. For example, the risks of your ferret biting a
child are essentially zero if you keep your ferret in an environment
that excludes children. However, besides being a suppositional argument
without a basis in the reality of life, this approach can go too far.
The only real way to reduce household risk is to house the ferret in
a sterile environment. However, ferrets are not meant to live in a
sterile environment -- it greatly increases their stress and
susceptibility to a number of diseases, so reducing risks can actually
increase them. If you want to keep your ferrets healthy -- emotionally
as well as physically -- they have to live in an environment that is
inherently full of risk. All that an owner can be expected is to do
the best job possible in reducing those risks to acceptable levels.
Alexandra did that, but the reduction of risk is not the same as the
elimination of risk, and statistics caught up with her in a random,
unpredictable accident.

Now, to back up a bit, this isn't an attempt to support or defend
Alexandra. I think of her as a strong woman and I would never be so
condescending as to think I could swoop in and fix things for her.
But I do want to point out a few things about accidents with ferrets.
Rather, I'll allow Belle, my overly confident little sable, to point
out an important thing about ferret accidents.

I once quietly watched Belle try to climb to a tabletop. Her path was
blocked, but a single strap was hanging down from a camera. She climbed
as high as she could go on a duffle bag, leaped and bit into the strap.
I am serious -- she jumped up and grabbed it with her teeth, swinging
back and forth from the strap. Hanging there by her canines, she
flailed until she got her claws into the webbing and then climbed up to
the table. If that gave Belle access to the great outdoors instead of
my film bag, would I be to blame? Some would say I was, that allowing
the strap to hang down was evidence of my negligence. Others would say
I was not at fault, arguing that no one could have predicted that a
ferret would jump and grab a strap with their teeth to climb to
freedom.

Both arguments would have merit. Yes, I was negligent in allowing a
camera strap to fall off the edge of a table. No, I was not responsible
because using teeth to grab a strap to climb to a table would not be a
predictable ferret behavior. In the absence of empirical data, when two
arguments have merit, then choosing one over the other becomes a matter
of opinion. It is a sad day when a dispute over an *OPINION* drives a
member off the FML. Both sides should stop and think for a moment what
types of harm can come from the unbridled expression of opinions.

Part two follows

[Part two:]

During my tenure on the FML, I have heard of ferrets being killed in
recliners, stoves, dish washers, clothes washers and dryers, stepped on
when under rugs or clothing, squashed by falling tables and other heavy
objects, suffocated behind heavy furniture, killed by dogs, poisoned
with rat killer, killed in car accidents, killed with Tylenol, killed
falling from moving cars, and much, much more. I have been told of
ferrets being killed by boas, predatory birds, and even the occasional
non-dog large predator. Even predatory humans have killed ferrets, and
not just sadistic people. In New Zealand, I observed firsthand the
result of the slaughter of hundreds of feral ferrets, and heard about
a ferret farm that killed thousands -- their entire stock. Worse, I
know of ferrets that have died because of a lack of basic vet care.

During this time, our combined ferret husbandry has been responsible
for killing untold thousands of ferrets, from some combination of
stress and associated disease, boredom, ulcers, adrenal disease,
insulinoma, lack of appropriate inoculations, dental disease, poor
ferret proofing, poor understanding of photoperiodism, negligent
breeding, and improper diets. Untold thousands of these ferrets would
have had longer, healthier lives if our husbandry were better.

I have arguable culpability in the death of many of my own ferrets.
I fed my beloved Stella carbohydrate-rich kibble and she developed
insulinoma, one of the contributing causes of her death. Sweet Gus had
ECE, and because he had a malformed heart sensitive to electrolyte
imbalance that I did not address rapidly enough, his heart failed. Dear
Bluto started showing signs of adrenal disease and I didn't immediate
take him to a vet, but the tumor was a rare malignant type and he died
because of my hesitation. My baby Bear was attacking my foot at night
and, in my sleep, I absentmindedly flicked him off the bed and he
broke his hip landing on his side. My darling Jet died from juvenile
lymphoma, which I completely missed and only got her vet care after she
crashed. I am at least partially responsible for the death of many of
my ferrets, mostly through bad husbandry. I don't think I am alone. If
we were honest, we would all admit we have ferret blood on our hands.

The point of this extended morbidity report is threefold. First, it is
to illustrate not a single one of us -- not one -- is blameless for
some type of accidental injury to our ferrets. Some of us have been
luckier than others, but if you own enough ferrets for a long enough
time, some type of accidental injury is certain to occur. It will
happen, so undue criticism of someone else's accidents is sure to
come back and haunt you.

Secondly, the discussion of accidental events is a good thing provided
the discussion is kept on point and personal remarks -- other than
condolences -- are kept to one's self. When Alexandra discussed the
events surrounding Ping's death, it wasn't just a catharsis or pleading
for sympathy; it was also a warning for the rest of us. That is a very
good thing because it potentially helps all of us and such warnings
are invaluable for protecting our ferrets. Rewarding such warnings
with attacks of a personal nature only discourages future cautionary
reports. Personal attacks not only hurt those they are aimed at, but
like the indiscriminate spraying of bullets in a drive-by shooting,
they can injure all of us, even innocent ferret bystanders. Without
warnings, the risks of injury to our ferrets are higher. Think about
it! When personal attacks are made against those who are reporting
accidents, it only discourages future reports, which *INCREASES RISK*
for all the rest of us. That is why such personal attacks are
intolerable.

Third, accidents are random acts and not the intention nor the desire
of the victim -- ferret or owner. If we control our ferrets to such an
extent that we eliminate all possibility of risk, we no longer have
ferrets and might as well own a pet rock. It is cruel to confine a
ferret to a bell jar. Like Alexandra, we cannot remove risk; we can
only reduce it as much as possible for our given circumstances, and
then live with the result. In other words, we try to do what Alexandra
did and hope and pray we have more luck.

Just is just my opinion, nothing more.

Bob C
[log in to unmask]

[Posted in FML 6094]