I try to avoid controversy.  I really do!  It just seems to follow me
around.  So, I want to throw in a nickel or two, okay?
 
1. ADV and vets.  Mollie (and the rest of the ferret community), my
experience has been the same as Kim's.  I wander around a lot and have
talked to vets in most of the states in this country.  You would be
surprised how many FERRET vets do NOT know about ADV.  The are on vet
websites and this is not discussed much.  Do you want to educate them?
That is great.  It is one of the things we, as a ferret community, need
to do.
 
Take your vet some literature and ask him to share it at the state
meeting.  Or, give them the names of some of the speakers who attend
ferret symposia.  Go online to one of the many "Ask the Vet" sites and
ASK about ADV.  Get the facts, the sites, the literature and share it.
Got a local vet program at the university?  Volunteer to have your
ferret be examined as part of the exotics labs.  They may not know
people are willing.  I took mine to UNC when I lived in NC.  The local
ferret club continues this.  New vets are exposed to ferrets.
 
2. Want to support a shelter?  A particular case here.  Great buy on
the ADV tests.  Don't need them?  Don't want them?  Don't understand
someone's budget?  WHO CARES?  I have an extra $10 right now.  Not
everyone does and THAT is OKAY!  I might not have it later!  Really
want to help, not fuss.  MAKE A DONATION!
 
Kim, I can afford to buy a test.  I am sending the money.  Now, KEEP THE
TEST for future use.  When someone needs help or turns to the community
for help, Kim has done her part.  And, so have many other shelters and
vets.  When I was a student on a $1000/month stipend, my vet let me run
a tab.  It took years to pay it off, but I did.  That kind of help made
it possible for me to give the kind of care my ferrets not only needed,
but deserved.
 
Someone said it again, Can't we all just get along?  There will always be
disagreements and personalities that clash.  The diversity in our lives
is what makes us such a wonderful and passionate group.  We need each
other!  Make love, not war!
 
I'm signing my name, bring on the flame!
 
--
renee :)
It's amazing how much can be accomplished if nobody cares who gets the
credit!
Ferret Emergency Response, Rescue & Evacuation Team (F.E.R.R.E.T.)
http://www.ferretemergency.org
International Ferret Congress
http://www.ferretcongress.org
American Red Cross
http://www.redcross.org
[Posted in FML issue 5375]