Thanks to Marti and the other anonymous contributor for the vet
recommendations in the south S.F.  Bay Area.  As it turns out we've
dealt with the Burbank Pet Hospital already.  In fact I believe it was
Dr Runyan who neutered our pet rabbit.  The two suggested clinics are
about equal distance from us and it's nice to have more than one ferret
knowledgable vet available.
 
I added the request for vet recommendations to my post as an after
thought, but we could have used one this weekend.  Friday Albert just
wasn't acting normally; no appetite, listlessness and later a bit of
diarrhea and vomiting.  My daughter sat up with him most of the night
giving him water with an eye dropper to keep him form getting
dehydrated.  She did locate a vet willing to see him but the vet
admitted he wasn't familiar with ferrets.  However by then Albert seemed
to be better.  He'd become more active, even nibbling at his food.  By
yesterday (Monday) he seemed to be his old self again, eating in spades
and being normally mischievous.  In fact, he appears to have fully
recovered nearly as quickly as he became ill.  Our theory is that he ate
something that didn't agree with him and he was suffering from massive
indigestion.  He does tend to get in to things.
 
I found Mark Ouellette comments on traveling by air most interesting
because of a somewhat parallel experience my daughter had last summer.
At the time she was living in Las Vegas (where she got Albert) and had
come home for a visit with a friend.  They decided to return by air (on
Air West, I'm pretty sure) but opted for different travel arrangements
than Mark's for Albert.  They smuggled him back in her back pack.  I
felt very uncomfortable about this at the time but my daughter insisted,
seeing this as the only affordable way to take Albert back with her.
Somehow they managed to pull it off without incident.  I cringe to think
what would have happen had they gotten caught.
 
I also appreciated the comments about being cautious here in
"ferret-free" CA.  Are you reading this daughter?
 
Many thanks,
 
cobra
 
[Posted in FML issue 0824]