Sam sent me an e-mail and said how since she was raving about how wonderful
her vet was, other people should be posting about their great vets - so
those of us who might be looking for a new vet might be able to find a real
"ferret specialist."
 
Since moving to Bahston (Boston, MA) I've had all kinds of awful vet
experinces.  Most of the vets I've encountered and had not so good
experinces with, claim to know all, or say they don't know - and really
aren't interested in learning about ferrets.  I guess the more conventional
animals take all their time and energy.  This was pretty disheartening.
 
I did find that the vet 10 minutes from my house, Dr. Sawyers' was pretty
good.  His kid had a ferret, and he was capable of doing good basic care.
Plus he is a really nice guy who has a genuine love for animals.  Still,
stuff like pretreating with Benydryl before vaccinations was new to him, as
well as giving rabies and distemper vaccinations seperated by a couple of
weeks to identify which vaccination might cause a reaction (if there was
one) was also new to him.
 
He is close to us, open on Saturdays, his staff are EXCELLANT (they
motivated me to go back to school and get a BS as a Vet Tech!) and will
see me on a day's notice.  Dr. Sawyers is in East Boston.
 
That still left me without a real "expert".  Someone on the cutting edge of
ferret care.  Someone who would look for answers if she/he didn't know
them.  I was ready to start making the 2 hour drive up to Weare NH to Dr.
Dutton, who is known around here as an expert.  Then Alicia, from
Ferretwise, suggested Dr. Karen Purcell in Worchester MA.
 
The only thing I wish for with Dr. Karen was that she wasn't so darn far
away!  She knows her stuff about ferrets - really knows her stuff.  She is
willing to find out what she doesn't know and that is entirely what I was
looking for.  She is so great with my ferrets that she also treats my cats
(3) and dog.  When I brought her the 1" thick file on my oldest cat, TC
Phootapuss Maximus and a lot of worry, she did a great job throughly
evaluating him, checking his old records and determining the best way to
continue his treatment.  The two hour drive to Karen's is worth it and her
schedule is flexible enough, that it works around Boston commute traffic
and my schedule.  Plus she really loves ferrets and appreciates their
particular brand of sillyness, and I think that makes a huge difference.
 
Now Dr. Dutton is still great - I've met him and I really like him (and its
nice to know he is there if I need him) and you all in NH and NE Mass
should know he is a great resource.
 
If it wasn't for Dr. Karen, the Eleven (how did I end up with ELEVEN
ferrets?) wouldn't be 11.
 
Ann
[Posted in FML issue 2451]