Anonymous wrote: >Don't know if ADV has the destructive range of autoimmunity in humans. >Can it attack the central nervous system? The circulatory system? Every >cell in the body? If you can't empathise, can't relate, can't understand >ADV, take a stroll through the online literature about human autoimmune >diseases -- rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, scleroderma, ankylosing >spondylitis, etc etc etc. While the destructive mechanisms of autoimmune >disease are infinite and variable, pain is one consistent factor! Give >what you can for ADV research. I wouldn't wish autoimmune disease on my >worst enemy --- much less my fuzzy little friends. Signs of it in necropsies can be found in spinal cords and brains, and have read of plaques in kidneys, liver, and other organs. It has got to be painful. We learned with Meeteetse during her lympho how exceedingly important pain meds can be for continued quality of life in a ferret with terminal disease. Maybe it would make sense for some with ADV. Hope everyone else learned that important lesson from Meeteetse, too. (NO, we don't have any such pills to pass on; we returned the few left to a receptionist at the vet hospital right away.) Hope also that maybe some other ferrets can be helped by knowing about the boost which pegging Prednisone near the end can give with lympho, and by the sling and wheelchair info. Please, do give to ADV research to help advance vet knowledge and help ferrets. Someone gave before you who has likely helped save the life of one of your little ones with things like adrenal neoplasias; progress will continue only if others also give. Heck, I can recall when some vets assumed that mast cell tumors must be malignant and advised euthanasia. Still hearing some who think that adrenal neoplasias are cancers and who give up when there would be years of happiness ahead with proper care, and so on. There is so much that needs to be learned. The ferret you save may be your own. MF toe tattoo: it was something they added after some backyard breeders copied the ear tattoo and produced fake MF guaranty papers -- a little added protection from the very bad backyard inbred ones being incorrectly passed off as MF. The disreputable breeders will try to pass off a ferret as being from ANYONE else who has a known name. Gather from someone else's comment that the location helps them trace something (spaying or altering?) to know which techs are not as good, but not sure. Has she had her initial vet check-up with your vet and had a dental check? Have you tried Cheweasels to help with the teething? Socks: yesterday, when I was crying on and off about Meeteetse, Ashling stole my socks and Seven of Six returned them to me. [Posted in FML issue 3216]