Sorry folks, I am a bit behind in my FML... Regarding the poster who said that she had given her ferret's body to a person who was not a vet for a necropsy and was wondering if she should keep bugging them to get her ferret's body back: of course! It's your ferret, you have every right to ask for the body back. I think it's awful that a person you trusted passed themselves off as a professional and then refused to hand the ferret back over or disclose their "findings". My suspicion is that the person probably botched the job and the ferret was in no condition to be returned to you, and there is nothing to report because the person didn't know enough to really tell what happened to the ferret. I just wanted to take this opportunity to point out: A necropsy is ONLY an actual "necropsy" if it is performed by a vet, in a hopsital, and tissue samples are sent out for analysis. A person simply cutting a dead ferret apart on their kitchen counter is merely dissecting it, and they are NOT performing a "necropsy", they are just dissecting for their own purposes, whatever they may be. Anything they report back to you may or may not be accurate, and you have no way of knowing if what they find is true or not. If the person dissecting your ferret is not a trained vet or even a vet tech, they are only guessing at what may or may not have been wrong with your ferret. If they claim they need to do it for "research", well, if they are not a vet and have no plans to become one, there is no reason that they need to keep opening up dead ferrets. My advice would be to never allow a non-veterinary professional to do this if you are looking for solid answers as to what happened to a ferret. Even someone who is very knowledgeable about ferrets does not necessarily have the skill or expertise to dissect your pet and tell you what was wrong with it (unless it was something very obvious like a ruptured spleen or a huge blockage). No matter how knowledgeable someone claims to be about ferrets, if they are not a vet, they do not have the medical background to determine exactly what happened. And as you have discovered, getting the body back can be tricky if it's just some person and not a licensed vet who has a legal obligation to return your ferret. Who knows what this person has done with your baby's body by now, denying you the closure you need to put him to rest. So please, to all fert-lovers out there, if you want a necropsy, see a vet. If you just hand it off to someone who claims they are knowledgeable enough to open up your ferret on their kitchen table and tell you what went wrong, you have no control over the situation and may not even get your ferret back (or if you do get it back, who knows what shape it will be in - a vet will sew it back up and make it presentable; the amatuer vivisectionist may maul it beyond recognition, which is not a fitting end for a beloved pet's remains). I know that there are people who claim they know enough to do this, but unless it's done by a vet, it's NOT a necropsy and you can't trust the findings with any degree of medical certainty. Unfortunately, there are people who will lie about their "qualifications" and go to rather obscene lengths to get their hands on an animal for dissection to further their own curiosity, without regard for the feelings of the pet's bereaved owner. I know you posted anonymously, but if there's any chance that off-list you'd disclose to me the name of the person who did this, I'd like to try to get some authorities involved and make this person stop passing themselves off as a "necropsy"-ist when they're not. It's hideous for someone to be falsely telling people that they can perform a necropsy when they are in fact only dissecting, and have no standing to be requesting people's personal pets and claiming that they can diagnose cause of death. If you would tell me who it is, I'd like to make sure they don't keep doing this, whoever they are. I live in Massachusetts too, and I don't like to think of this happening in my state. I'm offended by what happened to you as a fellow ferret lover and owner. You were bereaved and were looking for answers, and someone took advantage of that. Frankly, it's inexcusable. It's heartwrenching enough to lose ferrets without someone doing something like this to add to your grief! If you're so inclined, you might want to report the person to the Veterinary Licensing Board in Massachusetts (I can give you their contact info), as well as the authorities in the town they reside in. It's illegal for an individual to claim they are qualified to perform medical procedures (even on animals) when they are not, and it sounds like that's what happened to you. Basically, what you have here is fraud, and also property (your ferret's body) that was not returned to you as promised (theft). The reason for writing or calling the board that licenses veterinarians is that probably some vet had to teach the person to do this, and if the person is doing this with a vet's knowledge, the vet could be in some hot water too. Anyway, talk to me off-list if you'd like. I'd like to see this stop if we can manage it, so that another person doesn't have to go through this. Thanks, Heather W., also in Massachusetts [Posted in FML issue 3833]