This post from Saturday's FML disturbed me. Not only the content, which I address below, but also the spirit ("No need to respond, I wont change my mind"). I understand fully that people have their beliefs and those beliefs are often unshakeable. But imagine if everyone refused to listen to other points of view? Where would we be? If people refused to listen and learn, ferrets would be illegal in a lot of places. Ferrets wouldn't have the advantages of medical treatments or better nutrition. But it's not just ferrets. How many people would still be smoking and dying from the diseases we know it causes? Besides, I thought we were on this list to listen and learn from others. I thought that was the point here. >From: Lorraine Kozlowski <[log in to unmask]> >When is it going to make sense to people. Vets want to sell you >services. They sell you shots for your ferret, they make money. Your >ferret gets sick, they make money. Your ferret dies, they make money. It took us a few tries to find him, but our vet is one of the most caring and devoted animal lovers I've ever known. He cares for wildlife for free. He takes animals home with him when he knows they need round-the-clock care. I'm happy to pay him because I know he's got a good education (which wasn't cheap for him to get), he continues to educate himself (which is also not cheap), and he puts in more hours than I can calculate. He and another vet in the practice have met us at the clinic when it's closed to take care of an emergency. No "extra" charge. These are incredibly caring people who are dedicated to doing their best to help the animals they love. When my ferrets get shots or treatment when sick, I pay for them, but that doesn't mean my vet makes money. The overhead in a vet clinic is incredible. They have to pay for expensive equipment (x-ray machines, incubators, surgical equipment). They have to pay rent/mortgage, electric, heat, phone, salaries, insurance, and supplies (food, medications, disposable supplies like syringes and tubing). They have to pay for vet conferences and texts. It's like staffing and equipping a hospital, not a doctor's office, and that take a lot of money. If you've never run a business, it can be hard to fathom how little ends up in your pocket after all the bills are paid. >How many ferrets have died of distemper vs. how many have died from the >vaccine. What is it going to take? This is just my personal opinion. >No need to respond, I wont change my mind. Thanks for listening. I'll echo my post from yesterday: If your ferret gets canine distemper, he will die. 100% guaranteed. If your ferret gets a vaccination against canine distemper, the rate of reaction is nowhere near 100%. The rate of death from a vaccine reaction is lower than the reaction rate. It's a very simple numbers game: You choose the lesser of two evils, which is always the vaccination. Another echo from my post yesterday: the reason we don't see many deaths from canine distemper now is BECAUSE of the vaccinations. If everyone stopped vaccinating, you'd see a surge in distemper cases -- and for ferrets, death. The thing is, we're past that, which is why you don't hear of canine distemper deaths now. Why would anyone want to go backwards? Polio is basically eradicated in the US because of vaccinations. So some people don't bother with vaccinations because ... well, "How many people have gotten polio vs. how many have had a vaccine reaction?" Or "Doctors want to sell you services. They sell you shots for your child, they make money." My late Aunt Betty would be happy to explain to you how much easier her life would have been if she had been able to get a vaccination against polio instead of living her whole life in a wheelchair. She never complained and had an incredible sense of humor. She lived a full life. But she was lucky. Her father was a doctor and went to extremes to find treatments for her when she was a child. You can bet that all of Aunt Betty's kids were vaccinated against polio. You can bet that all of my ferrets have been vaccinated against canine distemper. I don't want to be a part of a resurgence of this horrible disease. I don't want to put my ferret(s) at risk. --Mary & the Fuzz Mary R. Shefferman and Gabby, The Lone Modern Ferret Ferret Information: http://www.ferretnews.com Read My Blog! http://www.modernferretblog.com/mary Depression Information: http://www.depressionplace.com Neat Stuff: http://www.amysdesigns.com [Posted in FML issue 4619]