I am utterly disgusted with something that just happened. SO flecking angry and I WILL be contacting the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association in the morning to find out what can be done. A woman and her son just contacted me about their ill ferret. By the sounds of the symptoms, it looks like he has a prostate blockage due to adrenal disease and can not urinate. they called the ONLY emergency clinic in St. Catherines Ontario and were told they do not see ferrets PERIOD. I called one of our other members in St. Catherines who just had a ferret at an emergency clinic. She told me it was the same clinic that saw her kid only 2 nights ago. I then called the clinic to find out what was up and was told that they only see ferrets if they are clients of the emergency clinic's "member clinics". I explained that this was an emergency and I would do anything to get this ferret seen. Nothing out of the ordinary had to be done for the ferret to keep him alive and safe. He needed his bladder expressed or drained just until the owner could get him to a proper vet in the morning. I was told very bluntly that they would under no circumstances see an "EXOTIC" animal. that's when I lost my cool. NOTHING angers me more than a VETERINARY clinic calling ferrets "EXOTIC". I asked her if she KNEW what the term "exotic" meant. There was silence on the phone. I told her to grab a dictionary because she obviously needed it. The term "exotic" means (according to Webster's dictionary) "an animal that can survive in the wild without human help". I for one have never heard of a ferret establishing a feral colony in North America or surviving in the wild here. I have however seen BOTH dogs and cats as well as rabbits not only survive in the wild but also establish feral colonies. SO, who's exotic now??? Her tone changed slightly and she offered to go and speak with the vets on staff tonight. When she returned, she once again informed me that even though the owner had NO CAR or any form of transportation that the only other clinic she could go to was in Mississauga (OVER an hours drive away). The clinic in St. Catherine's would not see the ferret. Has anyone else ever dealt with this situation? Is this legal to do? I can not imagine ANY veterinary clinic turning away a needy animal no matter what the species is when there is an emergency. I know MY veterinarians would never do this and have even seen spiders and fish to help out a needy pet (one of y vets even looked at my sea horse ages ago). I am so shocked and angered at this. I can not understand why any veterinary medical doctor would do this. Even if they knew nothing about ferrets, something needed to be done to help this kid, to me, that's what an emergency clinic is for. He may now die if his bladder bursts and his owners don't seem to be very versed with ferret ownership. If you have dealt with this before and have some advice on how we can ensure reprimands for this clinic can be brought forth, please contact me. If this ferret dies, I am going to lose it. I'm already on the verge of losing my head. Thanks for letting me vent.... Miss Randy Melanie Belair President The Ferret Aid Society <http://www.ferretaid.org/> Join the IFC Ferret Aid list! Get the info FIRST! [log in to unmask] Ferret Aid 2006 photos http://www.ferretaid.org/events/ferret_aid_2006.html [Posted in FML 5455]