The only way to find out for sure is to start calling and ask. Ask if they have a ferret vet. If no, who do they refer to. Do they see their own patients after hours for emergencies? If no, who sees them for them. Call everyone that is the referral and tell them you are a patient of Dr. X and you have ferrets (and rats). Ask the same questions - do you have a ferret vet available for emergencies? Is the ferret vet ALWAYS available? If not, who do they refer to? Keep asking the questions because the bottom line is - you want to know: If I have a ferret (or rat) emergency after hours, will I be able to get a ferret vet to see my pet no matter what day? Because if they can't see you on Tuesdays or when on vacation, you need to know before you need them. I have planned and planned and planned and STILL had an emergency on a night when not ONE of the THREE ferret vets was available. I have driven for an hour only to be turned away and once to have my ferret die 10 minutes before arriving at a vet halfway across the state. And, I have had a dog specialist 10 minutes away see my ferret and save his life because he was willing to try. You need to find that out, too. Ask the non-ferret vet: Will you SEE a ferret? And, then have the name of a ferret vet who is willing to talk to the non-ferret vet in an emergency. And, if you have someone who is willing to learn, help them do it. Get them the DVDs of surgeries from the ferret experts. Buy a ferret medical book for their library. Help your vet BECOME an expert. Finally, if your vet refers to someone who is not always available, ask your vet if (s)he knows that there is not always a ferret vet available. If you are more willing to do the work now, before you need them and not just yell when you can't get them, they will be more willing to work with you. Good luck. -- Renee Downs It's amazing how much can be accomplished if nobody cares who gets the credit! "The most effective way to do it, is to do it." Amelia Earhart Ferret Emergency Response, Rescue & Evacuation Team (F.E.R.R.E.T.) http://www.ferretemergency.org [log in to unmask] International Ferret Congress http://www.ferretcongress.org American Red Cross http://www.redcross.org [Posted in FML 5781]