She wasn't there to examine the ferrets in the "intensive care" area, but she did. She wasn't there to check out my ferrets, but she did. And, she wasn't there to make me feel better, but she did. And, in this way I was introduced to Dr. Ruth Heller, who had traveled to the river house to adopt one or two of the DMK ferrets. She brought with her a friend and employee, Susan, who was also interested in obtaining a ferret for show purposes. Watching Dr. Heller point out the strengths and weaknesses of several ferrets, I was able to appreciate some of the finer points of showmanship. Dr. Heller operates Ravensnest Ferrets <http://hometown.aol.com/ferrethealer/RNFerrets.html> with "my partner, Beth Bowles, who is active with me in the ferretry and in showing ferrets." A trip through her website reveals beautiful ferrets, including a poster boy! As a breeder, Dr. Heller has had the opportunity to make some good memories ("Oh, there's so many"). At the top of that list is "having babies born into my hands, with trusting moms sure enough of me to allow and want that, although my first Best-in-Show comes close." When Dr. Heller began her veterinary career, she did an internship with Marshall Farms, thus beginning her ferret career. She "got two ferrets ... directly from the farm. They were both black roan mitts, and I fell in love with them as kits." Because of "their loving nature and joyful interest in life" Dr. Heller decided to make ferrets a more prominent part of her life. "Also, as a vet, they are a challenging species to treat properly." Like many other ferret enthusiasts, Dr. Heller has interests in "lots of things! I read - I have a lot of favorite books - books I reread for pleasure when I'm too tired to try something new." But, when she is not to tired, Dr. Heller likes to "garden, sew, play with my dogs and my ferrets, attend science fiction conventions..." She also likes to listen to music, "ranging from classical tenors (love Pavarotti!) through songs based on science fiction and fantasy novels." While Dr. Heller may like to spend some time watching a favorite movie -- "oddly enough, 'Dirty Dancing'" -- her favorite moment that didn't involve ferrets was spent at the theatre watching more animals. A difficult choice in a long line of happy memories, "it took a while to narrow this down, but I'm going to go with seeing the theater production of "The Lion King". It still sends chills down my spine, thinking about it." To relax, Dr. Heller also enjoys "spending time with family." Given 24 hours to spend with anyone, Dr. Heller would choose her heroine, "my mother. She took all the hardships life threw at her, and what she gave back was an amazing amount of love. There was so much I never got to say or learn." Dr. Heller has learned much and still loves learning today, taking the experiences in her life to teach others. Sometimes a bad experience can benefit many. As Dr. Heller shared the worst ferret experience of her life -- "hands down, giving Mongo his distemper shot and having him go into respiratory collapse within thirty seconds" -- she will also share the results of her distemper titer study and discuss canine distemper in ferrets at the upcoming Pittsburgh symposium. "(Beth) has been a great help in getting the data entered for the titer study." Dr. Heller would like to be remembered "As someone who made a difference, who changed things for the better." Come listen to the results of the study, which has used the information from several FML ferrets. This is sure to be a fascinating presentation and the lives of ferrets and their owners will most certainly be changed for the better! To use Dr. Heller, visit or call her at: Borderbrook Animal Hospital 3741 William Penn Highway Murrysville, PA 15668 724-327-2200 Join us in Pittsburgh November 7-9, 2008 International Ferret Congress (http://www.ferretcongress.org) Ferret Emergency Response, Rescue and Evacuation Team (F.E.R.R.E.T.) http://www.ferretemergency.org [Posted in FML 6103]