I'm "guessing" by your post, you have yet to use the heart stick and have only discussed it with your Vet? We just lost our last ferret and she was "helped" to the bridge. The one thing we will NOT let them use is the heart stick, under ANY circumstance. We have been in the room when it was all that was available over 20 years ago..we will never forget the horror it put both human and our baby through..it's some of the worst memory I still have ingrained in my brain all these years later.. As far as I'm concerned it is as bad as it gets...I refuse to discuss details as it's that horrible! Let's just say there was a lot of screaming by "all"...tears.. Also I'm wondering what is your hurry?? "It's the fastest way??" I hope somehow you meant that different than how I took it.. We have our baby "put under" and then they find a vein... the main thing is to have them sedated in all cases. Trust me, that's fast..from that point , sadly they are forever "gone" Sometimes when a ferret is dehydrated and ill it's almost impossible to find a vein but they can be found and with your baby sedated it's easy.. I would hope you and most of all your Vet reconsiders his/her old out dated ways..it's barbaric !!!! Kind Regards, Tara Radford.. missing our 16 babies with every ounce of our being...but most of all right now Pepto & Gizmo our first ferrets, who I will forever humbly apologize to, for heart stick use.. tears... [Posted in FML 6530]