After reading a very graphic & disturbing account of a heart stick gone bad, a couple of years ago, I want to give you some food for thought. It seems that these emergencies almost always occur after hours, on a weekend, or on a holiday. During these times, your own, wonderful, ferret savvy vet may be out of town--and this may leave you with one option: an emergency vet. Many emergency vets are not truly familiar with ferret anatomy--but they do understand how to administer iso (the gas that puts a ferret under for surgery.) The ferret may bat at at the mask, because it does not like the smell of it, and it may struggle for a moment (just like before surgery.) Or the ferret may be seizing, or so sick that it is unresponsive, & may not even appear to notice. Either way, it will very soon be unconscious, & feel no pain or fear. When the ferret is deep asleep (like for surgery) it will not feel the stick--nor will it feel if an inexperienced vet fumbles, & needs to try again. It is completely out, just as for surgery. (Whether the vet does an abdominal injection OR a heart stick, the ferret will not experience pain or fear.) I have never ever allowed one of our babies out of my sight when it was put to sleep. EVER EVER EVER... I have sat in on more surgeries, euthanasias, & post mortems than any of you could possibly imagine. Quick is one thing. Merciful is another. A night that will forever stand out in my mind was the night that Chance was crying with every breath. Our vet (my mentor) was out of town. The vet on call who was very honest (and very pale!) admitted to me that he had never put a ferret to sleep before. He was willing to help, but it was obvious that he was scared to death. I knew he`d never find a vein--and I didn`t want him sticking a needle into Chance`s stomach either!!! I remember looking him straight in the eyes & saying "Can you administer Iso?" He told me he could. I said "Please DO that. Let`s get him out of pain, & we`ll walk through the rest together." And we did... That vet was very caring & compassionate. I will never forget him. Chance was deep asleep & out of pain, under the anesthetic. Safe. He never knew that the poor vet had to try three times. An emergency vet, or the vet on call is certainly not our first choice--but sometimes it`s our ONLY choice. We do recommend masking them down first, unless your vet is VERY experienced. Maybe even then... Love, Zoo [Posted in FML 6533]