TO: Marsha Stanek Dear Marsha, I appreciate a little support. I know I have to deal with the veterinary INDUSTRY, but they will not discourage me. I think we can use all the help we can get. I just sent a tiny female ferret home that recovered here from pneumonia. Realistically, it would have died at the average vet hospital. A ferret with pneumonia has about 6-12 hours to live without intensive oxygen therapy coupled with anitibiotics. Without oxygen, the animal suffocates before the drugs have a chance to work. Typical treatment by the local vet is antibiotics and fluids. IV fluids are turned off overnight, or cease to flow when unattended. Vets rarely have intensive oxygen therapy set-ups. So the little ferret dies alone, in the dark, in a strange place. I hope to inject realism into the lives of FML ferret owners. Ferrets do not die "of nothing". But what causes me to despair, is that people trust their vets too much, or perhaps just expect too much of them. I also see ferrets die of starvation and dehydration while their owners wait for the ''official' diagnosis. Their basic functions need to be maintained while they wait for the proper drug therapy. So often hospitalized ferrets quickly drop those precious ounces, which may mean the difference between recovery and death. So I will be the practical one on the FML, but most of my responses will go private unless I feel that they will be of general interest or use. There is a lot to be said for experience when it comes to ferrets. Other subscribers have shown that with their helpful responses. My contributions are a little more controversial because I deal with medical questions and I'm not a vet. However, there is no law against my participation. I am not treating animals on the FML. I am not practicing medicine. I'm only saying, 'I've tried this, and have gotten these results'. Dr. Williams is more helpful on the FML, long distance, than most vets are when we visit the office. I'm discouraged, too, that vet care is so expensive that we are either forced to seek medical advice elsewhere or refinance our homes to treat a sick animal. Even at that, more often then not we do not get the right answers. Thanks for listening! Carolyn Kinsey, Vet Tech/Shelter Operator (Unable to access you directly for some unexplained technical glitch) [Posted in FML issue 1446]