First, I want to offer great **thanks** again to everyone who contributed to White Fang's surgery expenses. Without all of you truly wonderful ferret lovers, her rescue would have not been possible. I do WANT to know what others think, whether you donated to her expenses or not, so if anyone has anything to say about all this after reading these posts, PLEASE email me. I sincerely appreciate everyone's input. Though I only encourage constructive suggestions or criticisms, not random flames, sorry I just don't have the time for those. I have received some emails recently from some expressing their concerns about White Fang. I sincerely do appreciate these letters, and want to thank those who have voiced their concerns, if not for them I might never have realized that many of you may not understand all that has gone into the decisions about where she should go, whether Bob should adopt her, and so forth. I realize the majority of FML readers are not shelter operators and because you are not accustomed to it, it may be difficult for you to consider all the angles to these decisions we shelter people make almost every day. The decision making is one of the roughest parts. There is not a "shelter manual" out there with the 'correct' answers in the back (like we had in math class in high school). We have to use our own instincts and try to do the best we can for these wonderful little ones. Some of you may even be thinking that *I* have made some decisions that are not in *White Fang's* best interests. So I would like to talk about all the aspects here and hopefully ease some people's minds. This has been a tough job. I won't go into detail about all the midnight phone calls to and from Canada on her behalf, lying awake at night struggling with decisions about her, hundreds of emails back and forth about her and deciding what are the best options for her, high phone and aol bills, etc., because I accept these things as part of running a shelter. But I just want everyone to know it has not been easy. Yes, I would do it all over again, that is not the point. The point is ALOT has gone into all of this and NO decision has been made in haste or without great consideration for White Fang. If you have been keeping up with her on the FML regularly, you already know that Monica has tried for months to socialize White Fang with other ferrets, all to no avail. She is also deaf, and that may account for some of her 'lack of good social skills' with other ferrets. She originally came from a humane society. The man who adopted her from them could not socialize her with his ferrets either, and was going to 'give her back to them' when we intervened. We have no clue what this girl has been through before we came to know of her plight. Nor do we have a clue where she may have been or originally come from. Monica has done wonders with White Fang in the several months that she kept her for us until someone could transfer her to a shelter. (It was actually Bob's idea to bring her to *my* shelter.) She has even taught White Fang some sign language, but she remains unsociable. I am afraid that I do not have alot of confidence in the vet who saw her in Calgary. I would feel better if she were to see a vet more experienced with ferrets, before she is pronounced "adoptable". Some feel that perhaps she has bonded with Bob and that the best thing would be for her to stay with (be adopted by) him. (I wonder why we are not concerned that she has bonded to Monica, she was with her far longer than she has been with Bob, just something to think about.) Please understand that I feel Bob is a great ferret-dad. I have no doubt that he would provide only the best for her, that is not the question at all. The question is what is truly best for all the **ferrets** involved here. Believe me, I have wrestled with all this for almost two months now, so I have not taken this lightly. Remember, Bob has some ferrets that are around ten years of age who have not been exposed to ECE, and he is up to some incredible number like 19 or so now. If White Fang is unsociable now, how would she react to such a large number? Yes, over time, I have hopes that she may eventually be socialized with other ferrets, but even if that happens, I think a small number would make her adjustment easier than a large number. I have some here that started out "unsociable" and after 6 months of trying everything under the sun to get them to accept others, they still attack any other ferret they see, and Sam would kill another ferret if given the opportunity. So not all *can* be socialized, frankly, I don't know if White Fang could or could not change, as I have not even 'met' her yet. So, with those things said, let's think about ECE for a moment. Consider this... White Fang came from an SPCA shelter. How do we know where she came from before that?? How do we know she is not a carrier of ECE *already*?? Oh, "Well, she came from Canada" you say, "and Canada doesn't have ECE". First of all, this is no longer true! There is ECE in Canada, most definitely. Many cases known of, and many more ferrets across this country and Canada that have had such a mild case of ECE that it only lasted a day or so, or the symptoms were so mild that they were never diagnosed officially as having it, because the owners were not aware of the signs that go with ECE, having never seen it themselves before, and being under the impression that ECE is a horrid thing and lasts a long time and all ferrets who get it become deathly ill. All of these things are not true in every case, and only rarely is it life threatening if caught in time. Many ferrets out there **have had ECE** and even their owners do not know they have had it and are now carriers. Secondly, we do not know for sure that White Fang did not come from somewhere else entirely. Most people take their pets when they move don't they? Suppose someone moved from Texas, or Virginia, or Ontario, or wherever, to Calgary, then due to job, new baby, divorce, or any other possible reason, they decided to give her up to the SPCA. Or, what if she escaped from them and animal control had picked her up. We really don't have a clue where she has been or how she got to the SPCA in the first place. How can we be sure she is **not** a carrier already of ECE? ***I could never forgive myself if *she* were to bring it to Bob's older ferrets.*** I hope Bob has considered all of these things. These are just some of the reasons *I* want to talk about all this in person with him before making a final decision. He has also indicated to me that it is fine with him if she is adopted elsewhere. He has never even asked to adopt her, so let's not make assumptions here that he is willing to take on this 'challenge', as it seems she is turning out to be, she is incredibly smart even for a ferret. Do you recall one of my posts to the FML back when there was a discussion going on about ECE? Do you remember that I said that the worst part of ECE is the FEAR of it, itself? I feel this strongly! As long as the ferrets are young and healthy, if you know what to look for so that you can catch it in time, and you know exactly what to do about it, then ECE is **NOT** such a big deal. I **DO NOT** consider it life threatening at all under these circumstances. I have seen it, I have dealt with it in over 30 individual ferrets. I have lost NONE. (At least two were even between 4 and 6 years of age, another one has hypoglycemia, and two had adrenal tumors, and they all came through with flying colors.) Please don't think I am bragging here or any such thing, I am certainly not. I would be the **last** person to suggest White Fang come here, if I thought there was the slightest risk that it would cause lasting damage or suffering for her. Not all will agree with me, but she is only 2-1/2 years old. I think she is a good candidate for exposure. I believe she will have no serious problems with ECE. Unless she shows signs of a health problem, which I doubt since Bob and Monica are certainly very knowledgeable about these things, she will not be isolated at mom's with the other ferrets there that I am trying to protect from ECE. As I noted above, we can't be sure that she has not already been exposed, or that she is not a carrier. I could never forgive myself if poor little Angel got ECE from White Fang, or if Fruitloop or Jasmine got it. (These are the 3 that are over at mom's.) Perhaps I have just grown accustomed to ECE. It is alot of work, but so far, has not been life threatening except to 2. Festus had a serious underlying problem before he got ECE and all of this really set him back, but with aggressive treatment and feeding, he is doing great now. Didley, one of mine, got hit with a secondary infection while he had ECE and became very ill from that, but thanks to a smart vet and quick action on my part, he recovered quickly. I have learned a great deal about signs to watch for and how to treat the symptoms. I have discussed treatments and methods with many shelters, Dr. Williams, and other vets. The key to ECE seems to be *knowing* what you are dealing with, and reacting quickly with a variation of Duck Soup (I call it Meg's Magic Mush and keep it ready in my freezer at all times) and Pedialyte, and if they refuse to drink enough and dehydration starts to set in, I can do Sub-Q fluids and keep everything I need on hand at all times. I can almost always tell they are getting it the day before the first symptoms even appear just by their actions and the look in their eyes. (This may sound wierd, but it it true.) ECE is alot of work, but that is what I am here for. Some have said they felt that the more ferrets that are exposed the bigger this ECE epidemic will be. I am not certain we have much *control* over it at anyway. Please consider that we have the best vets in the country working on this and *they* can't even get a handle on it. It is spreading at incredible rates no matter how careful we are. In talking to many other shelters who have experienced ECE and watching it here, I have made a decision. I may be wrong, but I have to follow my own instincts here, since we may have to wait years for a vaccine. I feel that, if a ferret is healthy, and is four or under, that it *should* be exposed so that it won't be hit by it once it gets older and cannot deal with it. I know they can have it again, but it will usually be a milder case, at least. I think that eventually we are *all* going to be hit with ECE and the more (young, healthy) ferrets we can expose to it, so they can have some resistance to it, then the better their chance of surviving. I am watching this disease spread like wildfire. I hope with all my heart that those with ill or older ferrets can protect them from it, but I fear they will not be able to. So **are we truly doing the "best" thing for White Fang if we "protect" her from ECE now, while she is young enough that it will not be life threatening, while running the risk that she will be hit by it at an older age, and then may have a much harder time recovering or that she might not recover at all?** These are weighty matters that I have had to consider thoroughly. This is not said too often, but it seems to me that many of the losses to ECE could have been prevented. The reason some have died is that the owners simply did not know about ECE and how to properly handle it. ECE is just so new and not alot is known except to those who read the FML thoroughly and seek out the information on ECE. Most of these ferrets could have lived had the owners known exactly what to look for and exactly how to respond. Sometimes they realized it was ECE, but did not realize that *very aggressive* treatments were needed for a particular ferret. If one is sick here, I get up through the night even, to check on them, and they sleep in a small carrier on my night stand so I can hear them if they start vomitting. This has been crucial for a few here, so it has become my standard proceedure. Festus was a tough one, if I can pull him through it, I believe I can pull any reasonably healthy ferret through it. Another consideration is that if Bob wants to adopt more ferrets there is a far greater need for homes for ferrets over four years of age that can be protected from ECE exposure. I am having a heck of a time here getting foster homes that are ECE free. And we all know that *anyone* can be exposed and carry it back to their ferrets at any time. Bob visits LOTS of ferret people, I only hope he is VERY careful when he goes back to his own. But in reality, he could take it back to them at any time. Personally, I am worried about the ones he picked up on his trip and is taking home with him, how can he be certain they are *not* carriers of ECE. I fear he may be taking a big risk anytime he adopts another ferret. ECE has changed *everything* as far as just going out and getting a ferret these days. We cannot even be certain that those sold in pet store as kits are not carriers. MF claims to be ECE free, but do you really think that if (WHEN) they are hit with ECE that they will put out a nationwide bulletin proclaiming it, I won't hold my breath for that one. So anyone with older or ill ferrets, in my opinion, should think long and hard about these things BEFORE they bring home a new ferret from any source. They should also keep their ferrets as protected from contact with other ferrets and ferret people too, unless every precaution is taken. As far as my personal feelings go, it bothers me to do a 'blind' adoption. Shelter mom's and dad's are pretty protective of their 'kids'. If Bob takes her, and I cannot 'see' White Fang for myself, how can I be certain that she is healthy and will be okay. Yes, I know, Bob knows a great deal about ferret health and that is not the question. But remember, I WILL NOT even adopt to anyone that is more than about 60 miles from me because **I want to check up on things once in a while, and I want to visit the kids**. If you want to email me and tell me I am crazy don't bother, I know I am nuts, I know I am over-protective, but that is how I am and I am the one that has to be able to sleep at night and not worry about an adoptee that I cannot visit. Please DO NOT think that I am saying anything against Bob at all. Bob is great!! The concerns are only for the ferrets, White Fang and Bob's ferrets. I welcome your comments on any of this. I am more than willing to learn something new or look at a different point of view from anyone, after all, that is how we **learn**. Kisses to the fuzzy kids---Trish [Posted in FML issue 1666]