>From: julie soto <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Adoption Nightmare >I have a question for all the shelter owners out there: When you take in >a rescue do you take the new baby to the vet right away for shots and a >general check up? Or are shots and that initial check up the >responsibility of the person adopting the ferret? Well, speaking strictly for FERRET BUSINESS of GA....it depends. Everything isn't as simple as it may seem. First of all, was it an owner surrender or a stray (found) ferret? If it was found, we hold the ferret for at least 2 weeks (while in quarantine) in the hopes it will be reclaimed by the rightful owners. I don't vaccinate until after the 2 weeks are up. Second, can I get an appointment? Just because I have ferrets to be vaccinated doesn't mean there's an appointment available. I have to do all elective (non-emergency) vet visits on Saturday morning (between 8am & 12noon) because I work full time, & my vet is only in the office every other Saturday. And because I work full time during the week, & do adoptions & take in most convenience surrenders on Sunday, I only have Saturday to run errands, sometimes man a table (for FERRET BUSINESS) for the day at a charitable event, clean my home, & do most of the weekly (replace all bedding) ferret laundry (4-5 loads) for an average of 20-25 ferrets in 10-14 cages. Getting to the vet for routine vaccinations can't always be my 1st priority. So sometimes it can take up to 1 1/2 months to get to the vet for a routine visit. OK, so now I have a couple of unvaccinated fosters & I have potential adopters over to visit ferrets available for adoption. They're still available for adoption with the stipulation that their new owners assume responsibility for the vaccinations. The new owners can make an appointment & get them vaccinated the same way I can. When this does occasionally happen, it's like an additional donation to the fosters because it's one less medical expense I have to worry about. Some other points I'd like to comment on. - Ages are usually a guesstimate, regardless of what you've been told by the former owner - if there is one to ask. I base it on physical appearance - body tone, teeth color & wear, coat texture. I've seen plenty of 4-5 y/o fuzzy who could pass for active 3 y/olds, & I've seen neglected or abused 2 y/olds who look very old. - Ferrets coming into the shelter system are usually very stressed. All the smells are different, familiar surrounding are gone, strange ferrets are sniffing them all over, & most of all, the human (or animal) companion(s) they've bonded with are now gone. Challenging on psyche, even for a human who can rationalize. This is why a seemingly perfect healthy ferret can stop eating & start to lose weight. - Just because a ferrets ears are dirty doesn't mean it's automatically ear mites. Ear mites can also infect at any time. When an infestation is detected, it doesn't mean that it's been long term. - Adrenal disease isn't always apparent. There's no way I could afford to test every ferret coming into our care. I've had emaciated ferrets who looked adrenal because of poor, sparse coat quality grow beautiful coats after receiving proper nutrition. You're absolutely right, it was the right thing to do to provide a home to an unwanted ferret. You stated yourself that that poor little guy looked like he need a home bad. There's no question that a ferret (or any pet for that matter) is far better off receiving the individual attention a loving home of its own will provide, than receiving even the best care a foster care giver can provide. Without knowing both sides of the story (without seeing it with my own eyes), I'll just state the facts from my perspective. But there's something I'd like you all to think about. If you really feel that a shelter isn't adequately caring for their wards...do you turn your back on the little ones still there & say I'll never go there again? Wouldn't it be more productive to get as many out as possible &/or try to do something to remedy the situation? Juliana (770) 984-1417 <[log in to unmask]> FERRET BUSINESS of GA (fer'it`biz'nis) n. 1 Ferret foster care & adoption. 2 Info about ferret care & ownership. 3 What a ferret does. 4 A collection of ferrets. 5 A direct result of ferret math. /That's BUSINESS as in a bunch of ferrets folks./ [Posted in FML issue 2713]