Steve was in Cuppertino this week (wearing ferret t-shirts) for some work, and do you want to hear something WEIRD? It seems that the common misconception there is that California is leading the nation toward outlawing ferrets, area by area. ;-p They really did the "We're Californians and everyone follows us because we're the trend leaders" nose-in-the-air routine -- very early 1960s-ish. Steve said that perspective was interesting and might explain just WHY so many states which HAD outlawed ferrets legalized them within the last decade. (Response, "Huh???!!!!!!???") The source of their brilliant data seems to have been local media since they all said they'd run into that viewpoint there, especially in papers. Sadly, he didn't ask WHICH papers but he was trying to keep a straight face since they assumed that what is happening in the nation is the OPPOSITE of what is actually happening and that their state's personal social style setting was the reason. He'll be back there at some point so I'll ask him for information on the newspapers if he remembers to find which one(s) were involved. He greatly liked the people (despite this) and their work even if he was just as amazed at having to provide this current-events revelation as they were at finding that their paper does the _1994_ thing. Ah, accuracy in the press... (Bet reporters like that give the reliable ones such tension headaches.) Folks, the coronavirus for ECE was only recently identified; there is NOT a diagnostic test, yet. Yes, a vet can figure ECE from the symptoms or types of damage plus elimination of other possibilities, but can not diagnose it from tests at this point. It seems to once again be time for a reminder: MANY of the concerns which have recently arisen here are discussed in places like http://www.ferretcentral.org and it's full of links to yet more information (vet level if the AFIP link is used). By reading this information people can learn a large chunk of the basics and that will give then a better foundation from which to ask more detailed questions, rather than learning even the basics for serious difficulties (like medical problems) only from replies to letters. It's got the guidance you folks want and seek and will give you the foundation to better assess the replies you receive. Karen wrote: >NO WAY!!! WHAT a wonderful story!!!!!!!!!! I loved it, too, but you know that ferrets doing things like that have been reported here before, don't you? It's exceedingly special but it's certainly not isolated. They DO find care or sometimes provide it for each other and for their people. Deb wrote: >Maybe it's not the money as it is the suffering or misdiagnosing >which does >bother me so. If you'd been around even a dozen years ago, Deb, you'd see how much BETTER things are today. Yes, a LOT more needs to be done to get vets who haven't learned about ferrets to do so, but time and again they have proven themselves for the most part to WANT to learn when they know about resources like http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html , Hillyer and Quesenberry's _Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents..._ (Saunders), Fox's _Biology and Diseases of the Ferret, second edition_ (Williams and Wilkins), and others such as Karen Purcell's book which should come out soon. We got Fox's book from 1-800FERRETW, and Kathy and Liz's from the publisher, but 1-888-FERRET1 lists some on its order form, too. Giving up hasn't saved any ferrets' lives but getting information out there has done so, time and time again, and will continue to do so. Hey, I recall when pretty well ANYTHING done on a ferret was considered experimental and we all had to print out copies for all the vets in our areas. Look at how that has changed! There has been an absolutely remarkable amount of knowledge gained in a short amount of time. Want to continue that trend? Then give to the charities which fund medical advances in ferret veterinary care. The AFA has one, the AMC's exotics branch makes inroads, numerous other veterinary schools and some clinics work very hard on that score, and the Morris Animal Foundation (for info 1-303-790-2345, for donation 1-800-243-2345) also channels monies into improving ferret veterinary research advancements to make our furrys' lives better. If people had thrown in the towel back when things were infinitely worse we wouldn't have the USDA approved rabies vaccine and CD vaccine, wouldn't have the Compendium on our side, wouldn't have treatments for insulinoma, or for adrenal neoplasias, wouldn't know how to safely do the surgeries for those, would still think that perhaps ferret mast cell tumors are as nasty as they are in a few other critters, etc., etc., etc. If people don't TRY (just as ferrets try and try and try again) then we just might as well never wake up in the morning. Ferrets teach us to appreciate the small things in life, but they also teach us to TRY. So, try, already! [Posted in FML issue 2804]