From:
- Z -
Date: 2001-07-03 17:22:00 UTC
Subject: why I haven't tested for ADV...
I'm one of those people who checked off "never tested" on the ADV
poll, but I do have reasons that perhaps others have as well, so I
thought I'd share. My ferrets and I moved to MA from Canada in 1996,
at a time when ECE hadn't been seen in my part of Canada but
certainly had been seen all over the US East Coast. So, when I
moved, I swore a solemn vow to my ferrets that I would not bring them
to meet other ferrets (no hardship for them, as they profoundly
resented the existence of other ferrets, including each other) and
that I would not have contact with other ferrets, no matter how cute
and friendly they seemed. And it's a vow I've kept pretty well; I
did become roommates with another ferret owner, but as her ferrets
weren't particularly fond of others either and she knew her ferrets'
medical histories, everything seemed pretty secure, and so it has
turned out. I've missed out on frolics and shows, for the most part,
but my ferrets' health is worth far more.
Now I have one spunky oldster ferret who has absolutely no contact
with other ferrets, and I myself have no contact with other ferrets.
It's not hard for me to be this way, because that's the way I've
always been. I have not tested her for ADV, because I think that she
is as low risk as a ferret can be for it. She and I don't contact
other ferrets, so I don't think we present a risk for spreading it in
the unlikely event she did have it. And to be realistic, she's
pushing seven and has insulinoma. Finding out now that she was ADV+
would not change her life that much at this point.
HOWEVER, I know that there will eventually be a day when I will have
other ferrets, because as much as I would wish it otherwise, Amelia
won't live forever. And when that day comes, I will absolutely,
*absolutely* test for ADV, no matter what the source of those ferrets
may be. So I feel that my answer to the poll kind of skews the
results a bit-- I'm not a person who has never heard of ADV, and I'm
not a person who doesn't care enough to test. It's just that in my
case, I don't feel that there's current reason to test (an opinion
that my vet shares, btw). You can bet that for future ferrets, I
would be checking off the "testing as often as you're supposed to"
box. Maybe if the poll is conducted again, there could be a couple
of "don't test" lines with different reasons for not testing-- "don't
test b/c never heard of it," "don't test b/c my ferrets are strictly
isolated," "don't test b/c... etc"
Anyway, I'm sure there will be those out there who will tell me that
I am being foolish and deluding myself, but I think I am doing what
is right by my ferret. The entire point of my post was just to
illuminate that the "never test" category is in many ways open to
interpretation.
best to all,
Regina