From:
Stephanie
Date: 2001-07-03 19:46:00 UTC
Subject: [Ferret-Health-list] why I haven't tested for
Hi Regina,
While I understand that having isolated ferrets may seem like
reason not to test, you might want to think of when you go to
the vet or other people come to your house. I know that Vet's
clean up after seeing each pet, but with things like Parvo,
they take extra special care (usually a quarantine area) so
they don't infect others. That same type of care needs to be
used for ADV+ ferrets. If we know our ferret has ADV we can
inform those who may come in contact with our fuzzies, so that
they don't infect others. I'm sure that visitors who might pet
your ferret don't wash up and change clothes before they leave
to go on with their day, but you never know, they may go to a
pet store and cuddle a little one and infect them if your kids
are ADV+. If you don't test you don't know if you are
spreading.
I don't mean to sound harsh, because like you I checked the
"never tested" and for a very similar reason you had. I don't
come in contact with other ferrets so how could I get it or
spread it. Then one day I went to my vet and there were 4
other people there with ferrets. How many of them had tested?
I also started to think about my friends who come over and are
enthralled about my fuzzies. One of my friends has another
friend who has a ferret and who knows how many times he has
gone over to their house and then come over to mine or vice
versa. While I doubt it has happened, I'll never know unless I
ask every time he stops by.
Just food for thought.
Dooks to all,
Stephanie
with Maggie, Bullwinkle, Shasta, Emeline and Icabod
-----Original Message-----
From: - Z - [mailto:regina_z@hotmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2001 2:23 PM
To: Ferret-Health-list@yahoogroups.com
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
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