From:
Motor City Ferrets
Date: 2011-06-19 21:41:11 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] Re: distemper vaccine ??
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Sometimes people are too quick to judge. I for one am only upset at the thought
that one vaccination for critters with no history is not enough. Boy have we
been wasting time/money/effort to give our ferrets no protection! I hope we can
learn from your experience that indeed, one yearly shot is not enough for
critters with no shot history and therefore give the 2 booster series going
forward to save lives.
As for shot history, at least 90% of the ferrets coming into my shelter have
none. Pet shops routinely tell purchasers that the ferrets are "fully
vaccinated" at time of purchase. Further, people often assume indoor animals
don't need vaccinations. Finally, remember these are people who obviously
haven't made a lifetime commitment to their pets and are thus surrendering, so
it's really no surprise that they're coming in without having current
vaccinations. It's a rare occasion indeed when I get a ferret with a proper
vaccination history. Matter of fact, I make a note on my master spreadsheet and
I can tell you of the 850 we've rescued, perhaps 20 had such a history.
Additionally, any active shelter ALWAYS has unvaccinated critters. First reason
is that I'm not going to give the vaccination except in the vet's office,
because I have no business handling an extreme reaction. I'm taking in 3
surrenders today. Due to scheduling, I won't get them to the vet for shots
until Friday. Thus I always have totally unvaccinated critters afoot. It's
always a juggling act to have as few as possible unvaccinated in our mix at any
given time.
We had a fatal outbreak of a unique strain of coccidia a few years back. It was
awful, but at no time did I consider not being completely open and honest about
what we went through - with both clients and the general public. I only wish I
could share better information about our experience that others could use to
plot a better course. Unfortunately looking back didn't do much for us to help
save those that died.
Nanci
Motor City Ferrets
www.motorcityferrets.org
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