November 2002
Letter from the President by Millie Sanders
Okay everybodies, our Christmas party is coming up December 8th and will
be at Nadine Hurst's home - the address listed. We will have a short
business meeting before the festitives start. There is a covered dish
list on the website, or you can call our hotline or myself (972 286 5778)
to let it be known what you are bringing so we won't all bring the same thing.
Nadine and I will furnish the meat dishes. We again will have the Ferret
Steal gift exchange. You do not have to bring a gift if you do not
wish to join in but if you do, bring a ferret related article in the range
of $10 to $15 value, and DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME ON IT, put it inside the package.
Some people are known for certain gifts and this way no one will know who's
package it is till it is opened. You do not need to be a member to
attend. We hope to see one and all for our biggest and concluding meeting
of 2002.
Back to Top
Holistic Medicine by Larry Fewell
Holistic medicine has been practiced for several hundred years in various
cultures; however, it still has problems being recognized by mainstream western
medicine. There are medical professionals that do accept holistic practices,
so please consult with you personal doctors and veterinarians before trying
anything blindly.
So, you ask, what is holistic medicine? The answer is more complicated than
one would think, but can be summed up to a practice of treating the patient
as a whole and not just the disease or problem itself. There are four main
branches of holistic medicine – they are chiropractic, acupuncture, homeopathy,
and herbal therapy (herbology). Under each of these there are several areas
of study – such as reflexology, aromatherapy, and massage therapy.
This article, like our November meeting, will cover the branch of herbology,
and specifically, what herbs can be helpful with various problems in ferrets.
Our guest speaker for the meeting was Jennet Bynum, a registered nurse and
training to be a naturopathic doctor. She emphasizes when using herbs to
consult with an expert on the dosage, and when possible, to use the freshest
herbs available – the fresher the herb the more potent the concoction. When
using a combination of herbs in a tea, she advises to consult with an herbologist
or specialist, and have the specialist mix the herbs because there are specific
proportions to follow when mixing the herbs. She also warns to not give these
herbs or any others indiscriminately, like nay other medications, herbs must
be given in correct dosages and to monitor the patient for any signs of trouble
– such as allergic reactions and side effects. The following is a list of
helpful herbs and possible uses.
Echinacea – Echinacea spp. – this herb comes from the purple coneflower and
has a wide variety of uses. Echinacea is used as an antibiotic, and as an
immune stimulant. It is very good for colds, flues, minor infections and
pancreas and adrenal problems. Some suggest not using in humans with AIDS
or cats with FeLV, FIV or FIP, so one wonders about ferrets with ADV or ECE.
I suggest consulting your vet before trying this herb.
Billberry – Vacinium myrtillus – can be used for vision problems,
as well as an astringent, antiseptic, for urinary problems, bruising, diarrhea,
and the microcirculation system.
Chamomile – Chamaemilium nobile – can be used as an anti-inflammatory,
a sedative, for nausea and vomiting, indigestion, wound healing, and as as
analgesic
Cloves – Syzygium aromaticum – is good for nausea and vomiting,
as well as an antiseptic, mild pain killer, an antispasmodic, and as an antifalmic
(treating worms or other parasites).
Ginger – Zingiber officinalis – is a good carrier or helper
herb. It can also be useful as a circulatory stimulant; helps relax peripheral
blood vessels, an expectorant, for nausea and as a painkiller.
Garlic – Allium sativium – is said to be good for the circulation,
digestion and nervous systems by purging toxins, stimulating the lymphatic
system, and building the immune system.
Sage – Salvia spp. – is good for stimulating circulation, promoting
bile flow, as an antiseptic and an astringent. It can also be useful for
colon problems, for treating worms and parasites, and for helping pancreas
and adrenal problems.
Wormwood - Artemisia absinthium – is helpful in treating worms
and parasites, for stomach prolbems, as a bile stimulant, an antibiotic,
an antiseptic, and as an appetite stimulant.
Dandelion – Taraxacum officinale – is an appetite stimulant
and is helpful in treating stomach problems, as well as liver disorders and
pancreas and adrenal problems, and promotes bile flow.
Parsley – Petroselinum crispum – is good for treating urinary
problems.
Goldenseal – Hydrastis Canadensis – helps to heal the gastric
mucous membranes (and other mucous membranes as well), and is a digestive
and bile stimulant.
Essiac Tea – this is a blend of herbs that has become a cancer treatment
in humans. The herbs used are mainly burdock root, sheep sorrel, Turkish
rhubarb root, slippery elm bark, and sometimes red clover, kelp, watercress,
or blessed thistle. It is suggested to try this with ferrets with ADV+ ferrets
(as well as adrenal disease and lymphoma), but consult your vet first.
Accidophilus – a powdered form of bacteria called “lactobacillus”.
It is helpful when the intestines have been compromised due to illness, stress,
or the use od medications like an antibiotic. In these cases the good bacteria
that helps with digestion often die off and are replaced by bad bacteria
that cause problems like increased intestinal gas and diarrhea. The lactobacillus
bacteria are used to help rebuild the good bacteria and prevent the overgrowth
of the bad bacteria.
On a final note, this is but a short list of the many herbs available. Please
consult with your veterinarian before using any of these herbs to treat your
ferrets, or any animals, and consult with you physician before treating yourself
with any of these. Here are a couple of websites to consult for more information
on all form of holistic medicine: www.peteducation.com and www.naturalholistic.com.
Back to Top
Holiday Ferret Proofing by Erika Matulich
The holidays bring special ferret dangers and ferret-proofing challenges.
Let's explore some of these issues in more detail:
Food/Candies
During the holiday season, we may have more candies around the house, hang
candy canes on the tree, exhibit decorator bowls of candy, or be given gifts
of edible holiday treats. Your ferret may be just as attracted to the taste
of chocolate, mint, or sugar as you are, but this is a problem. Ingesting
too much chocolate could be fatal to your ferret. Too much sugar can cause
serious dental problems. And half-eaten treats embedded in your carpet and
furniture are no fun to clean up! Don't be tempted to share your extra holiday
treats with your ferrets. Their culture does not know the difference between
holidays and celebrating life on an everyday basis, so keep extra treats
away from your ferrets! They won't know the difference.
Guests/Parties
The holidays may also bring more people traffic into your home, inviting
more opportunities for your ferrets to escape outdoors, be stepped on, or
be handled too much. Too many people and too much attention can cause stress
for your ferret. Cranky ferrets may behave unexpectedly around your guests
and give the wrong impression about what ferrets are like. Protect your ferret
family by keeping them quietly in their cage or room when company arrives.
Fireplaces
Oh, those wonderful, crackling holiday fires! Unfortunately, ferrets find
fires fascinating, and the burn receptors in their skin take awhile to register
pain - enough time for your ferret to become severely burned before s/he
figures out the fire was too hot! Never assume that your ferret will back
away from the heat of a fire. I have seen several ferrets walk right over
hot coals and into flames. Make sure you have glass doors in front of your
fireplace, or a very heavyweight fireplace screen that ferrets cannot climb
or move. The metal fireplace curtains are not adequate protection for your
ferret. Keep your fire and your ferrets supervised!
Mini-Lights
Many of us decorate our homes and trees with lights. Ferrets seem fascinated
by these lights, and are especially attracted to flashing lights. Ferrets
attack and bite flashing lights, and may chew on other lights. This causes
glass embedding problems in their mouths, and the possibility of electrical
shock, or even an electrical fire. Some holiday lights have special decorative
covers, which the ferrets may steal (I spray mine with bitter apple). Avoid
flashing lights, and supervise your ferrets when lights are turned on.
Christmas Trees
Some ferrets may climb up trees, so make sure that the tree will not tip
if there is a ferret hanging from a top branch! Do not hang edibles from
the tree; they will be stolen. Do not hang breakable or chewable ornaments
on lower branches where ferrets can pull them off. I have had ferrets pull
or shake down glass ornaments, hide them, break them, and run through the
shards! When I replaced the glass ornaments with satin-covered Styrofoam,
the ferrets shredded off the satin and ate the Styrofoam! Now only plastic
and metal ornaments hang from lower branches. If you have a live tree, there
are additional dangers. Do not let ferrets drink the tree's water! The tannic
acid that leaches from the tree into the water can cause anemia and heart
problems in ferrets. Tree preservative water additives can be fatal if ingested.
You must ferret-proof your tree stand with duct tape, heavy foil, bricks,
wire screening, etc. You may also wish to place your tree up on a table,
thus eliminating all ferret tree interaction! Ferrets may also get pine pitch/sap
stuck in their fur. Remove with a light vegetable oil or linatone/ferretone.
As the tree dries out, needles become brittle and can cause injury to a ferret
nose, eyes, paws or skin as the sharp needle ends pierce rather than flex.
Gifts
Ferrets like presents too, but they can't read the labels and think all gifts
are for them. They may run off with ribbon, shred wrapping paper, or steal
smaller boxes to stash away. Consider putting gifts on a ferret-proof table
instead of under the tree. Speaking of gifts, FLC-TX has some wonderful gift
ideas - on to the next article, now that you have a holiday-ferret-safe home!
Back to Top
November Member Spotlight by Beccy
Parish
We have a new club member as our spotlight member this month. I would
like to introduce you to Natasha and Mike Hermes. Not only are
they new members of the club but they are also first time ferret owners.
Natasha attended the Ferret Lover’s Club November meeting. The meeting was
on holistic medicine, which she found very interesting. Natasha stated
that as a new member she would also like to hear from a vet guest speaker
at a meeting. I asked Natasha where she had learned of the Ferret Lover’s
Club of Texas and did she have any suggestions on how to gain more new members.
She answered "I learned about the club on the Internet and I feel that is
one of the best ways to let more people know about the club."
Natasha first became interested in ferrets when she was in middle school.
She worked as a volunteer in a pet store that had ferrets and liked them
because they had so much personality. About a year ago Natasha worked
as a volunteer in a rescue group that took in mostly cats and an occasional
dog but not ferrets. Natasha still thought of ferrets often.
Natasha does have a cat named Saks as in Saks Fifth Avenue. How did Saks
feel about Natasha bringing home two ferrets? The ferrets were ignored in
spite of their curiosity. Family and friends response to Natasha bringing
home ferrets was "Don’t they stink?" Natasha tells them no more than a cat
or dog if you take care of them properly. Natasha had done lots of reading
before adopting and should be able to answer most of the question directed
her way from family and friends. When asked what advice she would give to
someone interested in obtaining a new ferret or to other new ferret owners
she said read, study, and learn all that you can about them. Join a
club where you can gather more information and ask questions of other ferret
owners that might have more experience.
Natasha was looking for a couple of gentle healthy ferrets to adopt when
she contacted us with her interest. Her family came for a visit and
went home with a couple of gentle little boys. She tells me that Amalfi
and Alfresto are wonderful. They have now found a permanent home with
lots of love.
Back to Top
Did You Know . . . ?
That the Anglo-Saxon words for ferret are "Meard" and “Mearp”?
Back to Top
Ferret Lovers' Club of Texas Year
in Review by Larry Fewell
This past year has been a busy one for the club, even without holding the
Ferret Olympics.
To start things off, we had a couple of members go to Las Vegas, Nevada for
the Ferret Expo and report about their trip at our February Meeting – thanks
to Robert and Mary Rodgers for this. We also had a series of guest speakers
this year – one from the Fort Worth Humane Society that covered what to do
when you run into animal cruelty, our lovely psychic experience and then,
most recently, our speaker on Holistic Medicine. We also visited Dr. Kendrick
at his Mansfield clinic for his talk on heartworms, which was a frightening
subject in itself, and should be something everyone treats their ferrets
for.
The meeting have also been successful this year having a Bingo party, and
our annual Art and Crafts seminars. One meeting that stands out to many of
our regular attendees is the basic care and grooming of ferrets where someone
demonstrate on test ferrets how to clean ears, clip nails and proper teeth
care for ferrets.
We have also started to become active again at the Adoption Expos held in
the area, look for us to be at more of them in the year to come. The person
currently heading this front is Kyle, and we would like to thank him for
his efforts.
As far as other members we would like to thank for their efforts is Beccy
and Kyle for their effort in placing unwanted ferrets; Tom for his help in
making sure abandoned ferrets get the needed vet care they may need and taking
them in to show them love and affection; Linda for her efforts on reporting
on the legalization standpoints of the cities in the area; Nadine for her
efforts as webmaster; to Larry, the editor, and all who contribute to the
Ferret Footnotes, without all of them the newsletter would not be around.
As a special note of recognition to all its contributors over the years,
the website of the club has been written about it Ferrets Magazine and also
honored by the BFFW Welfare and Rescue in England by being awarded it’s “Wicked
Weasel Award.” Thanks to Nadine and all of the previous webmasters who have
maintained the website.
For the upcoming year we plan on having another meeting with a Pet Psychic,
more vets speak about health problems in ferrets, another Bingo part, another
arts and craft seminar (closer to the holidays this time), a cage auction,
a photo contest and, hopefully, some kind of club expedition.
Hope to see you there.
Back to Top
Planet of the Ferrets By H.T Wheeler
It had been a long mission. The trip to one of Saturn’s moons had taken nearly
4 years round trip and the unexplainable space disturbance we passed through
had nearly ended the voyage prematurely. Upon landing, we were shocked to
discover things had changed since we left earth. Instead of being met by
the expected recovery technicians, a group of ferrets approached. To our
shock an albino spoke and introduced himself, “Hey Hi. You guys got anything
interesting in there. Looks interesting. Maybe some of it needs to be put
away real good, you know hid a little bit.”
“You can talk ,” I responded.
“Of course I can. Hey you guys been gone a long time haven’t you.”
“You can talk,” I said again.
“Oh yeah, we could talk all along. But you humans weren’t ready to hear what
we had to say yet. So we just waited and sure enough, you got things in a
horrible mess and didn’t know what to do. So then it was time for us to kind
of take over for a while and the humans liked the way we ran things so well,
they just left us in charge.”
“That’s unbelievable,” I said. “What has become of the world?”
“Oh, I think you may like it’” a dark sable quickly responded. “No more work.
If it’s not fun you don’t have to do it. No wars anymore. Individuals sometimes
have a little difference, but ever since you guys learned how to weasel war
dance there haven’t been any serious conflicts.”
“Anything else,” asked our navigator.
A mature silver female answered, “What humans called humane has been replaced
by real caring and kindness. No one is abandoned, neglected or abused. No
one is destroyed just because they are sick or old. Everyone has value. Hunger
is forbidden. Caring for each other has replaced the obsession of acquiring
material possessions.”
“But we did take up one human practice though,” said a dark eye cinnamon.
“You know how we love running thru tubes, right? Well try it on a skateboard,
oh yeah!”
As I contemplated a ferret on a skateboard, I heard a voice, “Captain, wake
up! We need to prepare for landing sequence.” I awoke to realize it all had
been a dream, a very nice dream.
“Captain, I’m getting a strange message from control,” my communication officer
informed me. “They want to know if we will feel like playing when we land
or do we want to eat and go straight to our hammocks?”
Back to Top
November's Vet Profile
My name is Sue Chastain. I am a small animal veterinarian in the Chastain
Veterinary Medical Group at Preston Road Animal Hospital in Dallas, Texas.
My love of animals began when I was a small child in Westchester County,
New York, when my parents gave me a puppy of my very own (my older sister
and brother each had a puppy of their own too). But it was between the ages
of 7 and 13, during the five years our family lived in Melbourne, Australia,
that my love of animals was completely ingrained in my psyche. It was
in Australia that I got my first kitten, attended riding camp annually, and
got “into” dressage.
By the time I was in High School in Houston, I had already decided I wanted
to be a Veterinarian. And I was in a hurry to get there. So, despite
my involvement in the high school band and other extracurricular activities,
I took an extra class load to graduate early!
When it came to selecting a college there was only one school for me, Texas
A&M, because it is home to one of the best veterinary medical schools
in the world. After my freshman year in undergraduate school, as a
microbiology student, I managed to get a summer job in a veterinary clinic
near my parent’s home in Houston. It was there I began to learn the
veterinary business -- from the ground-up, “so to speak” (with a shovel and
a mop). Actually, I did everything from answering the phones to assisting
in surgery (as well as cleaning the kennels, of course).
In 1985 I graduated from A&M with my degree in microbiology, and, after
a year of research for the university, I entered the college of Veterinary
Medicine. In 1987, while in Veterinary school I married my husband
Clint, who was also a “vet” student.
After graduating as a brand new doctor of veterinary medicine in 1990, I
spent two years working at the Mount Houston Animal Clinic in Houston. My
employer, Dr. Greg Matt, was as much a friend and a mentor as he was a boss.
It was he who initially encouraged my interest in non-traditional pet animal
species, such as ferrets. While working at the Mount Houston Animal
Clinic during the day, I spent many a night working at either of two Houston
area Animal Emergency Clinics, sometimes alone and sometimes with my husband
Clint. Our goal was to broaden and accelerate our experience and expertise
in treating sick pets.
In 1992, Clint and I decided to move to Dallas to start our own practice.
We purchased Preston Road Animal Hospital, on the east bound service road
of LBJ Freeway (Interstate 635) near the corner of “LBJ” and Preston Road.
The animal hospital is now over 30 years old and it is now the oldest animal
hospital in the DFW Metroplex to have been continuously certified by the
American Animal Hospital Association.
We immediately brought the appearance of the facility up-to-date - as much
as time and finances would allow - and embarked on the more important but
never-ending task of keeping the hospital, and ourselves, on the cutting
edge of veterinary medicine.
We are proud of the fact that we employ some of the most modern veterinary
technology available. For example, our Toshiba SSH-140A ultrasound machine
helps us identify the all too common ferret problem of adrenal disease as
early as possible. And our treatment of this disorder is greatly enhanced
by our CO2 laser surgery resources.
But, of course, keeping our technology up-to-date is only one part of the
task of staying on the cutting edge of veterinary medicine. It is just
as important to keep us, and our associates, up-to-date. Ever since
working in conventional small animal veterinary clinics by day and emergency
clinics by night, Clint and I have been totally committed to investing whatever
it takes to perpetually increasing our knowledge and our skills. When
we started our own practice we expanded that commitment to our entire operation.
In the past year alone, we and our other doctors have spent countless hours
attending postgraduate veterinary seminars on both traditional and non-traditional
pets (including classes specifically on non-traditional pets, such as ferrets).
Further, our technical and administrative staff receives continuing training
adding-up to hundreds of hours every year.
This year we also changed the name of the practice to Chastain Veterinary
Medical Group to better reflect our distinctive team based approach to veterinary
care.
At home, “my pack” consists of my husband, Clint, and my two wonderful twin
daughters, Alexandra and Miranda. Our daughters are almost four years old
now, and they are definitely a blessing and a joy (and occasionally a trial).
However, the non-human members of our family significantly out number the
humans. Starting with my 18 year old cat Jeanette (who Clint gave to me as
a birthday present when we were dating), we also have Titus, a high spirited
Jack Russell Terrier, two parrots named Wanda and Manu, a 6 foot long, 21
year old, pet snake named Belle Star. Our pet iguana passed away last year
from old age and kidney failure and we recently released our pet tarantula
back into the wild.
Clint and I discussed getting a ferret to have at home, but decided a grumpy
old cat, a rambunctious terrier, and two toddlers would be too much for an
innocent ferret. So we’ve decided to wait until the puppy and the twins get
a little older!
As for a favorite animal, I don’t think I can pick just one. Ferrets and
cats are probably at the top of my list. However I’m glad to be part of a
multi-doctor, multi-species, practice -- so I get to mix with many different
kinds of animals. I have a tendency to get very attached to my patients,
so I really never have to pick just a favorite, since I get to be a surrogate
parent to all of my patients.
Hobbies? In another life (before twins) Clint and I were very into
SCUBA diving and traveling. Perhaps someday we’ll be able to get back
into both.
Back to Top
The Zeus Chronicles by Zeus
Hi fans, it is I, you wonderful Zeus. This month, I will tell you one of
my adventures while I was working for the top-secret OUF (Organization of
Undercover Ferrets). It seems like a whole lifetime since then, but my memory
is fine – really it is!!
My mission, if I chose to accept it, is to go undercover and find out about
the new “raisins” on the market. These new fruits seem to be highly addictive
and have lead to unfortunate rehab situations for many unsuspecting ferrets.
The information we had was that the new raisins were coming from Peru and
very popular in the local drag bars. Little did I know that this would involve
me dressing up like a girl while dancing and performing in front of a rowdy
crowd and going by the stage name of Zelda.
When I found out the full extent of my mission, I hooked up with my friend
Xena, she knew some ferrets who could get me into this line of work. She
called in her prissy girl friends Anja and Emily for advice on plucking,
make-up, wigs and hair, and the outfits. Those almost killed myself on those
tiny high-heels. After weeks of preparation on learning to walk in the shoes,
applying make-up, plucking the eyebrows and squeezing myself into that sock-of-a-dress
I was informed we needed to sit down and choose some music. Xena said to
fit into the crowd that I needed to chooses something standard, something
all drag performers do, something like Janet Jackson, Madonna, Celine Dion,
Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Liza Manelli, Bette Midler and, of course,
Brabra Streisand. She also warned to me to never, ever do Britney Spear,
Christina Aguilera, Paula Abdul or Pink, since no self-respecting dragqueen
would be caught dead performing to those. I decided to go with something
different, something classy, so I chose an Olivia Newton-John ballad, the
disco hit “It’s Rainin’ Men” by the Weathergirls, something by Stevie Nicks,
and one of the great hits by Carole King.
So, after putting together my performance and memorizing my music, Xena called
up her good friend Shawanda. We arranged to go on over to “her” house and
meet up.
Shawanda, what a great performer and class act, she does a great Diana Ross.
She was a beautiful, petite chocolate colored ferret, which I would never
have guessed was a male. I had to do an audition, good thing I was ready,
and I have to say, it was flawless. I was so in the moment it brought tears
to my eyes, as well as Shawanda’s. Amazingly, watching Kelly Clarkson and
Tamyra Grey on American Idol brought back memories of my performing days.
It was hard convincing Shawanda that it was my first performance, and then
she told me I was in Friday night’s show and not to be late.
So far this was an easy assignment, but I still had nothing on the Peruvian
Raisin trade.
Xena, Anja and Emily (they just had to come and witness this) and myself
packed up my gear on Friday and made our way to the Club. Once there, we
found Shawanda in the crowd, and she rushed us backstage so I could get ready.
I was to be the first to perform and we were to do two numbers one at a time.
While backstage I Xena and the girls made sure I would be okay and then made
their way out to the crowd to find a good spot and get some drinks.
While I was getting ready, I was introduced to the other performers – Katrina,
Ima Hott, Evian Waters, and Shamu. Shamu, now that “lady” is something else
– picture a 7 pound male, with a big bright red wig, encased in a tiny one-size-fits-all
sequined yellow spandex dress that hardly covered the vital areas, and the
high cut stiletto heeled go-go boots in white patent leather. I think “her”
performance is more comedic than anything, buy hey “she” made good money
and had a good time doing it.
I went out, did my number, received lots of tips and propositions, and totally
wowed the crowd. Looking back on it, I feel sorry for Ima having to follow
that spectacular number. Anyway, I had my first break in the case when I
saw Katrina passing around a little baggy of nice plump raisins backstage,
and anyone who knows anything about raisins, the legal ones are not plump
in anyway. Evian and Shamu were definitely tossing them back, and I finally
had me “man” in sight.
Continued in next months issue.
Back to Top