[Jacob-list] (no subject)

[stonecroft235 at juno.com]

Hi Jeanne:

Thank you for your response - and I'm sorry to hear about your likewise
sad experience.  I agree that taking a position of caution in no way
jeopardizes relationships with fellow breeders - in fact, Jacob breeders
are some of the nicest people I know and my position has not compromised
those friendships.   You make an excellent point - we, as the shepherds,
are totally responsible for the health of our animals.   I liken my
approach to the caution I use in other areas - in addition to my sheep,
my dogs and cats receive their regular immunizations and rabies
innoculations, I wash my hands carefully before preparing food, I look
both ways before crossing the street, and, oh yes, there is the yearly
pap test and mammogram......and because I undertake these measures I am
statistically improving the odds of either preventing a problem or
catching it while it is treatable......and likewise I think most people
would agree that prevention is not tantamount to  obsessing over nothing.
 A disease like OPP is transmitted among animals through close contact
such as eating together out of the same trough where an exchange of nasal
secretions can occur.....so it is my job to make sure that doesn't
happen.   I work part time in a medical office and once a year each staff
member is tested for TB - not due to a strange phobia of TB, but because
medical science now understands the mechanism of this disease, that it is
contagious, and it is in the best interests of our patients for their
caregivers to be disease free - plain and simple common sense.  Likewise
we are required by OSHA to receive training regarding hazardous chemicals
and procedures involving hazardous materials - again, an example of the
old cliche "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".   These
virus type disorders are not easy to diagnose and many times impossible
to treat - therefore prevention is the only recourse.....in fact, that is
the very reason for the ongoing education program here in the USA
regarding diseases like HIV and various STD's - in the process of
educating the public about the disease there is also the aspect of
educating the public on PREVENTION of the disease.   

If I had never encountered OPP I would perhaps be more passive - thinking
that it only happens to other people, that it's rare, that most of us
will never deal with it.  My experience was otherwise and my goal is to
learn from my life's experiences.

Sue Martin
Stonecroft
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