Ronan update

We had Ronan's vet appointment this morning--I think almost the entire exotics staff was in the room with us at one point, two regular staff vets, two visiting vets and a couple of vet techs.  He was very cute and charmed everybody, of course.  It all went about how I expected.  He's got another clostridium overgrowth, so we've got two weeks of metronidazole to get that under control (fun, fun--ferrets hate it) and then, since it is apparent that his IBD is not being controlled by about his maximum dose of prednisolone, we'll gradually switch him over to Imuran.  I had pretty much figured we'd end up with Imuran sooner or later--I actually would have been perfectly willing to start with it, but I suppose the vets were right to want to start with prednisolone first, there was always a chance he could have responded really well to that.  His weight had dropped further to 940g, but as he demonstrated in the exam room, his energy level is good and he is bright and engaged, so we don't need to panic, just watch him.  It seems odd to think that we have to try to bulk Ronan up!

It turns out that Dr. Graham knows Dr. Burgess out on the West Coast pretty well--Dr. Burgess has done a lot of work with IBD ferrets and is expert on Imuran treatment, so she'll talk with him about it.  I gather Ronan is the first ferret to go on Imuran at Angell, so they want to be sure to absolutely follow protocol.  While I am sorry that the pred didn't control his IBD, I am glad to know that we have another option that may substantially add to Ronan's quality of life.  This isn't exactly good news, but in a way it's a relief to move along to the next step in treatment.

aw man

"Freak folk outfit CocoRosie, fronted by sisters Sierra and Bianca Casady, have been arrested and subsequently forced to cancel all but one date of their North American tour behind The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn, the girls' third LP and follow up to 2005's acclaimed Noah's Ark, which hit store shelves April 10 via Touch and Go. The news, albeit murky, broadcast the cancellation of nine shows in cities such as Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Montreal and was delivered via a MySpace bulletin post yesterday (May 7).

"We are so sorry to announce that we cannot play the rest of the U.S. tour dates," the post read. "The band got arrested...that's all I can say." Furthermore, Sierra and Bianca requested a "prayer for our band" and stated, "we are crying."

If you do the verbal math, it appears as if these Paris-dwelling sisters may have found themselves in a wee bit of trouble with the law. But luckily for New York City-based fans, CocoRosie will roll through the Big Apple for a free gig May 19 before crossing the Atlantic for a lengthy string of European performances throughout May and June. A band spokesperson declined further comment."

I was really looking forward to that show, it sounded like they had quite the entertaining ensemble :-(  I guess on the positive side, I can go to the Seven Sunless Days show on the same night now, but still, meh.  damiel , hope you can see them in NY!