I have been reading and thinking about the damages or potential damages
caused by a lack of educated and/or educating pet store employees, and I
decided I would really be interested in doing a survey.  With the huge
number of members on this list, from long-time owners/breeders/shelter
operators, etc., to first-fert newbies, there are, I believe, adequate
numbers to get decent, reliable results.  (If you can call statistics in
general reliable.) So, I have built a proposed list of questions, seen
below.  Please email me and let me know if you think some of these
questions should be altered/removed, and if you think there are any
questions I should add.  Then, I will put the survey up on the Lost Ferrets
website.  When all is said and done, and the figures are calculated, I
think we could come up with some compelling arguments to use with pet
stores, when the need arises.
 
[...] Here are the proposed questions for the survey.
 
- How many ferrets do you own?
- How many ferrets have you owned in the past?
- How long have you owned ferrets?
- How many ferrets have you purchased from pet stores?
  Breeders?
  Shelters?
  Other (please specify)?
- Have you ever given up a ferret (to a shelter, etc.) for any reason?
  If yes, please explain briefly.  {Here, on the actual survey, I would
  most likely include options, such as "life changing event" "ferret
  illness" and the like, as well as a "other, please explain" option.
  This would be mostly for ease of calculating.)
  If yes, is there anything you could have been told BEFORE purchasing
  your ferret which would have deterred this?  (I.E., Ferrets don't get
  along with terriers, ferrets aren't legal in your state, etc.)
- When you purchased your first ferret, (think back, I know for some of
  you that was quite a while ago...) did you research before, during or
  after beginning your relationship with your new pet?  (I.E., had you
  already read up on the subject prior to purchasing your ferret, did you
  purchase a book or two along with your ferret, or did you wait until
  after you had purchased and lived with your ferret for a while to
  research anything on the subject?)
- Where did you purchase your first ferret, a pet store, a breeder, a
  shelter or other?
- Were you given a brochure or other such learning material at that time?
  If yes, what?
- Were you told at the time of purchasing your first ferret that cedar
  bedding was harmful?
- Were you told that ferrets may be prone to certain types of cancer,
  care for which may become somewhat expensive?
- Were you told that ferrets are wonderful, charming, intelligent
  companions?
- Were you told that ferrets take a LOT of time, energy, and attention?
- Were you told that ferrets can and/or should be given rabies vaccines?
  If no, was this before an approved ferret vaccine was in use?
- Were you told that ferrets can and/or should be given distemper
  vaccines?
- Were you told what you should and should not feed a ferret?
  Was this information accurate?
- Were you told that ferrets can be litter trained?
- Were you told how to ferret-proof your home?
- Were you told about basic ferret hygiene?  (Nail trimmings, bathing,
  etc.)
- Were you told that vinyl toys can be harmful to your ferret?
- On a scale of one to ten, ten being very well informed, one being
  uninformed, please rate how you felt on your way home with your first
  ferret.
- On a scale of one to ten, taking into account what you now know, please
  rate how informed you think you actually were after purchasing your
  first ferret.
 
Questions for Breeders:
- How long have you been a breeder?
- Do you include informative materials with the purchase of a kit?
  If so, what?
- Do you track or attempt to track your kits after they have been
  purchased?
- Do you have a return policy which includes a "disinterest clause"?
  (I.E., do you accept, or expect, returns in cases where people just
  simply don't want the animal anymore?)
 
Questions for Shelters:
- How long has your shelter been in operation?
- Do you include informative materials with the adoption of a ferret?
  If so, what?
- Do you track or attempt to track ferrets once they have been adopted
  out?
- Do you have a return policy which includes a "disinterest clause"?
 
OK, there they are, please email me with any suggestions, or even if this
is something you think worthwhile, and in a week or so, I will try to
have the survey up on the Lost Ferrets website.
 
Melissa Barnes
www.geocities.com/lostferrets
[Posted in FML issue 3153]