This post is not intended to offend the responsible breeder; I am asking
so that I will be better educated about the selling practices among ferret
breeders.
 
We received a call from a local Humane group about an emergency- a man had
lost all patience with his ferret and had left her outside- and it was 18
degrees outside that night.  One of his neighbors called the Humane group.
We took her in at 10pm that evening- a tiny, emaciated little 8-month-old
dark sable girl.  She came in a large hamster ball - the ball had been her
home.  It was caked with layers of poop.  I was horrified to receive her
papers , showing the shelter where she had been BRED, and that she was not
spayed, although they had been told she was descented.  When I asked the
owner if he knew that females could have a medical problem if not spayed,
he replied, It wasn t a problem cause I didn t have a boy ferret.
Apparently this shelter/breeder felt it unnecessary to educate or inform
the new owner about his pet.  By the way, this was his first ferret.  He
had been feeding her smoked ham, smoked turkey & dried apples.  She had
been living in a yellow plastic ball with air holes.
 
She shivers and hides her face when you handle her- her tiny tail stays
bottle-brushed continually.  When she sees other ferrets, she screams,
hatters and attacks the cage bars, then poofs & poops at the same time.
She ll be spayed as soon as we can get her fattened up and a bit more
stable.  She weighs 12 oz.  She was covered in scabs and fleas.  Bless
her heart- she hasn t once nipped.
 
Not to offend the responsible breeders out there, but I am curious about
any kind of code of ethics when breeders sell their kits- do they usually
sell them unspayed & unneutered with an understanding of some sort to
have the animal fixed at a certain age?  Or are they sold fixed?  Is there
any sort of discussion about spay/neuter issues?  Do breeders screen their
customers when selling ferrets to individuals?  Do they generally ask for
any references, if they re ferret-knowledgeable, do they have a ferret vet,
etc?  Do they help by giving out educational literature with their kits
(and not just a pretty genealogy chart)?
 
I know that no one can ensure a perfect home when selling a pet (or
adopting one out),but I knew within 2 minutes of conversation with this
Butt Hole that I would have NEVER trusted him with a rubber rat, much less
a ferret kit.  I m still burned-up that this shelter/breeder sold this
tiny life without any thought to her future care.  I was at the event
where this kit was sold- at a public Fair.  I wonder where the rest of
the litter ended up.
 
Marlene Blackburn
Richmond Ferret Rescue League
[Posted in FML issue 3309]