NOOOOOOO!!!
 
You DON'T want to do that.
 
The guarantee works like this:
 
Return the ferret to the store, they give you a new one.
 
The "defective" ferret is returned to Marshall Farms where it is
EUTHANIZED.
 
In some cases, the pet store you bought it from will make some kind of
allowance, but it is totally at the store management's discretion.
 
We have TWO such "defective" MF ferrets (personal ferrets not shelter
residents).  Our local Petco graciously allowed us to purchase one at
their cost, forgoing their profit after the manager checked on the fate
of returned kits.  (Severe overbite, requiring teeth to be pulled to be
able to eat.) The other, a deaf blaze, is now 2 years old and one of the
sweetest little girls we have.  Deafness is NOT a handicap for a ferret.
You CAN train a deaf ferret to come to you using lights or hand signals.
 
(While I'm not a big fan of Marshall Farms I have to say that I really
don't see much of an alternative to their return policy.  It would be a
huge burden to shelters for MF to "dump" all ferrets with non-fatal defects
on shelters.  Nor would it be cost effective for them to pay the vet bills
for diagnosing "true" defects... as opposed to an unethical store trying to
sell cost free ferrets.  Nor is it viable to expect pet stores to enter the
"shelter business" of finding homes for unwanted pets.  Business simply
doesn't work that way.  Keep your eye on the big picture, here.)
 
Debi Christy
[Posted in FML issue 3469]