For me, choosing to take on the responsibility of an animal, regardless
of what it is, means looking after them until the day they die.  It also
means that when I have them, I must weigh them into the day to day
factors that each person would do if they had a partner, or had children,
and that includes whether or not I like to be impulsive and drive
somewhere out of town to spend the night, my choice of vehicle, the style
of how I choose to live, or how often I vacation.  My choice of career
is based upon what I can *reasonably do* with the family I have.  If I
choose a career that means travel, it also means that I factored in how I
am going to move *all* of my family with me.  If a job opportunity comes
along that would mean me moving to a place that doesn't accept ferrets,
then I don't take the job, regardless of how *one in a million* or
*chance of a lifetime* it is.  You see, when I took on the responsibility
of having any animal live with me, it meant that I took them into
consideration whatever the circumstances that come into my life.  That's
just me.
 
Running a shelter has shown me that there are people out there that do
not share my point of view.  In taking in ferrets from an assortment of
people with varying backgrounds, there are some assumption's that can be
made statistically.  But to say emphatically that just because you have
chosen a career that happens to show a high rate of surrender does not
mean that everyone in that field will do so.  As they say, there are
exceptions to every rule.
 
I personally don't give anyone a hard time for surrendering their
ferrets.  I feel that by contacting us, they made an important decision.
They specifically chose a shelter that deals with the care of a special
animal.  If they chose a good shelter then they are guaranteed that the
ferret's interests will always be in the forefront.  They did not drop
them off at the local animal shelter that deals in a wide variety of
species.  I applaud them for contacting us so that we can do what we
promised we would do... find a suitable home for their ferrets.
 
Often I get a call from people who want to surrender their ferret for a
price.  In these cases, I know that the future of this ferret is not in
the uppermost in their minds.  To ask for money is no different than
selling children in my eyes.  They always say they want to recoup their
costs and I tell them that they can sell the cage and accessories, but
where you put the life of ferret should always be considered the most
important decision you make.
 
I am heartbroken when some of these people tell me that they will find
someone to take the ferret for a fee and if they don't, they'll be in
contact with us again.  I know in my heart, I won't get that call because
one can always find a person who is willing to take a ferret in exchange
for money especially when you tell them that the price is so much cheaper
than buying one first hand from the pet store.  It breaks my heart when
I find out that some of these ferrets will be passed on to people who
really don't understand the responsibility of taking in an animal, let
alone a ferret, and I know it will end up sitting in a cage for days at a
time when the novelty of having one wears out.  All I can do is to tell
the surrendering party to let the new owners know that our organization
exists and that we are here to help with any issues that they may run
into, for I don't want these ferrets to be passed on from one home to
another, to another, to another... I want to be able to work with the new
families and work their issues out before the ferret is pawned off yet
once again.
 
I don't begrudge anyone for choosing a career over their ferrets.  I
don't begrudge a person who is willing to go the extra mile to find a
suitable home.  I would much rather see a ferret happy than unhappy any
day and that means regardless of the whether or not the services of a
shelter were involved.  Each of us has to make a decision that we can
live with for it is like gambling... you can only play with what you are
prepared to lose.
 
I do make a point of telling those that don't have a ferret yet to
seriously consider what taking on this animal truly means.  I want them
to consider their futures... their choice of career, a choice of a mate,
having children, the event of a divorce, the loss of a job, relocation
and so on before being impulsive and buying into an ideal rather than
reality.  I want them to consider that their actions have repercussions
and that they have to be prepared for anything.  If they can do that,
then there is a good chance that any ferret that comes into their home
will be there for good.
 
betty and her blur o'fur
for the love of ferrets
[Posted in FML issue 4078]