Jacquie
PLEASE, please contact your local Humane Society immediately and report
that the pet shop ferrets are being denied daily food, water, and basic
care!  The owner will be cited and he will lose his business license.
This, in addition to posting the weak spots, will definitely put a stop
to the revolving door of confiscation and subsequent deaths of ferrets at
your border.  Jacquie, I was referring to your earlier post FML July 8,
2004 #2004-45, message 17, ARRRRRGH....Ferrets into California.  (no
mistake BIG, it was Jacquie).  You said,
 
>Why don't you keep the info.  to yourself...this rather irks me that
>someone would take it upon themselves to post this info. in such a
>public forum.
 
Well, it just sounded to me like you wanted to keep it a secret.  Then
you said, and I quote,
 
>"...It rather pisses me off because it does affect me directly.  I won't
>be taking my kids through the "weak spots" mentioned."
 
How can it affect you "DIRECTLY," if you never used them???  Jacquie
the ONE and ONLY time I took my new baby ferret through the California
Agricultural Inspection station was coming from Las Vegas, and it was
closed.  Never once did I say that I "continually" take mine across.  My
two other ferrets I got outside of Needles, Ca.  I did not need to pass
through the station.  It was way east of where the pet store was located;
I would've had to go miles out of my way, to pass through it.  The times
I went to the Grand Canyon, I didn't have them with me.  Again, I was
only relaying the previously requested "personal experience" of those
check points.  The fact is, no ferrets have ever been confiscated when
the check points were avoided altogether.  The confiscated ferrets at
the border check points; that were reported to Hildy, was several years
ago.  You said so yourself.  The budget cuts took place this fiscal year
(Thanks MC and Deva for conformation of that).  But hey Jacquie, don't
let "Facts" cloud your judgment.  As I said, we live with plenty of
stress, guilt, fear and judgment for having ferrets here; yours is
exactly the sort of "JUDGMENT" that I'm talking about.  It comes from
people just like you.  Your advise to anyone wanting to bring in ferrets
is, "DON'T DO IT ... Period!" And what then?  You expect us to live a
life deprived of ferrets.  We can't!  It's very easy for you to say,
"Don't do it." You have ferrets and they are legal.  I could never say
that to anyone who desperately wants to bring in a ferret.  They will
not listen.  They're going to do it anyway, just like I did.  I know how
determined they can be, just like I was.  My ferrets were worth every
mile I drove to get them, every penny I spent to buy them, and all the
hours it took to do so.  Heck, I would have driven for days, half way
across this country, and paid ten times as much money to obtain my
fuzzies if I had to.  Nobody, I repeat NOBODY, on Gods green earth, was
going to stop me or tell me, "Don't do it!" Yes, Jacquie, you really are
wasting your breath; not only with me, but with everyone here in
California that has or wants ferrets as their pet of choice.  We love
them and can't live without them.  Please understand, people are going to
bring them in.  So instead of saying, "Don't do it....period"; can't we
tell them how to do it safely for the ferrets' sake?
 
Please don't get mad at me.  Remember, I'm not the enemy here!  The
Calif. Dept. of Fish & Game is.  My advise now, use caution at the
check points or refer to a map on how to avoid them, especially HWY 8
through Yuma.  I don't see anything wrong with saying that.
 
Jacquie please, don't shoot the messenger, just because you didn't like
the message.
 
Respectfully,
Pam
[Posted in FML issue 4573]