I recently submitted the following letter to my local newspaper. I
wanted to share it here on the FML in case someone else would like
to use it as a template. Anyway, best to all the FMLers!

"To The Editor:

I am a ferret owner who has owned many ferrets over the last decade. I
am in involved in organizations for handheld pets; I work with animals
professionally; and I am angry with Pet World.

It amazes me that a store that takes such pride in its display of birds
and reptiles leaves its ferrets to languish. I get that it can be
annoying for an employee to listen to advice from a customer, but I
feel that the message I have been meant to understand is: 'We know what
we're doing. You do not. Please just make your purchase and go away.'

This letter is my way of saying that I do not think Pet World knows
what it is doing. If Pet World did, I would not have seen their ferrets
in unacceptable conditions, including: small cage space; improper
bedding; little or no food; little or no water; feces, bedding, and
food intermixed; and overcrowding.

Pet World refuses to allow their ferrets the space they need to move
around and be healthy. I regularly see four or more ferrets stuffed
into a space that should hold no more than two. Also, Pet World needs
to make food available to their ferrets throughout the day. Ferrets
eat intermittently and regulate their feeding as demanded by their
high metabolisms. It is not appropriate, (as one of their associates
recently snapped at me) to only feed them in the morning.

If Pet World cannot take proper care of their ferrets or devote the
resources necessary to their health, then I request that Pet World
finds a more appropriate animal to fill that space in their store.

Sincerely,
Concerned Pet Owner
Lawrence, KS"

[Posted in FML 6131]