In a recent FML post, EM wrote:
>What if you could not bring your small specialty animals with you?
>What if you had very little time to figure this out? So here is my
>real taboo question: is there a way to painlessly, quickly, and
>effectively dispatch your small specialty animals in such
>circumstances, rather than leave them to die of exposure, thirst,
>starvation, etc.?"

I am glad this person posted this. I admit that my thoughts are not
exactly along the same lines, but very similar. For me, the question
is should I take my ferrets to an already over-capacity shelter or
pay to euthanize them and save everyone pain and further misery?

This dilemma first plagued me years ago when I had my first ferret.
I loved her very much - and still miss her sometimes! - but I was a
student with an uncertain future. This was in the mid-1980s when not
too many people knew what ferrets were. There were times when I feared
I would have to give her up because apartments didn't allow pets and
I was worried about getting evicted. Fortunately for both of us I did
manage to find a Ferret-friendly landlady and never had to give up my
little sweetheart.

With the current economic situation, I'm worried again. This time, I
do know that there are shelters available, but I also know that they
are at or over-capacity. Which is better for the animal, if you are
no longer able to have it: put it in a shelter and let them have the
responsibility of eventually euthanizing the ferret if they can't adopt
it out, or paying to euthanize the animal yourself, so that it doesn't
have to go through the loneliness of separation.

I want to be clear here: If a situation came up where I could not keep
my ferret I would certainly turn to ferret-friendly friends and to
shelters, if I could. However, with the amount of foreclosures and job
losses, I know that those shelters and animal rescues are overcrowded
and I am trying to decide what would be the least painful course of
action, both for the animal and for me.

At the same time, I continue to keep my fingers crossed and hope that I
don't lose my job so I can continue to pay my rent, and also hope that
my building doesn't get a new management company that decides to evict
pet owners. (That has happened with other apartment complexes in my
city.)

Inez

[Posted in FML 6333]