Hey Everyone,

I'm in desperate need of everyone's help. I know when we pile together
as a group of persistent furkid parents no one can shut us up. I've
sent out some letters about the kits in Polo Park Petland in my city,
and got one back from the BREEDER that supplies the ferrets which was
harsh and horrible. He admitted that he would euthanize a ferret if it
was returned to him sick.

This was my letter;

To whom this should concern;

I'm writing concerning the current conditions and environment which
the pets at Petland Polo Park in Winnipeg Manitoba are currently being
subjected to, specifically the ferrets.

Last month my boyfriend walked into the Polo Park Location which I've
recently learned is privately owned to look at the new litter of
ferrets which was brought in. We are both part of the ferret community
within Canada so always check out the new kits throughout the city as
they come into the stores. On this particular visit he noticed a Red
Eyed White (Albino) female that he held and while holding her he saw
she had a swollen genital area and was filthy. He also noticed the
other ferrets in the cage overcrowded, dirty and with old/worn bedding.
As well, the "cage" the ferrets are in has limited ventilation and is
a 2ft x 2ft x 3ft glass box which has other sale items piled on top of
it each day. The cage conditions are subpar, cramped and often dirty.
Example: There litter box takes up at least a 3rd of their cage,
meaning their trampling through their own feces when not eating or
sleeping.

I then returned myself a few days later and noted the same conditions;
dirty and covered in their own feces and urine, especially the little
girl with the swollen vulva who was unable to go to the bathroom
without going on herself now. I left trying not to over react and put
faith into the pet store trying to tell myself that they must be busy
and will take the time to clean the ferrets very soon.

I returned to the Polo Park location on June 25th, 2010 with my
boyfriend and again held the little girl. Not only was I snubbed by an
employee at the front when asking her about the kits condition although
when I complained about how urine soaked she was, the employee said
she`d would get a bath by tomorrow.

I called and spoke with a manager the next day who said the little girl
would receive a bath, but hung up on before I could suggest them all
getting a bath. She mentioned to me they didn't know what was wrong
with her and they were waiting to hear from the breeder, which confused
me because a vet fixes medical issues not a breeder. Our concern was
mainly that the ferret would be returned to the breeder then euthanized
because of potential expenses to make her healthy again.

On June 27th, I returned to the store and spoke directly with the
owner Alan Siwicki. When I told him she was sick, and in my opinion
unsuitable to be sold is when he challenged "How do you know she's
unsuitable for sale? Are you a vet?" I then flipped her over to show
him her vulva and he still not being convinced agreed to take her to
the Tuxedo Animal Hospital seemingly just to shut me up. I offered to
take her home for a discounted price and pay for the vet bills as well,
he politely refused saying Petland had a warranty and he would honour
that. I also complained about how old their bedding and hammocks were
and offered to donate some but he said he would hang new ones up on
store cost. I finally commented on how dirty the ferrets still were,
and was directly lied to about the female having received a bath, when
she had clearly not. She was still just as grey and urine soaked as 2
days ago when I had seen her.

I have been calling every day since, and today learned June 30th, from
Chantal an employee at the Polo location that the little girl either
was spayed incorrectly and has ovarian tissues remaining in her, which
has caused her to go into heat or she has a glandule disease, which is
highly unlikely because she's only 4 months of age. Female ferrets if
not spayed or bred after going into heat will die. Either way, this kit
requires surgery. The owner or any manager at Polo Park Petland has
failed to act on or acknowledge and the kit has been there for over 2-3
month now. We noticed her swollen genitals over a month ago.

Initially I thought the little girl had an infection and because of her
conditions she was unable to heal or get better. Although urinating on
yourself and not having room to move around except to back up into a
litter box and sleep is animal cruelty. Polo Park location is too small
to have large critters such as ferrets, and chinchillas, even the
amount of birds they hold in my personal opinion. The example I've
provided is one of many I'm aware of at this particular location, and
I haven't even addressed the back of the store which holds the dogs
and cats. As well, I see dead aquarium life whenever at the location;
floating fish and newts seem to be a common occurrence. Animals require
attention and space to live, while waiting to be brought home, as well
as a healthy environment. Alan's store is seemingly unable to provide
that.

I highly recommend a thorough investigation and inspection on the
animals and their habitats and perhaps limiting the varieties of
species and amounts of each according to space available and experience
and knowledge of staff. For instance, why sell chinchillas or ferrets
when no one in that store knows limited information about them. It
seems animals are now being brought in solely for profit and rarity
rather than finding good homes and educating potential owners on how
to care for them. While I realize this is a business, I feel that the
owner of this location has abused the Petland name and is contributing
to the already negative stereotype on large chain pet stores.

Thank you,
Jill Johnson
Ryan Stevenson


This was the breeder who supplies the ferrets' direct response to my
letter;

I understand some of your concerns but I have known Alan from Polo Park
for a long time and he is one of the good guys. I supply him with some
animals and he always notifies me if there is a problem and gives me a
chance to fix it. Taking an animal to the vet is not always the answer.
In the case of most animals, breeders do have more experience than a
vet and often have a better, and cheaper solution. Like it or not, the
pet industry is a business and you cannot expect them to keep animals
in huge cages when they are only being temporarily housed. I agree they
must be kept clean and you must be going there very early in the day
before they get a chance to go around to all of the cages because I
have never seen a filthy cage in that store and the animals are kept
very well. You are correct in that if an animal is returned to the
breeder that it would likely be euthanized, if it isn't saleable then
there isn't any economical reason to keep it. Taking an animal at a
discount just because you feel bad for it is not a good reason to have
a pet either, and like it or not you must understand that Petland Polo
Park takes better care of its animals than the rest of the petlands in
Winnipeg and I am sure I have had a better look behind the scenes than
most people.


I sent my letter to cooperate office of Petland for Canada, to the
breeder and to the Manitoba Ferret Association.

So here's what I want to do. If everyone could please send a small or
detailed follow up letter to [log in to unmask] I'm sure it would
help. In between safari and stan is an underscore. Also, I want to
start a petition to have ferrets removed from Polo Park Petland. I'm
going to include pictures of the petland soon so everyone can see what
they're protesting. So if you ALL could please send me your name and
phone numbers for the petition that would be amazing.
[log in to unmask]

I'll then write it down and include it in my final statement to
Petlands cooperate office. Hopefully they'll take away his ability to
use their name, or at least his license to sell ferrets.

Also if you're feeling as enraged as I am the breeders email is
[log in to unmask] Thanks again,

I know we can do this. Make it happen!!! Save the babies!!!

Jill

[Posted in FML 6747]