Hi FMLers
 
Here is another horrid story of abuse, and hang on its a long one.....
 
Yesterday I was called by a young guy, actually 23 years old.
He said he had a ferret that he no longer wanted because as he put it..."I'm
more of a Cat person ! "
He asked if I would like to take him, and that he would just give him to me,
cage and all.
 
I have 12 Ferrets of my own, and really wasn't looking to get another, but as
I was talking to him his mom was in the back ground yelling at him, saying "
You better get rid of that damn ferret, you don't take care of it!" ( and a
few other unmentionables, too graffic for public ears.)
And for some reason, I felt like I should at least go and see this ferrets,
and I'm glad I did.
 
Well I agreed to come over and see this guy and the ferret,
I arrived at what looked like an abandoned house, or a better description
would be a junk lot.  Inside the house was even worse, among the litter and
trash and broken down furniture were 5 cats and 4 dogs, and from the smell of
it, none of these animals were housebroken.
I was led down the basement to a 16 x 24 rusted cage, with no blankets or bed
box, no food dish, (but there was a water bottle).
There was so much poop around this cage that the ferret had to sleep or lay
directly in the middle of the cage.....to avoid the corners!
 
I decided rate there that I would take him, regardless if I find him a home
or not, that I would at least get him out of these conditions.
 
I asked the usual questions....
 
"Is he neutered?".........answer....."No, the smell doesn't bother me"
(of course not, who could smell a ferret over the other odors) Including a
rabbit who was rate next to the ferret, and had chewed the fur off the end of
the ferret's tail.
 
"Has he had his shots"...answer..."No, I can't afford them!"
My reply,..." Our Animal Charity gives Distemper and Rabies shots for $5.00"
his reply again...."I just can't afford him, and my mom says I have to get
rid of him"
 
O.K, off to question number 3.....
 
"What are you feeding him?"......answer........"Ummmm Ahhhhhh, I can't
remember the name of it"
My reply...."Is it Cat food or Ferret food?"
"No, it was dog food"  My reply........."Your an idiot, give me the ferret"
(I don't know what he was being fed, his poop was yellow)
 
Well, he took the ferret out of the cage and handed him to me, As I was
holding him I kept getting a strange wiff of something familiar, the more I
stiffed the more I was sure what the smell was, so I finally asked,......"Do
you bath him?"....answer......"Yes every now and then, some times I clean the
cage and him together at the same time"........"WHAT???  And what do you use?
"
The fatal answer was....LYSOL!
He said his mom told him to use it to cut the odor of the ferret and the
cage, I just about fell over!  Bathing a ferret in Lysol!!!!
I was horrified.
 
Well I got the ferret home, and on close inspection his ears are full of
Earmites, so bad that they are on the top of his head as well, at least the
wax is, and he has fleas.
His nails had _NEVER_ been trimmed, and I mean NEVER!!!
A few of them were curling under, and others are broken off at that quick. He
is very under weight, his white fur, and nails are stained yellow/brown
either from the urine/feces, or the Lysol. (??)
 
He is a cute little Sable, kinda small for a male, but we'll see what we have
after we get all the grime off of him. The guy said he was born May of last
year,although he can't remember the day, so that makes him a year and one
month old. And he looks it, he still hasn't gone into season yet.
 
So if anyone is interested in adopting a homeless and very abused little
fuzzy, let me know, I plan on taking him for his shots this week, and maybe
strike a deal with my vet for a discount on Nuetering him, since he is a
stray, so to speak.  By the way, his name is Charlie, but he doesn't respond
to it, I'll assume that he wasn't called to play enough to know it.
 
I would like to pass a law...."People should be treated just like they treat
their animals, thats including Lysol baths!"
 
Anyway, I'll keep you all updated on Charlie, and if anyone is interested in
him, E-Mail me.
By the way I am in the N.E half of Ohio for those of you who might consider
taking in another orphan.
 
Did you hug your Ferret today?
 
Take care all,
 
Michelle and The MASKeteers:-)
 
[Posted in FML issue 0867]