I just thought I'd tell a good story about an animal control officer for a
change.  I live in Del. and about 3 weeks ago I got a call from a woman who
said a ferret was seen running around in an apartment complex hallway for 2
days.  Someone caught the ferret and put it in a trash can.  Two days later
someone went to take it out and (of course) it bit him.  He went to a doctor
who gave him a tetanus shot and animal control was called in to pick up the
ferret.  The officer, Donna, took the ferret home and quarantined it for 14
days (she said she didn't want to take it to the SPCA because they might
euthanize it).  She "borrowed" a large cage from the police department, she
bought toys for her and several books on ferret care.  After the 2 weeks she
called a vet and asked what to do with the ferret because the ferret would
sometimes bite her and he suggested she have her put to sleep.  She called
my vet who gave her my number.  She said she really liked the ferret and
wanted to keep her and did I have any suggestions on how to stop her from
biting.  I gave her some tips.  She called back on Mon. and said she could
not get her to stop biting and could she turn her in to the shelter and that
she had really gotten to like ferrets and could she adopt a nonbiter from
us?  She has a 3 and a 12 year old in the house.  She came by Mon. night
and left with another ferret.  The little girl she turned in was a beautiful
sable point who looked very healthy but very scared.  She'll be fine I'm
sure once she gets used to people handling her.  Anyway its nice to know
that not all animal control officers hear "ferret" and assume it must be a
rabid, baby killer.
[Posted in FML issue 1725]