Evening All,
I read the FML daily and people often talk about acquiring another ferret,
and then another, and then another, ad infinitum - Ferret Math as it's
commonly known.  I light of some recent events in my life I decided that
maybe I'd better "stand up" and say something about this.
 
As some of you may know, the GDFA lost one of it's co-founders and President
last August, suddenly and very unexpectedly.  Bette's death was a tremendous
shock to everybody who knew her.  As a result of her death, her husband has
had the very difficult task of not only coping with her loss, but he has the
added burden of taking care of the Dobermans she held so dear.  He is
dealing with things as best he can, but it is difficult to work 60+ hours a
week & maintain the dogs properly.  Friends are helping him whenever
possible.  Please ask yourselves this: If I were to die tomorrow, would my
pets be a burden to my family?  Would they be able to keep and maintain them
properly?  Would they want to?
 
Last year one of our foster homes had a very serious family crisis and were
forced to give up all their pets.  The GDFA suddenly found itself scrambling
to find a place for 13 ferrets all at once (some were their personal pets -
some were fosters) when we already had 20+ ferrets in foster care.  One of
the local skunk clubs was able to take the 2 skunks they had & the humane
society was able to place the 3 dogs in foster homes.  Please ask yourselves
this: Where would my pets go if I or my family were suddenly unable to keep
them?
 
Closer to home, I spent nearly the entire year dealing with health problems
with one of my dogs.** We spent approximately $1500.00 on him.  Fortunately,
my husband has a good job and I work for my vet.  That $1500.00 is what we
spent on him AFTER my employee discount!!!  **Those of you who met Faune at
our Ferret Festival in Oct.  might want to know that he went to join Bette,
his "other Mommy", at the Rainbow Bridge on Dec. 10.**  We've had vet
expenses with our other pets, as well.  Please ask yourselves this: Would
I/my family be able to handle extensive medical expenses on multiple pets?
What would my/my family's options be if I/we couldn't?  It's easy to budget
for the usual routine yearly vaccinations, but what about the unexpected,
long-term health problems or emergencies?
 
This is the beginning of a new year, and I'm certainly not trying to bring
everybody down, but please think it through carefully before adding another
pet to your household.  The events of the past year have really made me
think.  Life is so uncertain - we just never know what's going to happen
next.  Do what you can now to make provisions for those uncertain times.  If
your life is in any way unstable (poor health, unemployment, divorce, new
baby), please don't add that new puppy or adorable ferret (or any other pet)
to your household until things settle down and you can handle the
responsibility both financially and emotionally.
 
Jan M. Lovell - Secretary
Georgia Domestic Ferret Association, Inc. - Founded in 1989
Dedicated to a Better Life for Domestic Ferrets Through Knowledge and
Understanding
770-442-5917
 
visit the GDFA Web Page at:
<A HREF="">http://www.mindspring.com/~jcrow/gdfa/ </A>
[Posted in FML issue 2178]