I have seen various postings on Petco stores lately (regarding petitioning
and such) and I would like to point out one thing:
 
Every store is different due to different management.
 
I have no affiliation with the stores in any way other than being a
customer.  In our town there are 2 Petco stores.  The west houses ferrets
on wood shavings the east store houses ferrets on pelleted small critter
bedding.  The east store seems to have much more knowledgeable employees
AND they do find good homes for unwanted ferrets!
 
Just recently a ferret with adrenal problems was dropped off at the store
because it was no longer wanted.  They had the ferret checked out by a vet
which vaccinated the ferret and diagnosed the ferrets problem as possibly
adrenal disease.  Then, the ferret was adopted out to a very good home that
will provide the necessary medical treatment.  Now, that store went out of
their way for a ferret they didn't even sell.  (They have just been in
business here a couple of weeks).  They also have contact numbers now that
they will call when ferrets like that come through.
 
So the point of my post is to encourage those wanting to petition stores
that sell ferrets, etc.  to step back and think about it real hard.  Just
because you may have had a bad experience with a store, chances are it is
due to management.  Not all locations of the same store are the same.  Some
are actually on our side!  The best thing you can do is educate and that is
not always easy, but banning the sale of ferrets is not the answer.  Just
because one may be stopped there will always be another out there somewhere.
Lets face it...people are going to buy ferrets, either from a pet store or a
backyard breeder.  By cutting the sale of ferrets in pet stores you increase
the market for backyard breeders.  And no offense to those that breed
responsibly, but we all know that there are many out there that do not
breed responsibly and so the problem will not be solved...just shifted in
my opinion.  This post is not meant to offend anyone.  Just sharing my
point of view.  -D-
[Posted in FML issue 2393]