Subject: dogs, pet stores
 
Hi all,
 
I have a few things I would like to ask today.  One is for those of you
who own dogs and ferrets.  What types of dogs generally get along well
with ferrets?  Is it the larger dogs or smaller dogs that get along well,
or does it even matter?  We were thinking of (not any time very soon)
getting a Jack Russell Terrier, so I didn't know how well (or not well)
they would get along with ferrets.  I also didn't know how it would be
with another breed of dog, either.
 
Okay, now I have some pet store questions..  How do I write to the manager
of a pet store?  How do I get the address?  If I were to send a letter to
the manager, would I just send it to the pet store and write "Manager" at
the top?
 
Here's why I ask..  I have a PetCo near me that is not handling its ferret
situation very well IMO.  For one, they don't seem to keep the cage clean.
Maybe it's that they only clean the cage once a week, and I walked in at
the end of the week or something like that.  But for whatever reason, the
cage is filled with poop, and there are flies buzzing around in the cage
and near the ferrets.  I even noticed some poop on one of the albino
ferrets.  There seem to be too many ferrets for the size of the cage.  And
on more than one occasion, people have walked by and said "What are these?
Ferrets?  Wow, they stink."
 
When I was there last night, I told the people at the store that the water
bottle was blocked by the dryer hose, and the ferrets couldn't get to it,
so they fixed it, and the girl asked me if I wanted to hold them, so I
said yes.  She said, "Well, watch out for..  that one!  He's evil!  He
always tries to get me, see?  Watch.." And she then stuck her fingers out
near a silver ferret, moving them near his face, teasing him.  And I said,
"Well they are young.  Once they start to be trained, they could get
better."  And she just shrugged and walked off.  And I thought that was
weird, because if I had wanted to ask her questions, she wouldn't have
been available.
 
Lots of the ferrets were biting my hand when I put it in there.  One bit a
lot when I held him, and once he stopped for a while, I set him down and
picked up a small one.  The tiny kits seem to be better at biting.  He
seemed pretty calm while I just held him.  The larger ones bit harder and
one even jumped at my arm and just latched on with his teeth to my wrist.
I finally got him off, though.
 
I am just concerned about these ferrets, because with the personnel calling
them "evil" and having the cage that dirty, they won't be bought quickly.
They seem to be the very same ferrets I saw in there weeks ago.  And if so,
that means too many ferrets are in too small a cage for too long a time.
 
So, I was thinking of writing a letter to the manager to ask them to maybe
have a larger cage if they're going to have that many ferrets, and to clean
it more often.  With them in such tight quarters, it seems to make them want
to be more rambunctious, but they dont have the room to play like they want,
so they bite to get out of the cage whenever anyone tries to pick them up.
 
Anyway, sorry for going on so long.  Any advice or suggestions for what to
do would be greatly appreciated.
 
--Meghan
 
Federal Way, WA
[Posted in FML issue 2403]