Hello!  I was compelled to send a message about the "real deal" with Lucy
the ferret,and her owner now residing in California.
 
I am the shelter that the ferret was brought to for sitting.  Arrangements
were made for Lucy (the ferret) to be boarded here without my knowledge.  I
happily accepted her and gave her the love and attention she needed.  The
sitting contract was incomplete, she was dropped off on July 10, but no
pickup date was written in.  There was a verbal pickup date of August 10th.
That date came and went.  I tried to get in touch with the owners from
their Las Vegas number.  There was a lot of confusion, but I got in touch
with them, and at first they didn't have a pickup date, so I gave them two
weeks.  Two weeks later they said they would definitely pickup the ferret,
but just didn't know when.  I said that was fine, as long as they keep in
touch and let me know what was going on.
 
Unbeknownst to me, the ferret club AND another shelter took it upon
themselves to contact this owner,and try to talk them OUT of taking their
ferret back, for various reasons, one being that they are illegal in
California.  After the second call the owner became perturbed.  Rightly so.
 
I do not go online for e-mails very often, but recently when I went on I
realized that there was this big debate over a ferret that I am taking care
of.  WOW!  I am so popular!
 
You must understand that I have many ferrets dropped off here by second
parties for sitting, and then they are picked up and delivered to their
owners.  There is no money exchanged.  That is fine, but if I have resident
ferrets in the shelter waiting for care, I cannot offer a free ferret
sitting service.  I started that service to supplement our almost
non-existant income.  Also, when others interfere with business, and
although I am non profit, I am still a business, it hurts my reputation.  I
work very hard to do what I do for the ferrets, and I am very protective of
that business because of the ferrets.  Lucy will be reunited with her
owners, whenever that may be.  I offer long and short term boarding, so
there is no problem with keeping her here for as long as it takes their
owners to straighten out their lives.  You try telling a 10-year old girl
with tears in her eyes that she cannot have her ferret back.  Those of us
who are genuinely concerned about the welfare of ferrets must also realize
that we are not ferret social workers.  We cannot determine who is fit and
unfit as a ferret owner, and take ferrets away from those we feel should
not own them.  There was a time that I fed my ferrets grocery store brand
food, and did not have a hammock.  I guess I would have been qualified as
an unfit owner at that time.  We also cannot change every pet store's
policies, and expect them to stop selling ferrets altogether.  They are a
business too, a much larger entity, and they are in it to make money, so
they do not care.  Now I have to contact the owners again, and apologize
for the "harrassment" they have been getting.
 
Please let this letter be official notice that this issue is RESOLVED.  I
won't be able to sleep at night thinking that my shelter goings-on are an
issue on the FML, and that I am not even aware of it!
 
Thank you everyone for your care and concern.  To the others, LET ME RUN MY
SHELTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Donna L. Carlsen
Angel Ferret Shelter, Inc.
[Posted in FML issue 2442]