Saturday, at about 1:15, the love of my life and I walked into Edgewoods
pet shop here in washington...I was amazed at all the WILDLIFE in the
place..prairie dogs, alligators, Pirhanas..bird eating spiders, scorpions
and birds and oh so many snakes..to name a few..oh and he had a pair of
coumidinis (something like that) exotic racoon looking creatures from some
country going for a mere 1,699.00$...ALL THIS IN ITSELF WAS UPSETTING,
creatures that have no business being there...but what caught my eye was
this beautiful ferret curled up sleeping in a cage next to the register.
 
Her legs are a chocolate brown and body and head are roany looking
silverish tinge somewhat of a mask very light brown...COLOR/PATTERN
anyone???
 
Anyway Of course I asked to hold her and she snuggled right into me I gave
her kisses and in my head I was already doing the math..the questions
running through my head..should I?  could I?  I know I wanted a Phoebe..I
already convinced myself she looked like a Phoebe!!  So I examined her, I
can feel her spine and hips, though she looked plump she certaintly did not
feel it, I noticed VERY thin hair on her tail, her whole body had short
hair though full, unlike her tail, Then I noticed her vulva looked a little
larger than I am used to, though I was comparing her to socks...my feather
weight ferret, everything on her is SMALL.  Then I looked in her mouth and
thats when I began to cry, most of her teeth had alot of tartar one, canine
is brown...assumably dead and broken at the tip her other canine is
mis-shapen and transluscent in appearance, her bottom inscissors mostly
gone.  Her teeth and behaviour lead me to believe she was a much older
ferret.  I asked the staff about the history of this little girl and I was
told the owner "rescued" her from a young man who came in with his mother
presumably to off load her for a few bucks..($40.  to be exact) the day
prior to my coming in, all the information the owner asked of this kid was
if she was a spayed female, in which he was told yes.  Of course he could
be lying, because he was trying to sell her for 90, I spoke to the staff
and went down the list of things wrong with her and what COULD BE wrong
with her..and that I wanted to talk to the owner personally and they got
him on the phone but he chose to make the conversation short with the staff
and did not want to talk to me, but he lowered the price to 79.99.  My SO
told me if I wanted her he would buy her for me because I would not let go
of her..I held her for so long that day, she peed on me!!!The staff told me
he would be in at 6, so we came back an hour or so later..this way he would
have to talk to me, long story short, we got him down to $50..of course..HE
HAD TO MAKE SOME PROFIT on this poor thing with one foot at deaths door.
BUT I AM ANGRY THAT HE DID NOT EVEN HAVE VET EXAMINE HER BEFORE RE-SELLING
HER.  She is old and so sweet (got my first kiss today) I dont know what
this jerk was thinking..well yes I do..PROFIT, with no regard for her
life..there are so many things wrong with that store, I feel I WANT to
report him to some agency.
 
I just did not want someone who did not know anything about ferrets to
purchase her.  After getting her home my SO found a grape sized lump around
her anus/base of tail...I know I cant afford to fix everything that is
wrong with her...SHOULD I START with her teeth and cbc or get the lump
removed and biopsied..of course I want to do everything for her but funds
are limited, that is where I feel bad, what if someone else could have
bought her and afforded the needed surgeries..but I could not risk the
chance of a ferret wise person purchasing her, because she might not have
been so lucky..I still cry everytime I look at her..she is so frail...eats
well though, poops good, moves around rather slowly, does hold her tail
sometimes, off to the side or up???
 
I just wanted her to be in ahome where she will be loved and if she is to
die then that is ok, just not in some pet store!!  SORRY this is so long..
advice anyone?
 
June,
socks, joey, chandler and my little phoebe
Thank you Louis I love you for getting me this little old soul
[Posted in FML issue 2631]