Hi, everyone,
 
I read Denise's post on FML and Andrea's on TriFL, and I know I am in the
very small minority on this, but I am *not* opposed to pet stores selling
ferret kits if they do it responsibly and take care of their animals.  In
fact, I am glad those that are responsible are doing it.
 
I do volunteer work for our not-so-local shelter, The Ferret Guardian
Rescue Haven.  I host their site, share the updates and coding with Pam
Sessoms, paid for the domain registration, volunteer at each and every
adoption day our club (TriFL) does for the shelter, and next month when
Diane needs extra help I am going out one day each weekend, a two hour
drive each way, to help her out.  I think adoptions from shelters are
important, and I do think it's a great way to get adult ferrets.  I also
think a happy, healthy, adult ferret or two is the best way for a new owner
to start.  It is much easier than with kits, and IMHO, adult ferrets are
just as cute as little kits.
 
Right now the shelter has 13 ferrets, 10 of which have special needs.
Special needs ferrets have to go to special homes, and are not for
everyone.  Also, Diane screens new ferret owners to make sure that they
know what they are doing and can give the little guys proper care.  I fully
support this screening, but guess what?  I would never have gotten a ferret
from Diane when we bought Tenchi.
 
We didn't know anything and had lots and lots of misconceptions, but we
learned quickly and were responsible.  There is no way the shelter can
support the demands for ferrets in Eastern and Central North Carolina.  I
think the only reason there are three healthy, happy ferrets in the shelter
is that most people outside the ferret community don't know that the
shelters exist.  We post here about adoptions, but unless a good, new owner
stumbles across the website, how do we reach them?  Not everyone is online,
knows that ferret shelters exist, and can do an effective Alta Vista,
Yahoo, Lycos, or Northern Light search to find one in their area.
 
There is also a very special joy in raising kits and doing it well.  I
brought three of my ferrets to Ronald McDonald House in Durham, and I know
y'all saw the post about how well that went.  One that I brought was our
youngest, Romana, who was all of four months old at the time.  A little
girl grabbed her by the tail and pulled her out of the cage before I could
stop it.  Romana just looked back and gave her a "what *are* you doing?"
look, but did not nip.  She was very nippy when I brought her home, and I
felt a great deal of pride about how well she does with people now.  I felt
the same way about Ker Avon, one of our adults, who used to be very
rambunctious and bit quite hard when we brought him home.  Today we call
him "Mr. Cuddle Weasel", and he was absolutely wonderful with the kids.  I
take pride in the way we raised our kits.
 
About pet store "rescues": when we brought Romana home she was literally
starving.  Romana was 5 weeks old, a FFF Farms baby, and the store, who had
always bought Marshall's kits before, had never had one so very young.  She
couldn't eat the solid kibble the she was given, and the manager was out
until Monday.  I took her home and fed her mush, and by Monday she was
doing much, much better.  I went in to talk with the manager.  They are
back to buying Marshall's babies, who are a bit older, trained their staff
about dealing with young kits (making mush), and offered to take her back.
We had fallen in love with her, so we kept her, but... the pet store
learned from their mistake and took responsible action.  This is where
education comes in, not shunning the store.
 
We need stricter regulations on ferret care to be able to stop the
irresponsible stores from selling kits, and those stores who just don't
care about their animals should be boycotted.  However, those that do
correct matters in a responsible way should be praised, not criticized.
The store where Romana came from does a really good job with their kits
now.
 
Also, Andrea, we have no ECE that I know of in this area, and at least 15
stores that sell kits.  Many have been doing so for years.  Are your dire
warnings of ECE dangers in all pet store kits based on fact or hyperbole?
Does it apply to all breeders and stores?
 
As far as not supporting "ferret mills", my last three (out of five that
are mine) were *not* from Marshall Farms.  Again, we can educate store
owners and people who may be buying these ferrets that there *are* choices,
and that it may make a difference in the long term health of their pets.
 
Finally, on the kits being too young at 5 or 6 weeks:  I have been reading
that for the past year.  I understand that is the majority opinion and the
feeling of most ferret owners, but I have yet to see one solid piece of
proof, one scientific study, that this is actually harming the fuzzies.
Until I see that, I'll stay in the minority and say that raising ferrets
from babies (5-9 weeks old) is an absolute pleasure, very rewarding, can
result in some very well behaved and affectionate adults who have bonded to
their owners early, and is an experience I would deny no one who did their
homework first.
 
I expect a lot of posts responding to this one.  I expect many to be
flames.  I expect lots of hyperbole, feelings, anecdotal experiences, and
so on.  If you want to change my mind, please present me with facts
instead, and be able to quote your sources.  I am open minded, and I don't
believe name calling is the way to change anyone's mind, least of all mine.
 
Dooks to the fuzzies!
Caity
(with eight happy and healthy ferts at home: )
 
________________________________________________
Caitlyn M. Martin                                     [log in to unmask]
http://www.caitys-world.com
 
"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men.  No
machine can do the work of one extraordinary man."
--Elbert Hubbard
________________________________________________
[Posted in FML issue 2587]