Hello,
Never have I experienced such a caring, thoughtful and kind group of folks
as you all. THANKS to everyone who wrote to me about my little biter
Dancer. My baby Pasha is sick so I may not get to answer each letter so
I will say my "Thank Yous" here and address some issues.
Thumping: Several of you wrote and suggested Thumping Dancer on the nose.
It is my belief that Dancer turned into a fear biter because the pet store
employees were thumping her on the nose. Furthermore, thumping would just
never be my way. That doesn't mean I am judging you or that I didn't
appreciate that you took the time and effort to write. To the contrary....
I respect our right to be different.
Screaming: I think that I used a poor choice of word here. From the gentle
comments, I know I conjured up visions of literally screaming and scaring
little Dancer half to death. What is more accurate is that we are saying
"Ouch, That hurts" loudly. At this she usually stops and just stares and
looks rather sheepish. It is the times she attacks and doesn't let go that
worries me the most.
Reporting: Many many of you wrote and urged me to report this. I did
report it and I am doing a training with some of the employees.
Unfortunately, a store customer who has many ferrets told the employees
that thumping was a good thing and that in this fashion they could teach
the ferrets not to bite. I shop at this store because it is immaculate and
they "usually" do a good job and they are huge supporters of our humane
shelter. The store employees come in at 7:30 to clean all cages and to
wash water bottles and put out fresh food. The ferrets are in a huge
ferret cage and there is never more then 3-4 at a time. In Dancer's case I
think they failed miserably due to misinformation from a well liked and
respected customer. When this method backfired two out of the three young
employees decided that Dancer was a "bad" ferret. In reality Dancer is a
very sensitive little creature who was abused.
Pet Store Ferrets: A couple of you kind people wrote and chastised me for
buying Dancer because she was a pet store ferret. (Many more thanked me)
And to be fair you both gave me some excellent advice. You are entitled to
your opinion about this but your arguments, although very persuasive, will
not change my future actions in this regard. I URGED everyone to adopt
from shelters if a shelter is available. I also urged anyone who sees a
pet shop ferret (or any animal) in an extremely bad situation, if resources
allow, to buy, beg, or steal that little critter. Dancer was either in
danger of being sent back to Marshall's and destroyed OR perhaps sold to an
inexperienced person that very well may have abused her in worse ways for a
long period of time. My house is full of "problem" animals (6 cats, 2
rabbits, 14 Cavies) of all types. Dancer will always be safe here no
matter how bad she bites.
LOVE: Many of the letters urged me to just love her and give her treats and
lots of time. Some urged time-outs. We are doing a combination of things
that encompass Love, Treats, Positive Reinforcement, Saying "Ouch"
loudly,(not screaming :>) and time-outs.
THANK YOU ALL. I sincerely appreciated ALL of the feedback on my problem
with little Dancer. It feels so comforting to me that I have so much
support from other ferret lovers who are so sharing. I will post updates
to let you all know how we are doing.
Pasha: I am very busy taking care of Pasha. He has a terrible viral
infection in his lungs. We were at the Vet yesterday and I have been
spending most of my spare time between him and Dancer. Now Dancer is
sneezing and I am afraid that I will soon have my whole business down.
Yikes.....What a terrible thought!
Fuzzy Hugs to all ferrets and their humans!
Warm Regards, Victoria
Have a Moment? Take a Peek! Ferrets, Guinea Pigs, Cats and Rabbits, Oh
My!!!<http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Farm/2610/>
"Compassion...can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces
all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind." Dr. Albert
Schweitzer
[Posted in FML issue 2647]
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