I made a call to Pat today to try to get more information as to what
happened.  He was understandably upset, so some information is still
unclear to me.
 
From what I understand, Animal Control and the police showed up with a
warrant yesterday.  Pat did not want to open the door to them, so they
chose to open it themselves, forcibly.  4 ferrets were seized and taken to
the shelter, even tho only 2 of them were present at the picnic.  Because
3 of them are sables they could not be certain which were at the picnic.
Pat thought they might be able to get the white ferret, Jasper, out of the
shelter, but animal control wanted the health department to examine her.
As of this evening Jasper is still in the shelter.  It is currently assumed
that they are all in for a 2 week quarantine.  Let's hope it stays that way
and they don't decide to suddenly test any of them.
 
Pat is upset at himself for putting his ferrets at risk.  He could have
removed them from his home during the week and chose not to.  It is unclear
as to which ferret, Pat's ferret or otherwise, the girl actually had.
She has been examined by a doctor but the extent of the scratch/bite are
unknown to me.  Regardless of whether anyone thinks they know what should
have or not have been done, it still boils down to an unfair law.  Parents
have a right to be concerned when their child is injured by an unknown
animal.  We need to educate the public so that the unknown is known, and
there is less fear.  No matter what state you are in, I would highly
suggest you keep your ferrets health records with you when taking your
ferret into the public.  It is always wise to present a ferret with the
back towards a stranger and the face near you.  Even the most well behaved
ferret could become upset in the right circumstances.
 
Please keep Pat in your thoughts as he spends a very long 2 weeks worrying
about the treatment of his ferrets, especially Daisy (the perfect ferret)
who I believe is now 7 years old.  Daisy has been a regular at FA functions
and is always well behaved and patient with those who handle her.
 
Please don't turn this into a flame war about who is to blame. Instead
suggest constructive ways we can all prevent this from happening, and how
we can better educate the public so they have less fear of ferrets.
 
Chris Kibler
Ferrets Anonymous Lost/Found Coordinator
Ferrets Anonymous San Diego East County Chair
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[Posted in FML issue 2736]