Thanks BIG that is mainly what the post was about plus there are pet
stores who don't supply just babies because they are cute.
 
I am not meaning this as a flame I just can't believe this.  OH MY!!!
Sandy did you not read any of the other posts from people on this?  Here
I go again defending myself for a post I wrote and put something casually
in it that I didn't think was a problem ( I really didn't think my web
page link was a problem and still don't).  I didn't mention ferrets so I
can advertise my farm.  That is in my signature line and it is on all my
emails.  And yes we do raise hogs, I also raise sheep and stockdogs.  I
like fresh meat only because I have tasted the meat at the stores and
would prefer not to eat it (and just so you don't jump to another
conclusion, I don't eat my stockdogs or my sheep for that matter).  I
like to know what is in my food.  And yes there are a lot of animal
lovers out there that are not vegetarians.  Which plants are alive too
aren't they?  Just because they don't move around and make noise does
that make them okay to eat?  We do sell a lot of pigs.  Probably because
people who like fresh meat don't like what is in the stores.  And just so
you know that is my SO's thing.  We raise the piglets up until weaning
time and a little after to make sure they weaned fine and then they go to
his partners house.  As I would not be able to handle it otherwise.  The
only time I go down to the barn is to check on the babies and check on
the sows, I quit playing with them because I got too attached although I
do go out and give belly rubs to the sows in the fields.  I am the one who
brings the sick ones in and tries to save them.  And the ones I have saved
do not go to slaughter as I wont put up with it.  I don't like the idea
of saving the animals so they can grow big enough to die.  If you really
would have looked at my web page you would have seen Itsy laying on the
front porch with a dog.  When she was smaller she even went to retirement
homes for visits.  She was a runt pig that was not even a pound when she
was born.  All her littermates were 4-5 pounds so I brought her in and
successfully raised her.  Do you have any idea what it takes to milk a sow
so you can get her colostrum?  It takes a lot of time to get enough.  She
will always be a pet and will never go to slaughter.  I never took a
picture of Buddy but he was a pig that I saved who was very entertaining.
He would sit and lay down on commands and would follow me around the farm
like a dog.  He would come when called like Itsy does.  He was litter box
trained and everything.  I spent a month with him trying to save him and
I did it.  He was really sick and the vet was amazed that he even lived.
There is not a person in this family who has not cried their eyes out
when we have lost one of the babies we were trying to save.  There is a
difference between pets and livestock.  Until they have the chance to
steal your heart they are livestock.  What do you think happens to all
the 4-H animals.  They either go to slaughter or they remain family pets.
As for the sheep, they are sold on the hoof usually for 4-H purposes I
originally purchased my sheep for the dogs that didn't turn out to be
cowdogs.
 
I guess next you want to talk about the horses we sell.  No they are not
all our pets, we each have a horse that is a pet, and with nine of us that
is a lot of horses.  Plus I have two, I have an old rescued horse that is
getting up there in age so I also have a young horse for long rides.  I
ride my old horse around the house and down the road just to keep him in
shape.  I could just sell him to someone or shoot him but I wouldn't do
that to him.  I want to make sure he is taken care of the rest of his life
because he wasn't when I found him.  The other horses on this place are
"livestock", no we don't eat these either, horses that were untrained or
trained horses looking for a new home so they can be someone's pet.  We
buy a lot of them that are skinny because they are cheap and need a good
home that will turn them around.  Buying them cheap and putting a lot of
money into them does not make them money makers either, it's the training
that goes into them and yes we have sold horses for less than what we pay
for them.  It takes a lot of time and money to put weight on a horse and
when you do you never know what you have until they have that weight on
them.  I would like to think that we have saved them from slaughter as
that is where they usually go.  We try to make them child proof and I
think our girls do a wonderful job.  The ones that aren't child proof are
not sold as that and we usually come out in the hole on those.  And
eventually we will raise some of our own child proof horses as they are a
little more reliable for children because just like most animals you can
somewhat determine the disposition by what you breed to and they are
raised exclusively by children.
 
Since I have managed to write more than what the list allows here is Part
1 with 2 following.     [part 2 combined withthis one... BIG]
 
I will applaud anyone who is willing to give a homeless animal a place
whether they are just learning about them or already know about them.  At
least they are making an attempt which is more than a lot of people who
own pets do.  She is actively advertising for these animals trying to find
a forever home for them.  She is also in a situation where a lot of people
are drawn in there to look at the animals.  Life is not perfect, and at
least the animals are in a spot where they are taken care of until they
find a home.  Which IMHO that is better than being somewhere where you are
not wanted.  Sometimes nothing satisfies some people.  This pet store has
the permits to have them and sell them.  And you have to show her your
permit to have them before you can buy them.  There is nothing illegal
about it.  A man down the road from us raises cougars and bears, that is
not illegal and if they are born in captivity what is wrong with that if
you can take care of them.  They are not starving like some of the wild
ones around here.  Even if it was the pet store you are talking about, the
ferret is being taken care of and that is what matters.  At least she in
not bringing in kittens trying to sell them because they are cute like
most pet stores.  Which was a point I was trying to make in the last post.
Unless you run a shelter or try to resell animals I wouldn't complain
about how someone else is trying to do it.  At least they are making some
kind of attempt and if you could do better, go rescue it.  It's pretty
easy to sit back and tell someone else how their life should be without
trying to live it.  If you don't agree go buy the ferret and any other
animal in there that you don't feel is in a good place.  Heck, come buy
all my pigs and sheep!
 
It amazes me that some people are just out to try to see the bad in anyone
and anything they can.  I hope I have everything covered but I am sure
Sandy you will find something else to complain about.  It makes me and
probably others not want to post because who knows what will be turned
around and thrown back at you.  It also makes me wonder what kind of life
a person like that leads.  Look at the bright side of things.  If negative
criticism helps someone then it wasn't negative in the first place.  But
if it is only to bring someone down, with no solution to it then it is
not a good thing and should be overlooked.
 
I have reread my post and every time I do, it seems to get longer, so I
am not going to reread it again.  So if there are errors or typos or
something just doesn't sound right please forgive me.  If we have to
reread our posts to make sure no one is going to take it the wrong way or
be offended by it, then they will be a mile long from someone explaining
their situation in detail, like this one.  Which no matter how many times
I would have reread my first post, I don't think I would have caught it.
 
Molly
Wilson's Feed and Stock
http://msnhomepages.talkcity.com/SuburbanSt/wilsons-feed-stock/index.html
[Posted in FML issue 3734]