[2-part post combined.  BIG]
 
Hi Gang;
 
Sorry I haven't been able to contribute to the list much lately, but I have
been busy preparing for a local Pet Expo which was last weekend and trying
to prepare for yesterdays TV show taping of a program called The Pet Guys.
They wanted to do various segments on ferrets since I have so many in my
home, and on the fact I have other kinds of animals as well.  So a 'what
do ya do when ya live in a zoo' segment.
 
The Pet Expo:
This was a fantastic way to get information to a large amount of people in
a one on one situation with ferrets who didn't mind being held, prodded,
and cuddled.  Our group was able to talk to many people and let them know
about the reality of living with ferrets.  Our booth was very popular and
was directly responsible for being able to change the opinions of a large
number of people on how vicious (not!) these animals were, especially when
the little guys were laying peacefully in our arms and looking especially
cute.
 
We received a discount on the cost of the booth by doing a Speaker's Corner
segment, which anyone in there right mind would do if it meant good public
exposure.  We combined fun with fact by getting people to watch a plant pot
dig race between two ferrets.  It was fun to watch them digging (or not
digging as it started out to be) but one of our wonderful volunteers took
the opportunity to show the audience how well they learn and showed them
the roll over trick.  Once the dirt was spread around the plastic sheet,
both ferrets took to rolling and digging more.  It was a crowd pleaser for
sure.  It gave us the opportunity to dispel common myths about ferrets and
to give useful information on what to do if you find a lost ferret.
 
The downside of the Expo was when a woman came to the booth with her two
ferrets and both were obviously adrenal.  It broke my heart when she told
me she could not afford medical care and that she was waiting for them to
die.  My inner impulse was to grab the cage and run, but I knew that our
group was there for a reason: to educate, to dispel myths, to help those in
need.  We were able to give her information and hopefully she will take it
further.  This was the saddest moment of my life to see ferrets in need and
me not being able to do much more than I did.  I wished I was Randy Horton
for that moment for I know he is a man of action.  But when you represent a
group, it is imperative that your behaviour is conducive to the messages
you are trying to send.  It was hard to see her walk away, but I hope that
she will understand that we are here for her when she needs us.
 
Overall, we were able to let people know that a Ferret Society existed in
our city and managed to get a few new members out of the experience.  We
also managed to find a breeder we had not known about who was willing to
work with us, and allowed us to give him some much needed information.  It
was also nice to see people actively seeking out our booth so that they
could ask us the ton of questions we got.  It was wonderful exposure and
I would highly recommend if the opportunity comes to your city or town,
to take advantage of it.
 
Special thanks go to all the volunteers who helped spread the good word
about ferrets: Tammy and her daughter, Marcy, Lorene, Ken M, Marlene,
Jessica, Chris, Ken C, Marie, and Shelby!  Good work guys!  BTW, having a
mix of men and women at our booth helped to reach both audiences!  And
having Tammy's young daughter handling and showing the ferrets helped to
dispel the myth about ferrets being bad pets for kids!  She was a wonderful
young spokesperson.
 
The Pet Guys Show Taping:
I had mentally prepared myself to say and do so much... then the cameras
started rolling and my brain went numb.  I'm sure I sounded nervous and it
will probably seem like I took one too many drugs a couple of hours before
taping.  Next time, I'm going to write a cheat sheet.  I just cannot rely
on my brain like I use to anymore.  Hindsight is 20/20.  There was so much
I could have said after is was all said and done, but this was a new
experience for me and did the best I could.
 
The taping allowed both Shelby and myself to talk about ferrets and their
training.  Unfortunately we were not allowed to mention our shelter, or
give out a phone number, but the show's producer did say that they would
like to do a spot just for that later down the road.  We'll see what
happens.  So Shelby did litter and bite training, and I tried to talk about
fulfilling the basic needs of ferret housing and care.  The show's host got
to hold the ferrets and do opening segments.  The ferrets unfortunately did
not read their scripts and so they did not do most of what we wanted them
to do, except play and be cute.  (Is there anything more?) But, if I am
not mistaken, we actually got a ferret to poop in the litter box on camera!
That was something!
 
Four days prior to taping, I was preparing the house for the camera crew.
For about three days before I started really scrubbing, we had noticed
flies around the house that were larger than the typical black fly that one
sees coming out of infested plant pots.  In my cleaning, I found that our
garbage can was filled with them and thus released more into the house when
I opened the lid!  It appears that my husband and I were testing each other
to see who could hold out the longest for taking the garbage out!  We both
lost!  For days I was trying to rid the house of them but alas, on the day
of filming, they were still there.  I'm sure that went the crew left, they
thought I was a lousy housekeeper.  Oh well... sigh.
 
Anyway, the segments will appear starting around the end of November and
go through to the end of January.  The show appears internationally, so
if you get a chance to see it, let me know how I did.
 
I have many things to catch up on in the next few days, so if you don't
see or hear from me, that's why.  My condolences to all of you that have
recently had a loss in your family, or have a sick family member... my
heart goes out to you.
 
Betty and Her Blur o'Fur
For the love of ferrets....
I'm ready for my close up Mr. Demille... and so are Akela, Bella, Charlie,
Cherokee, Chook, Dolly, Gadget, Gizmo, Jingles, Lace, Mr. B, Mushu, Pink,
Rayden, Sammy, Slim, Spaz, Thalia, Uh-Oh, and Zsa-Zsa - the ferts; Ming,
Toom, and Tetsu - the kitties; Ripley - the chilean pink tarantula;
Squirt - the wonder guinea pig
[Posted in FML issue 3233]