>...he was malnourished with a prolapsed rectum, needless to say he came
>from MF.  I later found out that the pet store that I got him from bought
>ferrets from a lady who lived 100 miles away.  She in turn got her husband
>to buy the ferrets from a distributor in San Antonio, another 100 mile
>drive.  And I suppose, hopefully, that the ferrets came to them directly
>from MF.
 
No offense but how is that MFs fault?  They sold someone some ferrets and
they sold them to someone else who sold them to someone else?  I don't see
a problem here except for the store owner/manager who is getting ripped
off!  I doubt you can keep him/her from selling ferrets but if you want to
make a difference tell them that they can order ferrets from Parrots of the
World in litters of 6 for $60 each.  Those are MF ferrets and as far as I
can tell the owner of that shop will be cutting out 2 maybe 3 middle men.
 
>The food the ferrets had been eating was not moistened, the water bottle
>was far out of reach, and the litter box walls too high.  The lady in the
>store gave me really bad ferret info, I did not realize it until later,
>which is my fault.
 
Then take a minute to educate them.  Most petstores I have been in don't
mind listening, though I have heard of others who were obnoxious in the
extreme!  Petstores are businesses, they can't afford to kill their stock.
If they do, they will go out of business soon.  I often tell petstore
managers or ask for the owners name and office number if their is a
constant problem.
 
>I also do not believe that these batch numbers and such can really be
>trusted due to the sheer volume and carelessness with ferrets that MF
>seems to show.  I have visited many other pet shops from Corpus Christi,
>TX to Minneapolis, MN since I bought my ferret, and have noticed one thing
>in common with all pet stores selling MF ferrets, complete ineptitude at
>caring for baby ferrets, or any ferret for that matter.  Petco still
>prominently displays that ferret can live 8-12 years, keeps them in
>recycled newsprint and aquariums, with no moistened food.
 
I kinda find some of that hard to believe.  That is the Petco info.  Not
that they are great, nor are the living conditions of their ferrets.  But
Petco policy in AZ is that the food be moistened so that ferrets aren't
used to biting hard and therefore (supposedly) won't bite potential biters
who smell like food too hard.  They do live in aquarium like enclosures,
but what would you suggest?  A wire cage for any two year old to stick his
finger in and have it bitten?  Or maybe (like mine! LOL) he will stick
the nipple of his bottle in and let the ferrets chew it off to a potential
blockage?  The Plexi enclosures are the safest for all concerned.
 
>I visited one pet shop that had a ferret kept in a dark puppy aquarium
>in pine shaving, and this is the kicker, where the light should have been
>hooked up, there were exposed wires.  This poor baby had no food and a way
>too high up water bottle.
 
Those are horrific conditions.  Did you report this situation to a manager?
Or the owner?  Was it a national chain?  You could always go to the
corporate offices if their isn't any response from the local offices.
 
>The living conditions of most shipped out MF ferrets is deplorable, and
>then who knows what happens to them when they are bought?  With all the
>misinformation about ferrets out.
 
OK LMAO!  "lured to believe"!  First just about anyone can take adequate
care of a ferret.  People aren't really stupid, just lazy or ignorant.
They could if they tried but they don't.  Yes.  Misinformation is a problem
but that isn't MFs fault.  Its the stores, who should try to get as much
info out as possible about the ferrets in their store to the customer.
That means a small pamphlet about ownership and responsibilities and trying
to talk some cheapskates into a really good book about ferrets and their
care.  You know about 90% of the people who buy ferrets in my store say
they don't need a book because they had one 15 years ago.  Or something
equally stupid.  But you know what?  Those people if they really want a
ferret have to listen to me for 15 minutes or more as I run on about the
trials and tribulations of ferret ownership.  I have discouraged more than
a few people from purchasing another ferret from my store and a couple have
actually come back to show me that they did learn something about ferrets
and they were "worthy".  I am NOT allowed to refuse to sell an animal but
it can be sick or have had an accident.  One woman actually wanted to buy
a ferret for her four year old, she kept saying it would teach her
responsibility, god help me, but I stuck my finger in front of its mouth
and pushed back till it bit the crap out me.  I wore a bandaid for weeks
but she left without buying anything.  I did try to sell her a fish, but I
even felt sorry for the fish!  I guess what I am trying to say is that the
ultimate responsibility falls on no one, but on society in general.  The
people who think animals are a commodity not a family member.  Or they
think animals are a status symbol.  Its sad and pathetic that we allow
people to treat animals they way they sometimes do and not face any
recrimination.  They are allowed to starve, beat, kill, or neglect
animals repeatedly.  The law is rarely enforced because most people can't
be bothered.  You know out here in the sticks I've seen people pay hefty
fines for killing the local ranchers steer, and even some jail time, but
the woman who has 50 barking dogs and an acreage full of poop?  She is
just a nutzo animal lover, evict her, euthanize the dogs and problem
solved.  Really sick world we live in.
 
Sharon
[Posted in FML issue 3440]