California ferret owners, we need your help.  Ferrets Anonymous is receiving
a lot of calls from either people who know longer can take care of their
ferrets, or ferrets that have been found, and we can't find the owner.
 
Please make sure that all your local vets, pet stores, animal shelters, and
anyone else who might deal with pets, know how to contact Ferrets Anonymous
(also CDFA and CFL).  Someone out their has lost a ferret and hasn't been
put in touch with the right people.  I suspect many owners are scared to
contact anyone, or don't know that there is support available.  If you need
phone numbers, business cards, or more information, please feel free to
contact me (see signature below).
 
Judging by the increase of calls, I suspect there are now more ferrets in
California.  It bothers me that some people may be encouraging friends to
get ferrets, when the friends are unprepared for ferret ownership.  By all
means share with friends how fun they can be, but also warn them about the
responsibility involved.  A sick ferret can quickly deplete ones monetary
resources.  Will they want to give up the ferret at this point?
 
It looks to me, from the postings I've seen from shelters in legal states,
that we may not be the only state experiencing a sudden overload of unwanted
ferrets.  Are we too quickly encouraging people to own ferrets? Are ferrets
too easily obtained?
 
This is a big problem in California. It is hard to place ferrets in new
homes when everyone is scared to mention the word "ferret".  We want to show
everyone that ferrets should be legal, and that we are responsible owners.
 
I welcome any thoughts about this, feel free to reply to me personally or
to the FML.
 
If you've lost a ferret in the lost 2 months and it was not found, please
make sure I've been notified and have it on my records.  We can't return a
lost ferret if we don't know it was missing.
 
Chris K.
Lost/Found Registry Coordinator - Ferrets Anonymous
[log in to unmask]
(619) 440-8823
[Posted in FML issue 2304]